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Review content:
I visited the Pedal Shop because I was going to the West Bank (Gretna and Algiers) to run some errands, and was looking to purchase a bicycle seat for a friend. My first impression of this place was the posting on the window adjacent to the entrance, stating that the shop was complying with some regulation in posting that they would be selling low alcohol content liquor starting at such and such date. I then walked in, took about ten steps, and had caught the attention of the lone employee working at the time. He then walked towards me and proceeded to ask me if I needed any help in a manner which kind of made me feel like I was being profiled as a hoodlum, while at the same time made me feel as though I was inconveniencing him with my presence. He proceeded to try and help me to select a bike seat, which consisted mostly of standing next to me and staring at me. Finally, for the sake of removing myself from this eternal moment, I selected a seat hastily and we proceeded to the checkout counter. As I was checking out, I had commented on the condition of a road bike in front of the counter that was in for repair and in very bad condition, having rust everywhere (even, and especially, the seatpost!), tire rot on both front and rear tires, probably in need of a serious and costly overhaul, to which the employee stated (in what seemed to be the form of an accusation, or in impatience with my sparse questions) that it belonged to the man standing in line behind me (this man, along with his child, were not behind me but were off in the distance looking at the display bikes). The employee began talking to the man with the derelict bicycle before handing me my receipt, and failed to thank me or say goodbye once he became engaged in conversation with the man with the rusty bike. I?m not sure I can really explain what happened to me once I entered the Pedal Shop. In addition, the employee appeared to be accepting a bike in major disrepair and worth very little for a costly overhaul, which seems on the outside to be a dishonest practice. Next time I'll probably just go to GNO Cyclery--their employees are consistently helpful and courteous, and I don't have to check my ankles to see whether someone strapped a prison bracelet on me before I enter.
Pros: Soon to be Selling Low-Alcohol Content Booze
Cons: The Essence of Misery
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