Requiem for a Local Bike Shop (LBS), part 1

I don't know how I didn't notice the dirt before. It wasn't like there were huge dust bunnies lurking under the bikes or anything like that, but there were small things - remainders of cobwebs hanging from the spotlights, a thin film of dust on the frames of the bikes, made even more noticeable because many bikes these days are painted in a dark, matte finish...

And then yesterday, when they started moving the smaller mountain bikes and the hybrids downstairs, I noticed in a big way how the walls were badly dented, how pockets of dust would gather in the loops of packing tape that the guys would use to put posters up on the walls. And some of the posters they'd mounted were from companies the store hasn't worked with in years - GT, Colagno, Cannondale. At some point Short and Blonde had decided that the best way to attach the posters to the two pillars holding up the catwalk - there's a catwalk that takes over two-thirds of the main floor, and no one over a size 48 can move comfortably through the other side of the store - with packing staples. I mean, at some point, he must've taken a staple gun and just *WHAM!* straight into the gyprock. There was no getting them out of the wall except with a letter opener, which just made the gouges worse.

I don't know if it's because I know that I'm leaving on the 16th of November or I'm just getting sensitive about the issue of cleaning because my room-mates are so bad at it. But everywhere I look now, these signs of neglect, of the store being unloved, become more and more obvious.

The windows that are not getting washed. The tire marks on the ceiling. The scattered ficus leaves which don't get picked up every morning. And, the thing which gets me the most, the main display window which has two torso mannequins - one with a long-sleeved Trek/Volkswagen maillot (€90) and another with a €135 Castelli jacket. And on the window ledge, between both mannequins...a handful of dead mistletoe and four dead flies. It's been that way for at least two months. And it's the metaphor for the store: it looks good at first glance, but what you see after a prolonged glance isn't ugly or tragic...it just makes you think about what could be achieved if anyone there gave a damn.

The Owner says that she calls the place "The Ministry" because the four people who still work there - Short and Blonde, Tall and Dark, Cuca and Yisus - know that, whatever little work they do, they'll still get a paycheque at the end of the month. Fucking the dog, as it's indelicately called in Canada, is hardly a uniquely Spanish tendency; everyone's done it in a job at some point in his or her life. But it saddens me to think that the small things, which are not that difficult to do, are the things which customers may be picking up on these small things and deciding to go elsewhere. The Owner says that she gets depressed when people go to Decathlon (the French sporting-goods superstore) to buy their bikes. Well, Decathlon is clean and the staff make an effort to find you what you need. If they don't have it, they'll get it. And you find lots of interesting other things that you are happy to spend your money on. I cannot say those things about my store.

An example: A friend mentioned over wine last night that she'd be interested in a CamelBak pack (we're thinking about going for a long weekend in December, packing light) but she wants one with a bit of storage space (liner shorts, deodorant, food) and in any other store, they would have gotten on the phone and asked, or made a note to call the supplier and let her know on Monday. Not Short and Blonde. He made some noises about maybe calling the other suppliers on Monday to find out, so I told her, look, just to go this other place because they'll have it. She's now the proud owner of a cool, fun CamelBak for the trip. And I'm considering going there to buy one for myself, because I know that hell will freeze over before Short and Blonde actually picks up the phone.

Now, if they're going to do that with friends of the business (as they're referred to in Spanish), who they could get away with a bit more cheekiness - why shouldn't they do it with regular customers? And I'm sorry, but there's no room for that. And I don't want to be part of a business that couldn't give a damn.