-=> Quoting Ray Shannon to Ken Peck <=-
 RS> a fixed income and below the poverty level doesn't help. Then too, I've
 RS> been burned by a Bike Shop that was manned by unscrupulous personnel
 RS> and got taken to the cleaners and still didn't get the work done right.
 RS> What are your thoughts on this sort of thing?
I guess I've been very fortunate.  I started out at a bike shop called
Tailwinds in Waco and then switched to Bicycles Outback in Waco.  Both were
good and fair.  Tailwinds is a two store chain, with the other store being in
Bryan/College Station.  Bicycles Outback is smaller and local and more
persoanlized.  When I got a job in Dallas I went to the owner of Bicycles
Outback and asked for a recommendation.  He recommended Richardson Bike Mart.
When I got to Dallas, I checked out Richardson Bike Mart and discovered they
had three classes their cheif mechanic offered on bicycle repair (like $5
dollars per course).  I signed up and took them.  Now I'm treated like
royalty there.  I've never had a problem with them.
Probably the best clue though is to see who hangs out in the shop and has is
been around for a while.  If you see a bunch of racers frequenting the place,
the folks probably know their business and are fair and honest.  Those who
aren't won't last and the racers will avoid the place like the plague.
Granted, you may be treated like a total nerd . . . but they will take your
dollar and give you fair return.
Incidently, I've never been treated as a "total nerd" in any of the above
mentioned shops.  And particulary Bicycles Outback in Waco and Richardson
Bike Mart in Richardson (i.e., Dallas) are very service oriented and depend
on repeat business.
    ===  ==== =   _@
    Ken Peck +  _ \<._
    =========  (_)/ (_)   Kenneth_Peck@clr.com
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