Yesterday I had a half day at work (because I’m working Friday night this week), so my friend who has been going to spinning classes with me and I decided that we were going to each make the investment and buy cycling shoes.
To rent shoes at SoulCycle costs $3 a class. Not too bad, but when I want to try to go every week, that $3 adds up quickly.
I had decided to go to Performance Bike to get shoes. I like that store, my dad likes it, and that’s where my mom and dad bought this really cute bike for my birthday.
So my friend and I met there after I got off of work. When we walked in, we were greeted by a very nice salesman but he was busy helping someone check out. He pointed us in the direction of the cycling shoes and we figured someone would be over there soon to help us.
We got to the shoe area, and saw a lot of empty spaces.
Those three empty slots on the wall? Those were the three types of shoes that I had picked out online that fit my criteria (velcro closures, road shoes not mountain shoes, and under $100). I was pretty frustrated, but was hoping a helpful salesperson would be along soon and would tell me they had more in the back or something.
Wrong.
The salesman who came to help us didn’t help at all. He didn’t seem to care that we wanted to try on those three types of shoes that they didn’t have. He said that if we found them online, we wouldn’t find them in the store. When I asked if I could have those shoes shipped to me, his response was “if you want to pay for shipping”. I asked if they did free shipping to the store and he said they did. Why wasn’t that offered to me? Also, the salesman offered no help when I asked what the European size equivalent to an American shoe size 8 was (I ended up looking it up on my phone).
I wondered if it was a mistake coming without my dad. He pretty much knows anything about bikes. He was with me when I got my cute bike and knew all the questions that I wouldn’t have thought of asking (and got them to add a kickstand for me). But I had spoken with my dad before this shopping trip and got all my dumb questions answered before I went. Now I wish he was there because I feel like he would have gotten something out of that salesman that my friend and I couldn’t because we didn’t know all the right things to say.
We both ended up walking out of the store with nothing. I didn’t want to give them my business. I’ve tweeted at the store, and I’m thinking of linking this post to them in an email.
This just reminded me so much of something Blake Robbins said on Inside Acting Podcast (I got to hear this twice, once at the recording and again on the episode). Life is like a maze. You know that somewhere in it, there is a place that the ball drops through. So if you hit a dead-end, you don’t give up. You aren’t in a maze where the ball doesn’t drop through. You just have to back up, take a different turn, and keep trying to find where the ball drops.
So maybe I hit a dead-end in this maze for my spinning adventure. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up. I just need to back up, look another way, and maybe order my cycling shoes from Zappos (I love them!).
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Customer Service After The Fact (or An Update to My Experience At Performance Bike)
New Shoes! (or I’m Glad I Had A Pedicure)
Getting More Serious (or I Think I Need New Shoes Before Doing Another 5K)
Shoes! (or The Most Fabulous Items in My Wardrobe)
Spinning Machine (or Continuing My New Healthy Addiction)
Speedy Shoes (or Props To Zappos For Saving My Workout)
