My Trek Store

Looking for a bike was an easy task or so it seemed to me. You walk in to a shop, ask questions, compare rides, go online for reviews and you choose a bike. Sound easy, not so. There are three bike shops in Naples all of which have good bikes that I wanted to test and here is the story with that.
The Trek shop was closest so that's were I started, it made sense to me. The minute I walked in I was greeted by a fellow named Arley. He came from behind the counter, welcomed me, shook my hand and patiently walked me through all the questions I had about bikes, gear and stuff. Now that was customer service and I felt confident about their product and their ability to service the bike when I left the shop.
Next I went to a shop I won't mention by name but lets just say I didn't feel very 'special' when I was there. When I walked into this shop I was greeted with less than enthusiasm buy a guy that should by any standards be a used car salesman. We all work hard for our money and this is an expensive sport, I don't want to buy a bike and not get taken care of before or after I purchase one.
Disappointed I went back to the Trek shop to see if it is as good as it had been before, you know attitude, knowledge and friendliness. Yep it was. I got greeted by Karen this time, who is a no nonsense kinda gal and is very fluent in bike. She competes in the senior games and kicks BIG BUTT! This time I got a look at the bikes from a competitive view point by someone who knows the bikes and components first hand. In my head I made a very logical choice, not the one I really wanted, but what I could afford and had the features I needed to grow into the bike.
I have, in the past, made judgments based solely on attachment. By this I mean that if I feel welcome, like the product, they get the sale...simple right? I believe that to return to a sport is complex in a time/space sort of way, you know, competing with old distorted memories of 'glory days'. And the biggest, meanest nasty looming in your head is that you don't want to be let down by the bike or by service after the purchase ruining your return to cycling and having a bike collect dust, ain't gonna happen!
I had to make one last cold call on the last shop in town just for my own piece of mind. As I walked in I was greeted with a head nod, kinda like 'I'll be with you in a sec' sort of thing. This should be a big deal for a store, greeting a new customer and to help in a purchase. But I felt less than 'Giant' size in that place.
Back I went to Trek. This time Greg, the store manager, greeted me and knew who I was. Arley looked up from the bike he was working on and said hey and all was well in the world. Did I mention that this shop is run by people who are 'bike junkies' and don't work part time to buy the latest x-box game? Sleek, Clean and professional all done because the enjoy being at work. That's who I want to do business with.
Bottom line is find a shop you want to do business with. The bike will be good and well cared for if the staff is good. That's why I'm buying a Trek. You won't find my name on the web page in the employee or owner bios but it's still My Trek Store.