MYSTERY SHOPPER | CORBY AND KETTERING SPONSORED BY
Rouleur Ltd publishes the acclaimed cycling magazines Rouleur and Privateer. These are sold exclusively through subscription and IBDs only
Nerves of st
Famed for its former industrial prowess, Corby is now perhaps best known in the bike world for its indoor skate park occupying a former chicken- processing factory. Mystery Shopper journeyed to the Midlands pre-Christmas, once more seeking a women’s bicycle to present on December 25th…
Wilco
HARD TO miss with a large, well-placed store, the bright-yellow Wilko wasn’t on Mystery Shopper’s original hitlist, but as a motoring and cycling hybrid it’d be rude not to check out this retailer’s skills in the cycling department. Early signs reminded me much of the poorer visits to
Halfords branches where staff are barricaded behind the counters. Approaching the till area, staff did seem reluctant to come from behind the counter to assist, but one eventually did. Unfortunately, the assistant wasn’t really able to
The winner of Mystery Shopper will receive Star Store Status and will win a display, magazine and book bundle from Rouleur Ltd – purveyors of exceptional cycling literature
14 BIKEBIZ JANUARY
engage me in the bikes on display, offering very little more than your average first time buyer’s basic knowledge of a bike. Conversation stalled many times as one word
answers to my queries became the norm and it quickly became apparent that some key knowledge needed to sell a bike well was missing. Mystery Shopper suspects the assistant may have been more into the car side of business than cycling.
Glovers Cycles
THE EXTERIOR may not have been as bright and eye catching here as the Wilco store just down the road, but the cheery assistant more than made up for this with a hearty welcome. Observing the elderly staffer serve a prior customer, the assistant rattled off good knowledge on specific tyre sizes above and beyond your everyday sale, showing depth of knowledge. With a slightly more basic query, Mystery Shopper
didn’t feel as though he really tested the helper. It was unfortunate that, with the mention of bikes on the shop floor, the serving gentleman digressed in his sales pitch to me, discussing in depth price hikes from suppliers and other unrelated groans, which we can’t help but feel would lose most customers. Getting back on track a little and perhaps suspecting the type of internet-savvy customer that might end up making a purchase from an internet retailer, it was recommended that I avoid buying online. The pitfalls of doing so were demonstrated on a workshop bicycle shaped object being tinkered with on the shop floor.
BIKEBIZ.COM
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