my local town bike-shop has a A$$HOLE!
so I re-adjusted my E-Bikes brakes today as they were getting loose and ended up throwing off the caliper! so I consult the mighty google to fix it and it got WAY worse! to the point where if I wasn't over 20km it would squeal like a dying pig!
I didn't even make it into town before someone stopped me and suggested I go to the local bike store "Off the Edge Adventure Sports" to get it looked at.
So I went down. I met a nice older guy at the store and after explaining the situation he said he couldn't help me but the other guy could! so the other guy comes out...I explain the situation again and roll the bike forward to show him how bad the squealing is...he Immediately without missing a beat tells me that "I need replacement brake pads" I ask him what he means as they weren't worn down yet and he fires back with "they're corroded" and "the whole a$$ end of the bike needs to be cleaned and redone" he the goes on to tell me I F*cked up my chain by over-greasing and not cleaning it and that things will need replacing and it does not matter what I do to the caliper as it will not shut up without these fixes...he then WITHOUT even looking at it proper says that he's not even going to work on it as its a Hub motor E-Bike!
I asked why not as I had gone there a year or so prior to get work done on it...he said that things changed 6 months ago. I throughout all this have not raised my voice and have remained kind! he made me feel like a child and berated me about the fact that I try to maintain my own bike! when I said to him that I was shown by a bike mechanic how to clean/how often to grease the chain he snapped at me saying "I'm not going to f*cking argue with you lady!" he tells me to bring it to Elphi Cycles in Gibsons. I sadly said that "my bike is my only vehicle and it wasn't safe doing the trip with it screeching like this" whereas he shot back with "not my problem" and went back inside the store leaving my autistic arse feeling awkward and embarrassed outside the store.
I peddled off and came across a guy with a blue mountain bike. Out of curiosity I asked him if he knew how to adjust a bike caliper, he said yes! showed me a trick on how to do it and let me do it myself for the experience! now while its still a tad squeaky when rolling the bike around tight corners its a silent ride! and I feel safer! I offered to pay the kind stranger who refused and went on his way.
Feeling empowered I went back to Off the Edge to talk to him again! he came out after a few minutes of me standing outside (your not allowed to just walk inside) "so your back?" he says I reply yes and calmly told him that "I met a nice gent around the corner who helped my fix the calipers" I rolled the bike back and forth to prove my point as it was silent "that's great good for you" he un-enthusiastically says before turning tail and going back inside, I called out to him saying that "I didn't appreciate his salty attitude earlier on when I came for help" but sadly he was already inside before I could even finish that sentence.
I don't know if you'll ever read this and I don't know your name! but I feel BAD for whoever has to work beside your miserable butt! if you berate and belittle and use scare tactics on everyone who comes seeking help and guidance like you did with me today then I'm SURPRISED that Off the Edge still has customers!