Thanks for buying half a bike
After I got my bike fixed, a coworker asked me whether or not the people at the bike shop reacted to the total for the repair, whether there was some show of sympathy while they swiped my card or whether it was just a nonchalant triple-digit gesture with a deadpan stare. No one there said “wow, that’s a lot” at the time, but I guess I did get a little sympathy for spending a whole freaking lot. I just got a thank you card.
There a few things odd about the card. Firstly, they got my address right. For whatever reason (I guess this is the reason), Roswell Bicycles collects more information than Radio Shack when you buy something big, and I was too distracted by the fact that my bike was in pieces to protest or care. After I got the receipt, I noticed that they spelled that ridiculous pseudo-French part of my address as “Calybre,” but I forgot to correct it on subsequent visits. The address on the postcard is handwritten, so I don’t know if it’s fixed in the system or not, but at least someone there has it figured out well enough.
Secondly, the card reads, “Thank you for choosing Roswell Bicycles for your recent purchase of a bicycle.” I technically only bought half of a bicycle, but whatever. I don’t know if I crossed some kind of threshold in their computer system (I spent another $40 for a new set of fenders last week) or if it was just the level of repair that earned me a semi-appropriate thank you card. I hate to think that the people buying the two or three hundred dollar bikes don’t get thanked, so I guess this is manual process.
Lastly, beneath the printed thanks from the proprietor, Todd Kaib, there’s a handwritten signature from Henry. I couldn’t tell you the names of any of the people who worked on my bike, but I remember Henry: he’s the midget. The guy with the dark hair and the Indian looking guy seemed to handle most of the labor, and the tall skinny guy took the parts orders for both the fork and the fenders. The only time I even saw Henry during this ordeal was when I picked up the fenders last Thursday. I don’t know if he’s in charge of thank you notes or if he just sent it out since he was the last one to touch my record. Whatever the case, thanks Henry, and thanks Roswell Bicycles. This card gets me 20% off and free labor for the next thing I buy, so I guess I need to find a way to spend some more money.