having had a quick scan through this thread, i thought i'd give a shop owners opinion
discount, sometimes i mind other times i offer it.
so lets clarify it, bike clubs, military, nhs etc, they get discount, don't even have to ask for it.
random people who ask for discount that i don't know and have never met i say "what do i get for the discount?!", "what?", "well if we are bartering what do i get for giving you a deal?!" said with a smile and wink type of attitude.
that usually puts people on the back foot, it's not that i refuse to give them discount or that i won't in that case it's just trying to make people realise that maybe they are not in anyway entitled to it.
i tend to look at things, i'm quite observant and i have a big window out front so i can always see what car they pull up in, so when a local Esso worker (process operators are on about £80,000 a year) turns up in his 2022 AMG Merc and asks for discount on a £30 sale i ask "why? can you get me a deal on diesel at the local station?!"
the truth is people have been told that other people are always trying to rip you off, it's not the case, the average bike shop does not make a fortune, i know i don't, i pay myself £350 a month on average (although the shop pays for a lot of stuff for me, like phone/van/fuel etc) so i'm clearly not minted, so when a rich or well paid guy asks me for discount it's not about the price, it's about getting one over on the shop guy most of the time.
other regular good customers get a certain amount of discount, so i don't consider it a dirty word as such it's just a case of don't be a dick about it, if the guy behind the counter says no then maybe it's because you have passive aggressively threatened mail order, maybe he can't authorise it himself, maybe he remembers something you did that pissed him off last time you were in. or maybe the particular product you are asking for is a crappy mark up item, Hope parts for example are way less profitable than Topeak, but Topeak is not as profitable as unbranded cheap tyres etc.
but in truth maybe you simply shouldn't get discount, it's not a right, it's literally down to the person you deal with, the problem is people expect it with nothing to reciprocate it.
my view is that i don't mind people buying mail order, but be realistic, if you can't get what you want mail order and your local shop has exactly what you need then just buy it, take the hit that it'll cost a little more than mail order (but might just be the recommended price) because the shop bought one of those items not 500 to get a discount from the supplier, also the shop guy then knows you're not a dick and will be open to a bit of a deal the next time because you didn't make it awkward this time.
also the biscuit thing, biscuits are not a substitute for money, it's nice to get some chocolate digestives every now and then but it shouldn't be as a way of saying "but it should be free as i got you biscuits"
it's not rocket science, don't be a dick!
