I had a terrific experience last week at Olympic Schwinn Fitness Center (OSFC), and I want to…read moreconvey that here. Note that my review is biased based on the personnel I interacted with during my visits--you may have dissimilar outcomes with different store staff.
I called OSFC on Friday, August 20th, around 5:00pm, asking how late they were open. The phone was quickly answered and a helpful employee told me they were open until 8pm. (Please check with them though--their hours may have changed since this review was written.) I also asked how much an estimate would cost--he replied that estimates were free.
I drove up and down Coolidge between 9-mile and 8-mile, but could not seem to find it. I called again from the car, and the same gentleman answered the phone quickly, and let me know they were near "the KFC, just south of 9-mile." Already I had called this place twice, and both times was met with excellent, helpful service.
The parking lot is a bit tricky, because there's only one entrance and exit off of Coolidge, and if you miss it you have to turn around and go back. During my first visit I parked in a spot near the store entrance--on my second visit, I missed the entrance, and just pulled into the KFC a few doors down. (This is an acceptable solution if you miss the entrance and the KFC lot isn't busy.)
I needed an old early-70s Schwinn fixed up, and as I rolled it into the store, I was immediately met by a helpful fellow who started to help me immediately--but the phone rang. He asked if it was okay to field the call (I said yes), excused himself, and then dealt with the customer. Because I had such difficulty in finding a reputable bike shop, I went into this place thinking I would write a review for it, be it good or bad. While the clerk was on the phone, I surveyed the shop: clean, brightly lit, with a large selection of bikes, parts, and accessories. Then my attention turned to the phone-call (very nosy of me, I know!). It seemed the caller was having difficulty shifting gears, and he blamed this on the service he received at OSFC. However, the clerk was extremely friendly and professional with him, and replied that although they in no way touched the gears on his bike, the caller could bring the bike in and they'd fix the problem for free. I was happy to hear that--in the event something did not come out right--they stood by their work.
After finishing the call, the clerk dealt with me again, surmised that I wanted the bike cleaned and outfitted with new tires, and then gave me an estimate of around $130 to clean the bike, and put new tubes and tires on, as well as make sure everything else was working. He said he could have it done by Noon the next day. This was agreeable to me, and I dropped the bike off (receiving a ticket stub to claim the bike).
Around 4pm the next day I came back. (Side note: this was the day of the Woodward Dream Cruise, and although traffic wasn't terrible, I couldn't find any parking spots, missed the entrance, and had to park at the KFC.) The clerk and owner were there, and perhaps saw me drive by, because as I came into the shop the clerk was wheeling the bike out to me. It looked great! We shot the shit for a while, I paid via credit card, and I left as a satisfied customer.
Now, I could've bought new tires, tubes, and anything else the bike needed, and the materials to clean it up and such for less than $130. However, I considered this an excellent and reasonable price, especially since I knew qualified technicians were taking care of it, and if I were to have any problems in the future, they'd stand by their restoration work.
I heartily endorse OSFC, and really encourage you to go there for your bike needs. Get an estimate--if you don't like it, then leave. I'm not associated with the store in any way, but I appreciated their helpfulness, their friendliness, and their commitment to making bike repair a pleasant experience.
This is my first review on Yelp, and I'm only writing it because I had a lot of difficulty finding out a good bike shop through the internet. I googled "bike repair 48025" (my zip code), I tried Yahoo!, yellowbook.com, all sorts of things, but there wasn't a lot of information out there. I finally went with OSFC because it had two positive reviews (at the time), and no negative reviews. I am adding my two cents because I want good businesses to succeed. I will definitely go back to OSFC for any cycling needs, and I hope they continue to offer outstanding service for years to come.