Cyclist Strips To Protest Wal-Mart Bike Ban
A woman in Virginia was prevented from bringing her bike into a Wal-Mart. She protested to the manager, who told her that Wal-Mart sells bicycles, so she couldn't bring hers inside the store. The cyclist then stripped down to her underwear, noting that Wal-Mart sold sunglasses, shirts, shorts, and shoes as well. She left when the manager threatened to call security.
One gets the sense, from reading the story, that the cyclist was spoiling for a fight. Quote: "So I walk into the Wal-Mart and the most evil grandmother I've ever met grabs my arm with her claws and says I can't bring [the bike] into the store." Shopping carts pushed by "bratty kids" and a reference to "underpaid employees" didn't help either.
Where did the real problem crop up? Right here:
So the manager comes out and says I can't bring the bike into the store, so I explain to her that there are safe places for people who drive to lock their cars but there is no safe place for me to lock my mode of transportation. She says that I should have driven there. I told her that I didn't own a car and that my bike was my only form of transportation and I couldn't risk having it stolen. She said ... so I said ... She insisted ... so I told her ... [etc.]Why did the Wal-Mart manager argue with the customer instead of fixing her problem by finding a secure place for her bike?
Some stores let customers bring in bicycles, others don't. That's their prerogative. Commenters on the original story at bikeforums.net say they've left their rides in the lobby, under the eye of a greeter. That was offered to this woman, who was not satisfied. Others point out that surely there was something in the parking lot -- a sign, a cart corral -- to lock the bike to.
The national organization Bikes Belong estimates that 40 percent of all car trips are less than two miles. Cutting down on short trips can make a huge difference in what people spend on gas. Expect more people biking, walking, skateboarding, and scootering to do their errands. They'll need secure places to leave their bikes, boards, and little red wagons. This is the retailer's problem, not the customer's.
The customer is not always right, but they can be wrong and placated, or wrong and aggravated, depending on what you and your employees do. Think about it before you leave an unhappy shopper naked and blogging.
Photo (parking meter with bike loop in Columbia, Mo.) by the Missouri Bicycle Federation via Flickr/CC