.....went to the Southside Giant Eagle the other day on my beater and forgot a lock (not that you can park a bike anywhere outside anyway). I walked my bike inside by the customer service desk to politely ask if I could lean it somewhere while I grabbed my 1 item. Before I could find anyone to ask, a fat guy in a handicapped shopping cart with no uniform or id of any sort began shouting at me to take it outside. Thinking that he was just some nut I ignored him and kept eyeing around for an employee. Fat guy screams at the manager that I was giving him problems and the manger came over and told me to "get that fucking thing out of here". As I opened my mouth to try to calmly explain the situation, he called the cop over who started yelling at me and asking if I wanted to get a citation. So, what is the point? Clearly, SS giant Eagle hates the bicycles. OK, get it. Why do you gotta be such a giant dick about it? NEVER going back.
ugh. they actually just put a bike rack in last month.
it's to the left of the entrance, and quite nice actually. amazing that before the rack was there, they would let you take it in. now that it's there, they treat you like a turd.
one thing that they told us is that they would put signs up to direct people to the rack. that hasn't happened, and looks like they lost a customer.
Sounds like a job for our Superhero Friends! SupErok and ScottMan
Sounds like a job for our Superhero Friends! SupErok and ScottMan
Quick! To the BatBike!
batman would ride a bent. very true
I hate that store with a passion
Heh, just yesterday I commented how nice it was that Crazy Mocha on the southside had no problem with me brining in my bike to buy a coffee nor did the Regent Square corner store.
I can see how they wouldn't want it to be a trend where everyone is walking their bike through the store, but realistically a bike takes up less space than a shopping cart in the isles. I can only imagine the annoying conversation that occurred after you left.
The mid 40ish guy that works at the Regent Square corner store is a big fan of bikes. I used to bring mine inside the door at set it by the papers, but realized it was a bit of overkill and now just leave it outside by the mural.
I forgot my lock the other day which is the only reason I brought it in. I almost turned around to go back home.
I never lock up there...you'll probably be seeing my bike on the "watch out for me" list soon.
Wow, what a bunch of dicks.
That fat guy is not an employee. He takes the bus from the hill to ss giant eagle and sits there all day being his jaba the hut self. He leaves on the last bus at night. Once saw him mess with a girl registering people to vote, he tried to intimidate. My girlfriend and I told him to f&*k off and he relented. Ask the cop next time, if its the black dude hes usually pretty nice.
Definitely write a letter to giant eagle hq. Let them know they have unofficial security detail harassing customers. They might find that interesting.
All these folks forgetting locks. we should develop a course to teach irreconcilable knots, or lobby for public locking stations priced at a quarter a space.
Perhaps Giant Eagle could work a deal to deduct fuel perks for the cost of parking your bike at their public locking station?
The fat guy got pissed because when he gave me guff I looked at him like he was a can of soup and ignored him completely. lol. The cop was the "mostly nice" one you speak of and he was the biggest donkey out of the bunch. I thought about writing a letter but I decided it better to just let them lose so many customers that they go out of business eventually. 
In Beijing they have little fenced off outdoor bike corrals and some guy stands there to guard your bike. You give him something like $0.04 US (which seems like a fair price in China.. crazy) to watch your bike. There didn't seem to be any sort of valet system though. You still lock your bike up and the guy presumably just watches to make sure you have a proper key to unlock whichever one you pick up. All the bikes I rode there had a built-in O-lock. The kind attached to the seat stays that prevent the rear wheel from rolling. I thought it was a pretty neat system. Don't have to worry about remembering/carrying a heavy U-lock and you still don't have anyone messing with your bike.
Eff the cop then. If he wants a hoagie give him the goodfella special. Oh, its on the house officer.
shitty. is this a police officer or a GE rent-a-cop? I'm pretty sure I've rolled my bike through every aisle of the Sq Hill store, though that was years ago
you should totally take the 3 minutes to send feedback. It might get ignored completely, but honestly most corporations are interested in customer response and experience.
http://www.gianteagle.com/Contact/ContactUs.aspx
or
Giant Eagle, Inc.
Attn: Customer Care Center
PO Box 11591
Pittsburgh, PA 15238-9942
i had trouble with this store years ago, and called central hq and they didn't give me any shit, and they even followed up and told me it was allowed and that they informed the manager there. however, he must've neglected to tell security because i had an incident again later. there was just no where to lock up bikes there outside. don't know if that's changed in recent years.
theres now a bike rack, to the left of the entrance
I'm a bike advocate through and through, but demanding that you be able to walk around a grocery store with a bicycle is silly in my opinion.
"demanding that you be able to walk around a grocery store with a bicycle is silly in my opinion."
i missed that part
I guess I got wrapped up in all the name calling and forgot the original part of the story about asking to lean the bike up from forgetting a lock...
Yeah, it's one thing to be told no, but if you ask politely, you deserve a polite response. This sounds like just more examples of the shitty treatment that people mete out to each other on the roads and off. If you have any ideas about how to change THAT, I would love to help.
most businesses are more than happy to let you bring a bike in for a minute if you're going in to spend money
@Brad-
I'm a bike advocate through and through, but demanding that you be able to walk around a grocery store with a bicycle is silly in my opinion.
*agreed. What I said was:
"to politely ask if I could lean it somewhere while I grabbed my 1 item"
Having spent some time managing a business (and its employees), I've found that there are two very distinct ways that people will approach this:
1. The "good" employee/manager who will follow the letter of the law and say "no" because that's what the rules say and they can't bend the rules for anyone. If you catch them on a bad day, they will be a PITA about it.
2. The good employee who knows the rules well enough, but also understands that some rules can bent at the right moments.
I was always a #2, and preferred employees who were #2 as well.
they have a rack there? I didn't see it last week. Signage would definitely help.
I gathered that that guy in the wheelchair was some sort of "unofficial guard" of sorts. Never had a problem with him, but it seems like he probably takes his "job" a bit too seriously. 
Unfortunately, seems the manager and cop took on the mood of the wheelchair guy instead of being level-headed about it and asking your side of the story.
Really, they should give him a uniform if people are expected to listen to that guy...
patricia, check out this feel good story: http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/southside-giant-eagle-no-bike-racks-can-yinz-do-me-a-favor
