Has anybody ever had a favorite lhs but stop going because something changed?

Can you be more descriptive about the before and after at the Local Hobby Shop?

Andrew

It sounds like you are describing the realities of life.  As you re-visit those places and things that were familiar at some point in life you'll tend to notice the differences.  The school will seem smaller, the LHS smells different, the balsa wood is in a different place and the people, who took over from the old guy and gal that ran the place for 35 years don't know you from Adam.  It really is up to you to bring them up to speed, in your case as to what their service level is.  They likely have the inventory but not the skill set, yet, to provide you the service.  Give them a chance, engage them, buy something small and become familiar to them. You may find that they want to bend over backward to help you, they just don't know how.

 Seeing that the closset train shop is 65 miles one way.Oh and another thing I live in the charoltte area.The black hole when it comes to model train stores.So I don,t have alot of choices here.

You have two choices as I see it one as described above and 2 internet the big box train stores. Which even after shipping probably cheaper than he is but you don't get to see and handle what your buying. It's a decision you have to make. My local hobby shop which I have never been in as it I'm claustrophobic is packed so tight you have to turn side ways to get in and I'm told it's retail period even if Lionel is discounting a item/set ( nascar to about 1/3 ) he still is full price on it.  

You Betcha! And it's still a "Bugger Bear". I had a fantastic LHS for 30 plus years. It was until the son forced his father into retirement. The very next month all the trains were gone and it's been RC planes & cars. Now when I need my monthly supplies my ride takes me to a general hobby store 38 miles away. I tried Dial-A-Ride last month. The trip took over 6 hours. I need a dependable, first class on line supplier. I'm not afraid of the S/H like some. 

Typically speaking when there is a new owner, the old owner trains the new owner by working with him for a few weeks, this in most cases is part of the contract. As such, the old owner introduces the new owner to his customers and vise verse. Customers in most cases will be aware there is a transition. But this is not always the case.

99% of people involved with the model RR hobby know how fussy model train customers are, hence a new owner most likely will try to provide even better service than the old one if not at least the same services.

As mentioned above, customers can give the new owner a polite feedback as to what they need/expect from him. It take a while for new owners/old customers to get to know each other  and be in "synch"

Having said all this "stuff", there are some very silly new owners who will destroy their new business in a few months and even a few weeks due to bad service/bad attitude.....I have seen it happen to a big hobby shop in Mountain View area, California...What a shame!

Lost 3 long time LHS's in the past few years in my area....

One was a train store that had started out as part of an old appliance store and grew to be a large Midwest Lionel dealer.. great owner passed away unexpectedly....

Second was an all purpose hobby shop that carried a little of everything.. RC.. trains.. models.. rockets.. paints.. tools.. just a good old hobby shop.. closed after @70 years.. the store couldn't support all the family members that were drawing salaries after dad and mom retired..

Last one a perfect example of a new owner killing a very well established train store .. this place was great.. post war.. current.. track.. accessories.. all well stocked and well displayed.. old time owner who knew trains inside and out and loved to help people.. new owner and his sons were clueless OOB in about a year ..

All of these places were within a 30 min drive .. one was in my town less than a mile from my home...sad but true....

I haven't quit going to the store just quit going on a certain day because a specific sales person worked that day.

Yes, it is called an 1,100 mile move. They were terrific to deal with, but you have to support the local guy.

There were two locally.  One went out of business completely (Iron Horse), and the other (AB Charles) moved a couple of times, but seemed to lose interest in selling train stuff, or much of anything else.  Oh, I forgot to mention, the second one just disappeared one day.  Here today, gone tomorrow so-to-speak.

I stopped going to my local train store due to the door would not open...........   it closed down for good early this year.   Funny.......  but not really.

I do understand what you are saying though,  the customer service / personal relationship with regular customers is so very important for a niche business like a train store.

Mark

Same here, Nativefl.  I stopped going to my local train shop when it closed.  It was doing great business, but the owner wanted to pursue some religious commitment or other -- I didn't ask for details.

There's a general hobby shop in town, but its train section is very small.  And that's it.  Everything else is train shows and the internet.

I like to thank you guys for your replys.I get ticked off hearing about a new owner who comes in.And self destruct a nice train store.My guss is some new owners take over a good shop.Thinking they are gonna make some fast money.They get rid of things that some of old customers would buy.This is were things start going down hill for them.

Yeah - they disappeared.

All but one of the best local area stores closed. The nearest real hobby shop with trains (Tacoma Trains) is about 50 miles from me.

There's another one that is open 7 days a week in a town about 100 miles away I go to from time to time, and they have a good stock and great prices on some stuff (it's also tax free in that state as it's in Oregon), but the guy who runs the model train counter keeps me from going more often than I do. He never remembers anyone so you have to have the same conversation with him every time even when you tell him you've had this discussion before, and he always launches into how everyone into O scale narrow gauge is doing it wrong and you hear the same stuff every single time. He has an opinion on everything, so I often think twice about what I'm wearing when I walk into the place (one time I walked in my NASA jacket and he launched into why NASA is no good anymore and how his dad had been an engineer on the Apollo program. None of it was correct) as I don't want to give him any new topics.

He won't take a hint when you're trying to go and my wife once grabbed my arm and said, "We need to go" and started dragging me out of there (for which I was very thankful) and the guy didn't get the hint even then. I've even been tempted to walk in and claim to only be able to speak German, to avoid talking with him. I won't go there unless there's something specific I want that they have.

I was in the area just yesterday because they had something I wanted badly. I got a screaming deal (an AMS On30 coach for just $89) but I so badly hate dealing with this guy as he's so annoying, I hardly ever go there. I've pondered several times writing them to say he's why I don't go there each time I'm in town, which is very true.

You should write them because this guy.If he has a big mouth like that.He,s gonna cross the wrong person and they will fire right back at him.And it could become very bad and end up with the police geting involed.This sort of thing is bad for the shop and bad for the customers to.The owners need to know this and maybe they can have a little chat with him.
         

Sounds like your LHS owner is a lonely dude that likes to hear himself talk. If this happened to me I would say on my way out, "it was enjoyable speaking with you, I can tell that you are an intelligent man and maybe the worlds foremost authority on the hobby, got to go, see you soon".

Well today he is at home having his store go under water.Oh just in chase the store was in monroe not charlotte n.c.I don,t want any body geting the wrong idea.I didn,t go to his shop all the often.He had some off the wall prices.And even back then people would look at him.He wants that much for a lionel train this guys nutts.I,ll go to mail order and get it that way.

Yes years before Wild Bills. A LHS that always had a good inventory of 3r trains was handed down to the sons who slowly turned it into a toy store. Yes it's still a hobby shop with some trains but nothing like it use to be. I don't even go there anymore.

You should write them because this guy.If he has a big mouth like that.He,s gonna cross the wrong person and they will fire right back at him.And it could become very bad and end up with the police geting involed.This sort of thing is bad for the shop and bad for the customers to.The owners need to know this and maybe they can have a little chat with him.
         

I think they know. I just looked them up on Yelp and he was mentioned in a few reviews. Apparently the other employees are the opposite, in that ignoring customers and acting like they hope you'll go away in other sections of the store is a common complaint.

If you're familiar with the Portland, Oregon area, I bet you know which store and which person I'm talking about.

I really don't need a 'clubhouse' mentality when I go to a hobby shop. The guy who owns Tacoma Trains is a nice guy and I'll talk with him when he wants as i don't feel strained, delayed or uncomfortable when talking with him. The guy he has helping out I run into at op sessions every now and then so I'll talk with him as well, but it's always quick small talk with either of them unless I'm asking them to order something or asking if they'll be getitng something new in. I like how they interact with people, but I quickly tire of the 'holding court' mindset that so many old-school hobby shop had or still have. Those types of hobby shop in my immediate area all went out business.

Shop closed to owner retiring

Well, the three train shops with O scale on the west side of Chicago, that used to be stopping points when attending Wheaton.  Hill's closed, Chicagoland, that had O scale, became three rail (like a zillion other shops...O scale shops are scarce), and the third one, farther west, moved to a smaller store in the same shopping center, and seems to carry much less O scale.  There is a lot less incentive to visit these when in Chicago.

I remember a shop in St. Louis, not far from the airport, that had O scale...it closed.

Funny you should mention that, coloradohirailer, I drive the 45 miles or take the train to go to Chicagoland Hobbies instead of a local Hobbytowne USA just because the former still has everything I might want as compared to a few pieces of fasttrack, train sets and a fair amount of HO - no offense meant to the HTUSA - it's just not what I need. When there was a LHS in Woodstock, I went there to support his efforts although it was MSRP. I figured that was like a fee for my browsing and our chatting. But he eventually closed. These days I am surprised at what I'll find that fits the layout at a place like Blaine's Farm and Fleet and certainly, Menards. 

My good LHS closed, and he was a friend of mine.  I understood his reasons.  Now all I'm left with is a LHS that is run by a guy that is nice enough, but unless you think the same as him you'll get a mouthful, so I avoid going.  Now I just order everything online from the big stores back east since there is nothing here in the southwest.  It's sad because I love going to the store and looking otherwise.