The Birthplace of Capitalism

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Here’s a question for you, “Where’s the birthplace of capitalism?”

Does your mind jump to a country? Maybe a city? Are you trying to remember where Adam Smith lived when he wrote Wealth of Nations? Those are possible directions to explore, as are the names of famous financiers, philosophers, economists, and their writings. But through the lens of Better Capitalism those aren’t the directions that lead to the best answer.

Instead, how about we explore and flesh out the best answer through mutual stories? I can start by sharing a story about a recent event in my life, which likely tracks a similar event in your life. Then you think about yours. In this way, hopefully, we not only discern and hit upon the best answer to our question intellectually, but our answer is validated by our respective experiences. My story starts with my beloved bicycle.

My TREK 2100 road bike is a graduation gift from my wife, thirty years ago this past summer in fact. Its third and current CatEye is about flip to 10k miles, it’s had every component except the frame replaced at least once, I’ve earned several sets of scars with it, we’ve been hit by a car, and these are just a sampling of the years clipped into its pedals and on its saddle. Over the decades it’s proven to be a great physical, mental, emotional and spiritual outlet for me. Our deal is that I take care of it, and it takes care of me.

Recently, I tried ignoring that “I take care of it” means checking it over before a ride, including tire pressure. Not that I wanted to skip the maintenance, but my Planet Bike brand floor pump has been giving me trouble for the past couple of months and I just didn’t want to have to fuss with the pump. More specifically, the Presta valve on the dual head wasn’t holding. I just wanted to ride. But a deal is a deal. Eventually, with tires at the right pressure, I headed out but knew I’d have to deal with the failing pump when I got back home and that frustrated me.

Paul on a ride in Atlanta

I was frustrated, not because something was wearing out after 5+ years of faithful service, but because my experience with small consumer products that need repair is that they’re not designed to be repaired, which forces me to toss it out and buy a new one. I’m confident that’s your experience too. In fact, preventing-repair-to-force-a-new-purchase is central to most modern business models. This model is no secret, and I’m increasingly frustrated by its waste and selfishness. This was my mindset as I dismounted my bike, cleaned up and reached for the pump, righteously determined to find someone to fix it rather than by a new one.

After calls to one of my favorite retailers where I bought it, two local bicycle shops, and my professional mechanic, the consensus was the same: “There’s no sense fixing it. Throw it out and buy a new one.” As you might imagine, I didn’t like this consensus. My next step, which maybe in retrospect – just maybe – should have been my first step, was to get on the manufacturer’s website to see if I could send it back to them to be repaired.

On the Planet Bike website I didn’t see any option to return my pump for repair. But wait! What was this on the Products page? “Service parts (free shipping)” read the link. Hmm. Okay, I clicked and . . . lo and behold! I could purchase the dual head replacement part my pump needed for just $6 (again – free shipping). Nice! You don’t sell replacement parts unless the product can be repaired, right? And at $6 a repair weighed in at 1/10^th the cost of a new pump. I was encouraged and started to dial back my frustration. Looks like I’m the guy who’s going to fix my pump.

But I couldn’t find any repair diagram or instructions on the website. So, I picked up my phone and dialed the Contact Us number for clarity on making the repair before believing I was headed for the consumer experience we all deserve. My call was answered with a recorded voice that promised a call back if I left a message and number. Not what I hoped for, but at least my call wasn’t trapped by an impenetrable AI bot guaranteed to prevent me from receiving the simple help I needed. I left my name, question, number, and hung up, hoping for the best.

Planet Bike Crew | Image Credit: PlanetBike.com

The best showed up about an hour later when I received a call back from the recorded voice, Kristin, who confirmed the dual head replacement part was the solution I needed and described how easy it was to make the repair. She also affirmed – twice because I found it hard to believe the first time – free shipping meant free shipping. I thanked her and we hung up. I was encouraged by Kristin’s quiet confidence and went back online to place my order.

The replacement part arrived two days later and I switched out the heads in far less time than it took to write that last paragraph. Yes, it was that easy and fast to infuse my faithful floor pump with new life and to elevate my relationship with Planet Bike from accidental purchaser to admirer. Notice I use the word ‘relationship’ here.

As I thought about this otherwise simple event, the story that emerges isn’t about the surface details of a 5+ year old floor pump that doesn’t owe me anything, my search for a fix and victory stumbling across an inexpensive solution, or connecting with an exceptional customer service professional. (Neither is there any classic economic lesson here about lost opportunity costs or the efficiencies of throwing away the old pump and ordering a new one from Amazon.) Rather, the story that emerges is about the relationship building somebody at Planet Bike gave thought to years ago when they committed to designing, selling and supporting products that are long-lasting, dependable, and could be easily repaired by the consumer to remain long-lasting and dependable.

Does my story here line up with any story of yours? Have you had any consumer experience – be it a product or a service – that led to a mutually beneficial or a failed relationship? Of course you have and that’s why you can answer the question through your own lived experience. Capitalism is born – and reborn – every day with every relationship we create. Capitalism done well is born through every mutually beneficial relationship. Capitalism done poorly is born through every selfishly motivated relationship. This is why we often repeat the insightful observation of Rev. Dr. Kenneth J. Barnes, “We have the capitalism we create.”

Image Credit: PlanetBike.com

More About Planet Bike

We create the capitalism we want by entrepreneurs creating and consumers supporting companies that provide the kind of consumer experience Planet Bike provides. Being curious and interested in the Planet Bike “why” and “how” I called back to talk with Kristin. After explaining my consumer experience and saying that I’d like to share some Planet Bike insights and lessons with others interested in creating a better capitalism, she agreed to tell me more.

A little about the history

Planet Bike opened in 1996 by a guy named Bob Downs, who formerly worked at TREK. In many ways, Planet Bike began as a social experiment that dedicated itself to doing business in a different way. Instead of being just another company that develops and sells products with profits as its only end goal, Planet Bike wanted to help bring about positive change for people, their communities, and the environment. This is the stuff of relationships.

Social experiments aside, their business goal has always been to make innovative, high quality, and practical bicycle accessories. Some 30 years on they appear grounded in their goal, as evidenced by not just the array of products they have developed and sell, but by the replacement part for my floor pump.

Kristin, who used to race bicycles and speaks of cycling like it's in her DNA, has been an employee since 2009. Impressively, there’s virtually no employee turnover as the small but mighty staff averages tenures of over ten years. While Bob no longer owns Planet Bike, the long-time current owner has smartly maintained the spirit and culture that feeds Planet Bike’s success, such as making sure someone who bleeds bikes answers the phone and helps a customer solve a problem.

A little about the culture

As Kristin described the culture, I was most struck by the ethics of “enough” and “mutuality” that are part of the Planet Bike ethos. For example, like any company Planet Bike has to make a profit – that’s beyond reasonable debate – but how much profit is enough? The owner has decided enough comes after first providing employees with satisfactory wages, health benefits, and a 401k match.

Regarding mutuality, the owner had decided to incentivize rebuilding of products (like my floor pump) by providing free shipping for parts, even when a high shipping cost causes them to lose money on a particular sale, because the strategy is relationally profitable in the long run. These are two examples of relationship-building tactics the company engages, which result in a better capitalism.

The culture is also united in that everyone is a cyclist at heart and sounds like fun as they help each other (e.g., pitching in to unload container deliveries), help develop local cycle infrastructure (e.g., donating to advocacy groups developing their industry), and help build bike community (e.g., participating in Bike Week with free bike repair and Bacon on the Bike Path).

A little about the success

I didn’t care to ask for certain specifics about a privately held company, but Kristin kindly confirmed some year-over-year performance stats. Their portfolio of products continues to grow as they develop and offer cycle accessories they’d want to use themselves, sales are constant and generally upward, and profits are constant and generally upward. Beyond the usual recipe for a sustainable operation – taking care of their distributors with strong customer service and warranty – Kristin credits their emphasis on people-to-people connection, which circles me back to the relationship building that is the birthplace of capitalism. Done well, it shows. Done poorly, it shows. Either way, we have the capitalism we create.

Wrapping it up

Need some bike accessories or apparel? Check out Planet Bike. Want to know more about running an exceptional company? Check out Planet Bike. Want to see better capitalism in action? Check out Planet Bike. If you have any questions, give Planet Bike a call and if no one answers leave a message. Someone will call you back. Likely Kristin.

[Transparency Notice: No payment, compensation or exchange of any kind has or will be made for this essay about Planet Bike. It’s just a straight story offering an example of capitalism done well.]

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