Dumbest thing a customer has said to you (shop guy)

beer.

beer.

Active member
"these boots don't feel tight enough"

"thats because you need to buckle them, sir."

"your machine chewed the hell out of my board. I demand a refund"

"our machine doesnt touch the top of the boards. that is clearly due to wear and tear." "I want my money back NOW"

"what is emmay reeka?"

"thats emerica"

Sorry saw the other thread and had to make this. wish I could remember more. Prob the worst part was just having people come in and abuse your bootfitting expertise, then bail and buy the boots you picked out online for $20 less. fuck those cheap motherfuckers. especially this one guy from texas, helped him for over 3 hours, and helped him pick out a good restaurant in town. yeah im bitter.
 
never worked in a shop but the last comment is a big one, about trying it in the store then buying online. there was a thread about it on another forum and after that I realized what a bad move it is to do something like that. maybe if you just go look at the product then leave, but if you spend time in the store and getting help go ahead and buy from them.
 
one time this lady was renting for her kids, and we were out of his size so I told her there arent any left, so she says to me, "I come here every year, cant u just get them for me" but in a really bitchy tone, i kept on telling her we dont have any in stock but she didnt get it
 
i dont work at a shop but i heard someone say this at a shop:

woman-can you adjust the bindings on these skis for me? (holding a pair of straight skis with outdated bindings)

ski shop guy-no, they're too old and could be dangerous to ski on. Where'd you get them?

woman-at a rummage sale for 75 cents
 
they arent even saving that much money, with shipping it comes down to you save 15 bucks and are a piece of shit.

seriously I worked at a shop where we prized customer service. I kid you not many adults obviously liked me more than their own kids. when you spend upwards of 2 hours fitting someone for boots, you get kind of pissed when they waltz out with a "thanks for your help, I might return and purchase that pair of (absolutely perfectly fit for me and perfect for my budget/skier type boot)" after a while you learn to smell the online shopper immediately. I have many other instances of when people said stupid shit, and they all involve the online shopper trying to claim they know more about skiing than I do. you don't know how many times i had people insisting upon nordica even though it was an awful boot for them. one time I flat out told a woman, who insisted her son, who was a good skier, get a pair of 1 buckle salomon bucket boots because they matched his skis, to go ahead and waste her money but not on my account, cause I wasn't gonna be responsible for him spending another 3 years sliding down groomers.

one time I had a person tell me "trick skis are for getting air, thats why I ride snowblades." I told him you could get more air on twins and he laughed at me.

yeah I'm a little bitter, but i think for the most part the job is awesome, you get to convince people to buy the shit you wish you had the money for. its like shopping for yourself but you dont get the product, but you also dont spend the money. and if you can convert the occassional skier to a twintipper, you get that nice warm feeling.
 
oh and in response to the other thread, what do you expect when you go to dick's? obviously dick's is not a ski shop, dont get pissed at the poor dude working there just because he, like 99 percent of everyone else, would be more likely to guess that twin tips are a type of q-tip that replaced the outdated single-tip back in 1940.
 
Now that I have a job and stuff I don't mind hitting up a local shop and spending a little more. But when I was younger and broker if they werent going to play ball I was gone. But most good shops will cut a deal with you on last year's stuff anyway just to get it out of there, and I don't care about having the latest and greatest.
 
well i dunno which thread this should be in, but i thought it was pretty dumb when the guy training me was like "oh center mounting? whats that for?"
 
There needs to be more shop people like you. Actually, I have had very few bad experiences with shop people here in Calgary, all the dudes at Fresh, Mountain Bike City and most of the ppl at Ski Cellar are good.

About bootfitting, that is absolutely retarded. I buy a lot of shit online (skis/bindings mostly) because I know what I want, then I pay the shop retail price for mounting. But for boots and outerwear, I pay retail in the shop for the bootfitting benefit.

 
understandable. that would piss me off too. I went into shops to try on spks last year, but i didn't waste anyones time, i just tried them on real quick..and they were like 400 bucks there and 220 online..soo..you know.

 
So this one time an asian lady came in and bought some skis...then like a week later she came in yelling and such...so we were like calm down what is the issue? she replied in a thick asian accent...I ski and i hit car! wowowow we said...what were you doing sking in the parking lot?
 
oh man where do i begin?

could it be the constant repetitive chant of the eastern europeans saying "you give me better price" or the freeskier hack that just bought a pair of scratches asking me "what are the cheapest boots you have?" or there's always the great customer that's still skiing in his rear entry boots on his brand new carving skis saying "there's nothing wrong with my boots" and we're talkin salomon SX91's or maybe i'm wrong, i especially love the "i'm leaving for Whistler tomorrow and i need new ski boots" then im stuck fitting some of the worst bunyons(sp?), bone spurs and ankle bones you've ever seen.

why can't all my customers be like my favourite customer that says "Rob, I'm going cat skiing in a month. Set me up with the works." This way they can break in the boots properly and i can do whatever fine tweaking needs to be done.

 
me: "ok we can go another size up to give him a little room to grow"

customer: "no you go two sizes"

me: "no i won't do that"

customer: "I AM CUSTOMER AND YOU DO AS I SAY"

me: "well you can deal with someone else but you will get the same answer"

long story shit, asshat went through 3 bootfitters and left with the properly sized boot

 
i was standing in the bootfitting area... tall middle aged dude with pants up to his nipples shirt tucked in and glasses with safety string atached come striding up and starts picking out boots... grabbing each one and trying to squash the top of the boot to toe... trying to detirmine stiffness.

me: hi how you going? need some help with boots?

tall dude: yea i havnt been skiing in 7 years and im going down this season for a bit and i need a really stiff boot.

me: ok not a problem, how would you describe your skiing ability?

tall dude: been 3-4 times, pretty much can ski anything... got any race boots?

me: the highest flex index we have in the store is a 120... thats the atomic r;11 race boot... the next stiffest would be the salomon race boot which is around 115, but can i recomend the lange freeride boot with a 110 flex cause it has the same function as a stiff boot but is more comfortable

tall dude: nup i wanna race boot (reaches to the shelf pulls off the atomic boot checks size and straps it on.)

the tall dude stands up, on one foot bouncing up an down in the boot... not getting any flex at all btw

tall dude: nup not stiff enough

me: you have to take into consideration that it will be stiffer out in the snow cause of cold weather.

tall dude: nope not stiff enough... too much padding also.

long story short... i put him in the nordica doberman 100's which i think feel like a stiffer boot... didnt think those were stiff enough either... so we ended up looking at the nordica brochure and he tried to get me to order a pair of teh 190 flex dobermanns (same boot used at world cup level, not stocked in australia) insisted that the world cup boot was wat he wanted. i finally convinced him to drop to the 150 flex boots, which he ordered in.

boots come in later that week, i wanst there so someone else fits him

he comes back two weeks later complaining of welts and bruses on the shin, plus shin splints (no fucking suprise) demanding a refund

 
also loved the little race kids comming to the store to buy race skis and claimed they had deals and sponsorships with the companies...

one even started name dropping the atomic reps name right he came into the store... needles to say the guy had no idea who he was.
 
shouldn't have even sold him the boots. i usually tell people to go somewhere else to get the wrong boot.

now your shop has to put in the time to make that boot soft enough for him or take it back and now you've gotta try and sell a used boot.

as for the racers, i usually put them in their place right away

 
ye he was the pretty uncompromising about how stiff he wante dhis boot to be, our store has a non refund policy on used goods... so it was $950 made an he couldnt really argue that we misdirected him.

the only thing yo can do to make the boots softer is to remove both of the screws at the back of the boot reducing it to a 120 flex roughly...which we did.

i did feel sorry for the guy having used those boots when i used to race, i did everything to convince him not to get them.

direction can only go so far... the end of the day they will choose wat they want.
 
why do you care so much if people shop online? Its their money that they earned. Yes you helped them out, but you are getting payed by the hour, not by how many items you sell right? Yea, your boss(not you) may be losing business but maybe he will realize one day that he is charging way to much. Its pretty common sense to get an item for way cheaper delivered to your door

and reggyboy that story is funny as shit.
 
because you feel as though you completely wasted your time. personally i'd rather be doing boot work or something productive rather than fitting someone that's going buy online.

that type of customer is pretty easy to spot. you just have to ask them the right questions. once you find out their true intentions, customer service takes a steep dive and my effort goes to making them leave.

 
where to begin...

not to be racist but theres always the groups of asians that come in and only talk amongst themselves. "you have mogul ski?"

people that buy top of the line skis with a piece of shit 30 year old boot.

people that argue that you are wrong and "ski" or "skiing" magazine gear guide is right. we actually got a copy of the skiing gear guide this year in the shop and they have a handy tearout page that lists the top skis for ski types so they can come in and harass employees.

parents that think there is a big difference in junior skis other than the graphics.

women that want the boot/ski/outerwear to match regardless of comfort/skier type
 
I had a guy ask me "Y'all have those get sticks for me"? We said "what" and he said "you know those sticks, that make ya get"

He was referring to poles

We also had a lady return her skis after one run because "her brakes were'nt working right" - i said what your ski fell off and the brake did not come out to stop your ski? she said " no - the button on these ski poles is'nt engaging my brakes to slow me down"

I laughed directly in her face
 
some chick " Yea i am a pretty experienced skier. I would say probably expert. I have been on skis for like 25 years. I just have one question. Do i just put the boots on and put the skis on? Or how do I do it? Can i just fit them myself? Or do I have to go somewhere?
 
I was shell checking a customer and they start complaining that the boot feels too hard and uncomfortable. I was shell checking another customer and they said they were way more comforatble then their rentals.

Every single mexican that comes to whistler and argues with you for an hour for a 10% discount, then pays with a black (unlimited) American Express
 
unfortunately i could see myself doing that. if they were rated 2/5 its not just because they were the wrong ski for the guy, its because its not a good ski.
 
It's funny how both the 'dumbest thing a shop guy has ever said to you' thread and this thread are pretty much identical
 
I dunno, its just something about them...the funny thing is, all the people that do that are always nicely dressed, middle-aged and obviously have a good deal of money, from the stories they told me while i fitted them.

they also are generally more knowledgeable than the average customer. that I am not used to, because all the knowledgeable customers ask for the people that have been there for a while.

the final realization comes when you put them in the perfect boot for them, and they ask to try on another. that is a major hint that they arent here to buy

these are good stories, I completely forgot my biggest annoyance, the money-saving cheapwad that tries to get me to put his kids in boots 3 sizes bigger. the used JR boots we sell are cheap enough as is. and dont get me started on the male foot size phenomenon. I've always been a size 12-13 so i never realized how guys somehow attach manliness to the size of shoe you wear, and will lie through their teeth that they are 3 sizes larger.

in general you meet a lot of funny customers working at a shop, skiing is a sport that attracts a lot of oddballs. like guys always try to give off an aura of being skilled and knowledgable. my fav type of customer was always the one who didn't know a lot and would admit it, but knew a little, and was an improving skier looking to get some quality gear. it was always fun explaining gear to them, and seeing them get all excited about something and learning new shit.
 
it's mainly about their general demeanor while dealing with them.

usually i can look at a foot and right away know the exact boot for them provided they have not lied to me about their ability. i'll have a customer in a perfect boot for them in 3 boots at the absolute max. after the second i get suspicious. once they find a set they like, you simply tell them, "ok im just going to heat these up so we can mould them to your feet" if you didn't know by then you do after that.

another thing about the online guys is that people in the shop will recognise them. if they come in 3 times and don't buy anything, don't help them because chances are they're not buying.

they i look at it with the shops i've worked in, is that if you're not there to buy then you're there to steal and this has been proved

 
dude, I would never want to have you help me in a ski shop. You sound like an arrogant typical salesman who will do whatever possible to scam me into buying something.

Fuck you for saying that everytime I walk into a shop, I HAVE to buy something. Its my fucking money, Ill do whatever I please with it. Quit trying to blame everything on the customer when really it may be your sheisty business operations. Most people dont like to waste their money on products that have been marked up 200%. So what if someone comes in three times and doesnt buy shit. Just because I walk into a store, does not neccesarily mean im going to buy something right then and there. Alot of the time, Im just going in to see if there is anything new/different and to kill some time. If I see a good deal I might, but the problem with stores is they want you to buy all kinds of shit that you dont really need.
 
No absolutely not lying i swear, i has seen all kinds of messed up stuff in the rental shop, we had one guy fall, snap his K2 four in half, and slice open his nutsack. At another Christy's in Denver where i used to work, thy told me about a lady who fell on a look heelpeice, and had to get stitches in her asshole.

You meet the biggest idiots alive renting skis in Colorado
 
interesting, I was wondering because I'm planning on buying my own pair of boots this season, as opposed to renting them new like I usually do. I do plan on buying them from the shop I try them on at. that foot size ego is funny, I have no problem saying I have pretty small feet, they're at least 4 sizes smaller than my friends who are of about the same height and age as me. it runs in the family.
 
you mean you wouldn't want to have a really knowledgeable person help you?

lol, anything to scam the customer right? sorry, few ski shops are in the business of 'scamming' people.

you dont have to buy something. but you have never fit someone for boots, sometimes it can take hours. the person isnt just checking out new products, they are abusing a store in order to save a couple bucks on a product that is impossible to buy online without trying it out first.

also, you really cant find the shit at my shop for that much cheaper online, especially factoring in shipping. sure, it might cost a little bit more. but part of that was to cover the cost of me helping you find that product in the first place. the markup isnt even close to 200 percent.

your shop must be terrible if they try to sell you all kinds of shit you dont need. I dont even know what that would entail...rustproofing, extended warranty? its not a fucking car dealership.

you really missed the point on every level. if a patient, composed person like me gets angry at this, a shit-talking kid like you would get furious about it if you were in the same situation.
 
HAHA you just made my day man, thank you. So, you work out of CB right? You must get mad Texans who think they are hot shit and are actually retarded.
 
i wouldnt say thats necesssarily true, I go to ski shops all the time to check out gear and stuff and i might check a ski a few times at one shop and check every other shop a couple of times before i buy somthing
 
pipe munky, i can see your pain if most of your income is commission based. when i try on boots, i will tell the guy first thing that i'm going to buy boots online. i'm not gonna pay $500 for boots when i can get the same ones for $200 online. however, the last time this happened, the guy still spent a lot of time with me (of course there was no one else in the store), and i ended up dropping him a twelver a week or so later after my online purchase arrived at my doorstep.

is that kosher, or would you still be pissed?
 
as long as you're telling the guy straight up and there's no other customer's in the store i'll help. there's nothing more frustrating than spending time with people that have no intentions of buying and having people that want to buy walk out (yes i have seen it).

sorry if i came off as a dick but the whole online boots thing has driven me nuts for years. i've had people come back wanting us to take back boots they bought online because they were not the right size and we sized them up, i've had to do hours upon hours of boot work to boots that were bought online (sure they're paying but they're not paying me).

 
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