I want your opinions on ski shops

Ryno

Ryno

Active member
Staff member
What would you guys want in a local ski shop? What sort of factors would make you want to go to the shop? What sort of environment would that shop have to have?

I wanna hear everything and anything. From prices to brands and entertainment and services...what does a good shop need for your business?

Remember I'm talking about a local shop in a ski town, perhaps on hill, either way its purpose it to be THE place to go.
 
brands:

armada

line

k2

salomon

rossi

volki

moment

faction

and more

if its on a ski hill it would be sick to have kinda like a place you can just chill in. couches, tv, fireplace, cool place to hang out after skiing
 
has to sell a wide variety of twins from armada to rossi and anything in between and id like if all skis had a binding that came with them when you buy them but you pay more for the ski to be realistic

it also has to sell packs, gloves, helmets, wax and such
 
waxxxxxx.....and waxing kits...i dont know how many shops ive been into that dont sell waxx..and as far as im concerned that's pretty wack
 
i want my ski shop to have a relaxed..skate shope esc...enviroment. I would love for it to have a lounge room with a sofa and some comfortable chairs with a bunch of ski mags and constant ski movies going on a tv. I would love them to carry all mojor brands of ski equiptment, the store would not have to specalize in freestyle but it would be a plus, have atleast one employee who specalized in freestyle though. And also sponsor many local riders yeah perfect ski shop right there
 
first of all, people who ski as employees.

at my shop, everybody who works there is very knowledgeable about skiing, and are fun to talk to about skiing.

and when i walk in the store they always greet me, they dont just sit behind the desk and look up when i walk in without saying anything.

they always have the newest movies playing there so that's always a bonus.

and about prices, as long as your prices are reasonable, if your shop is dope, i'm sure people wont mind spending a few extra dollars at your place, rather then somewhere else that isnt freeski specific.

for skis i would say get the norm, armada, line, 4frnt, salamon, rossi etc, and maybe like a smaller company such as 9thward and moment skis.
 
oh yea prices....to tell you the truth i have no problem paying what most shops selll their items for, its so much easier for me to drive down to my shop and get what i need right at that moment vs. ordering stuff online and waiting a week for shipping, also when you buy stuff from shops, especially full set ups like skis + bindings, they normally hook it up with freebies, such as free mounts and tunes, and occassionally free gogs or gloves and stuff
 
MAKE SURE YOU CANNOT HEAR THE BUZZING OF THE LIGHTS. I work in a shop and thats all I hear all day long and it makes me want to kill someone.

Also, you have to do good tuning. Everything from a simple, quick tune to a full blow race tune (for skis and snowboards). Food, drink, tv, couches... all key items.

Don't use 70's slatwall displays. Use something that looks modern and attractive. ( gridwall is nice )

also, try and have a common theme in the store, it can't be pieced together... it looks bad.

Make sure things are faced and not crowded.. easier to see and drool over. (and buy)

eh. i'll stop there. I have more insight, but im too lazy now.
 
I've had an idea of my dream shop in my head for ages now. And I'm actually doing a marketing project on it.

But I believe to make the shop successful you have to have competant employees and an amazing atmosphere. Brands are a no brainer, the major ones (IMO) such as 4frnt, armada, k2, line, volkl, dynastar, and rossignol. And then you should also have few smaller, baby brands that you are excited about.

But I digress to my earlier point of competant employees. The shop I work at (although killer and fun to work at) has seen a lack in people who love the sport as much as their customers. This is key. Not only must they love the sport, ride all the time, but they must also be more knowledgeable than 95% of people who walk in the shop door. This means mandatory clinics and even saying if you want a job here then go to a boot fitting certification.

Also the atmosphere is important. What I have in my head is the super casual feel to a store. Racks set up with enough room so you don't feel cramped, an area in the store dedicated to just chillin on couches watching ski movies, and Hip hop, or other great music that you can easily picture riding to.

 
Reggae music on all the time. haha

Really chill staff but really helpful. Easy to ask questions to and knowledgeable enough to answer them for you.

Brands I would want would be Volkl, salomon, k2, rossi, dyanstar, armada, line.

Have lots of outerwear and stuff like osbert said. wax, helmets, packs, gogs.
 
yeah i agree. and it would be cool to have like some of the harder brands to get there like aeryx etc which makes cool shit.
 
a wood log look

ninthward, surface, smaller brands and of course big brands sold there

jerseys

tall tees

sweatshirts

good bootfitters

regular tees

jackets

pants

etc
 
If the shop was on a hill, i'd have a huge self service tech area where people can tune their gear, maybe wax etc for a small cost - but certainly have all the equipment and facilities there so people can make adjustments etc

For serious tech work - remounting, base repairs, edge repairs etc - that would be left to the shop techs

Maybe have a guaranteed turnaround time for repairs to be done so the shop could generate a reputation for having really fact service.

A loyalty system? - Offering an incentive for customers to use the shop for purchases, repairs etc

As said above - knowledgable staff is paramount to the vibe of the store

If the shop was on a hill - Maybe even have a BBQ going on in the day during weekends in the season? Once again to get more people into the store

Competitive pricing but not too cheap as to lose the reputation of offering quality products and great service

Overall you need to be able to trust people that work in the shop..thats the most important - they just need to know their shit.

Fresh marketing and a modern vibe

 
support local brands and stuff you cant find anywhere else

tv with movies on all the time

stickers

good variety of stuff with reasonable prices
 
A great ski shop would be one that covered all the 'bases' of and between hardgoods and softgoods. I find that Ontario SUCKS for ski shops, it's really too bad, and the ski show, as awesome as it is, could be a lot better. Carrying all maj. brands of skis, boots, bindings, and apparell is great but it really comes down to the little stuff I find. I agree, WAX, WAX, WAX!!! And good edge sharpeners, and other little "trinket" tools like that. And I always have the worst time finding Helly Hansen long undies... you'd think it'd be easy.

Also, extra stuff, like ski-brand hats, movies, bags, wallets are cool. I like to brag about being a skier. And decent prices that perhaps work with airmiles! And knowledgeable staff, that's a must. Maybe even offer up different things like telemark skis, hiking gear, or It couldn't get much better than that. I honestly don't care about the atmosphere, it may get me to come in but not necessarily buy anything if the swag is too expensive, not the right brand, not there etc. I'd walk into a basement with flourencent lights selling ski equip easily if they carried such a diverse and great range of ski swag.

Furthermore, catering to ALL of the ski industry is a thing, atmosphere can really affect your buisness. Some kids just getting into skiing may be too intimidated to stick around long or even come in or parents looking to shop for/with their kids may not go in either... atmosphere is the tricky bit. Kids can hang out in the ski lodge if they're cold haha
 
If there is like a chill room or just couches and stuff around and movies/music and stuff goign its cool, so its like a living room. Free stuff is always good like stickers, etc. Lots of brand selection of different products. Environmental sustainability is a good factor as well....i.e. recycled materials from demolition sites used in construction, skylights and big windows for solar gain instead of lots of lights. Good sales frequently/weekly deals are good thing, and changing around displays and stuff every once in a while.
 
yea i love shops with tvs and movies playin it gets u stoked on skiing. it would be cool if u carried a wide variety of skis like moment, faction, maybe even amplid, and armada and line
 
price is probably the biggest factor in a newschool shop

then i would say variety of soft and hard goods, big and small brands, and local stuff too

atmosphere and location, laid back and convinient to get to

good music and dope people who work there

quality with mounting and services, seriously that makes or breaks a shop

mini ramp inside, jib setup outside

 
Local shop in a ski town? I avoid them like the plague. Not living in a ski town makes the time very valuable when visiting. Shopping is done before the visit, Ski shops is something better done at home. I think most people want friendlier, knowledgable sales people. So often, I feel like I am being sized up when walking into a strange shop. Seems like a game of one upmanship..

What I would want from my local shop is a place to hang out to shoot the shit, watch movies. I'd like to see more accessories. I would like to see unique lines of apparel and equipment.
 
What would make you guys buy shit from the shop instead of online? Does personal service mean that much or is an effort to save a buck more important at your age?
 
i think a shop that took the time to learn about the customers and talk to them about skiing not just about products would be sick... if u went to the mountain or hill and talked to the people and tried to ski with them and make it seem like if you came to the shop we could hook up.. it make people fell like the people runnin it weren't just there to sell shit, they actually cared..a shop that when you entered felt like a ski lodge and u didn't know who worked there and who didn't cause every one is just hangin out
 
Go to Fresh in Calgary. They hit the nail on the head. They only sell twintips and big mountain skis, they have all the best brands, cool music, a TV playing ski movies, and cool employees.
 
Honestly? A solid run of product, a lot of brands (which I know can be difficult), but also order one or two fat skis (if you're on the east coast). They WILL sell. Not a lot of shops are willing to order some of the high end stuff, you see a lot of price point and middle of the run, but only like one or two high end skis from each company. Being a shop employee it's sometimes tough when you know there are skis out there for people that you don't carry. It's really annoying and just bad for business. It'd be nice to see a few more high end skis. Also, SOFT GOODS. I can't tell you how many shops I go into that only carry a few soft goods. It'd be nice not to have to resort to ordering all your soft goods from the internet. Also, accessories. I mean I know you got your wax and wax kits, gloves, mittens, hats and goggles, but also like backpacks, DVDs, stickers. A lot of stuff that you get online you can't find in shops. It'd be nice to see some of that stuff in a local shop.

 
Well, I'm not going to spend $100+ more on a pair of skis just to get them in person. Pricing is important in any aspect.

I would however be okay paying slightly more than online if I was supporting a shop that just absolutely killed it locally and was pouring money back into the local industry thru sponsoring riders, and competitions.

As for atmospehere, I want a laid back atmosphere where I can go in, browse around, and shoot the shit with others about my passion. A lot of times I feel like my wallet is being sized up as soon as I walk through the door.

I also want a place that pays techs a decent wage so they have motivated and committed employees that actually care.
 
Thats why some online shops can sell skis super cheap though, they dont have any of that staff, no support services. Just a site and a warehouse.

To pay a tech a decent wage and to have the kind of atmosphere and employees people want, you'd need to sell the skis for a bit more then $100 over those online stores.

I guess the real question is why arent people willing to pay that much more for gear if that kind of atmosphere was present?
 
Should be modern, yet incorporate a ski lodge theme as well

have all of the major brands plus a few smaller/upcoming brands

Skis range from all types of freeride styles (Park,Pipe,Jibiing, Backcountry, Big Mountain)

Name brand clothes, Spyder,Oakley, Orage...plus some smaller designer brands.

Goggle racks and cabinets.

Posters and signs from all brands

Big Tv's playin movies nonstop
 
There doesn't seem to be anywhere locally that offers that kind of vibe. The closest I can get is City Garage in Ellicottville, but that still falls short in a few categories.

And this day and age, if you don't sell your local shops gear online too, you are foolish.

Jibij

Evogear

D-Structure

TwinTip Nation

All examples of stores with awesome prices. They all have reported awesome vibes in their physical stores, and offer a great online experience.
 
and I think that the shop needs more brands outside of the 'freeskiing world'. Like D-Structure in montreal carries LRG and some other ' non-freeskiing' brands, and D-S in SF carries Tank Theory t-shirts. I think that a local ski shop is a great place to show younger people what is happening around town, not just freeskiing stuff because its a freeskiing shop. Most shops don't promote local artists or parties (music, painting, anything you can think of).

The most important thing I can think of about a local ski shop is being a reference for everyone about the sport. It includes good service, qualified employees and knowledge about the scene (history and the latest news).
 
Perhaps Dstructure was a bad example, but the other 3 I have heard nothing but the best about.
 
I know that it is pretty unrealistic as far as liability issues go, but if you had one of those really nice in-ground trampolines in the back of your shop i think that would be awesome. I feel think it would attach some many people though, i know if my shop had one i would go there every day after skiing.
 
well a good shop would first when u walk in would have to look cool and have cool pictures hangin on teh wall and movies playing in a couch area maybe a chill fireplace area and a lounge. it would also have to carry all of the major brands salomon, k2,etc maybe a small company or two to get people pumped up on them. also depending on a freestyle specific shop or not it would have to have a great selection of skis that people would want to buy and a good display. also dope outerwear from all the big companies maybe some smaller ones to def cools tuff people would want to buy. and it would also have to have movies, mags, other small stuff like t shitrts hoodies etc from ski compaines and stuff. the staff would have to be extremely knowlegable and no what they are talking about and would have to have a couple dope bootfitters. it would also have to carry a range of boots from freestly eto racing to all mountain and a bunch of bindings wide, racing, etc that people would be interested in. it would have to tune skis really good and would undertstand things such as center vs true center mounting and things like that. also sponsor locals and hold rail jams and stuff like that to promote teh shop. it would also have staff that new many of the people and have solid prices that people would pay for but not rediculous and you could throw thigns in for buying full setups and also for local customers that buy a lot could get more off or seomthing like that. oh and if u put sick things like neon lighting and cool shit.
 
Ahhhh.... Internet babies... The age of instant gratification. Wanna know what ski to get? post the question on NS. Wanna know what binding or where to mount, post on NS.. Ski shops will survive for those who need the personal touch. I think that is key for thier survival. Ski gear is personal and it needs to be sold that way.

I visit and encourage others in our area to ask for specific indidviduals at various shops. Some of the shops are huge event supporters and, they have an online presence, so they get our support.

Our home shop, we are loyal to because they were the ones who in turn helped and supported us, for many years. It's a 2-way street however, I have bought race skis online because they were unreasonably priced locally, that was the only reason. Our shop didn't carry what we wanted.
 
Even though its in Ohio, ASBco is legit for a shop east of the Mississippi.

All major brands, mostly twins and high end groomers

Huge selection of outerwear, goggles, hats galor!

stickers,magazines,helmets,gloves headphones etc.

everyone who works there knows what there talkin about and u ski with them at our tiny resort

plus all kinds of in store services where everyone's a professional, and theyre all pro boot fitters

and WAX for every temp and condition

 
i think atmosphere and presentation are big things that i look for. BUT like some people above said i hate when they train the salesmen to attack you and try to pressure you into buying certain skis when you are really only in there to look around and think about how cool it would be to have different skis and what not. i just hate it when people are all over you and dont understand that sometimes you just want to talk about sking and the new skis that are out instead of coming in to buy skis in under 15 minutes
 
My price for Fischer online off Ebay was the less than my shop could get from a dealer since he didn't carry Fischer. I saved about $150 per pair, bindings included.

BTW - I have found that if you are a repeat customer, (in my case I bring family and friends) that shops do take very good "care" of the repeat buyer.

So Ryno, add that to your list. A shop "should" take care of thier frequent flyers through discount programs, in turn that customer should refer others to the shop. A refferal program would be really cool.

 
I'd settle for a shop that actually has a good selection of twins and outerwear, and plenty of stock. The reason I buy online is because most shops I have access to don't stock smaller brands (4frnt, Ninthward, in some cases even Armada), or run out of stock very quickly.
 
I like shops that had a super fun atmosphere. This skate shop I go to all the time has a big screen tv and some couch's to chill on and watch movies. Plus the staff has to be cool I hate it when people just nag you to buy things. Sometimes I just like to go into a shop and browse without being asked all this random shit. If I go into a shop and the people are nice and helpful I'd rather pay more there then at an online shop. I think if a shop sponsors local contests and some kids that will promote it the shop will do well. I think just having a strictly ski shop is cool but usually they don't survive well. Get some skate or snowboards and have a team with them. Shops like Decade and Jibij are the shops I would rather support then buy super cheap of the internet because they do love skiing and I love to help them out.
 
A good shop has to carry all the less popular brands along with the popular ones, like holden, airblaster surface and brands of that nature. Basically a good shop need variety
 
you're too late. after i get my masters in business adminstration, im opening my side shop thats for skiing in tahoe. it will have stainless steel beams with track lighting and stained concrete as the floor and wod paneled walls and bricks. it will be approximately 4200 sq. feet with an upstairs lounge w/ 3 couches and two giant TV's one for tv/movies the other with an xbox360+ps3. a fireplace will be located downstairs with another fake one upstairs. the wall will consist of skis from surface to atomic. the windows will be tinited from the outside, a chrome/silver building with the shop name in a similar font that is located on the bottom of salomon skis. i will have about 4 employees, the shop will be hidden by a swining door(italian style) and the shop will still be kept somewhat clean. it will be very professional and attractive. if you want some business i suggest you steal my idea hence it will be THE place to sesh. oh, and in back for $10 an hour one can jib on the 25ft box.
 
We take such good care of you because we love people like you.

The shop I work at can move thousands of dollars of product a day, and being a part of that is a thrill. But some of the best times I have at work is talking to a guy about skis on multiple occasions for long periods, and then coming back after long debate and pickin up a pair of skis. Knowing that I help make a huge decision for someone who is gonna be totally happy with his skis.
 
shop employees need to know more about ski boots. I hate going into a shop and the employees only know the very basics about boot fitting. Seems like the only thing they know is what they read out of the manual
 
a good shop needs good people. you need people who know what the hell they are talking about. people who live and breath skiing and are completely knowledgeable on all aspects of equipment. people know how to fit a boot and give advice. people who dont try to rip you off.

a lady in a local ski shop was telling me how bad my edges are under my bindings and i explained thats what happens when you ride rails. she said something like oh well i wouldnt ride these things in this condition and then basically demanded that she give them a tune up. i let her because they do need a good wax and my mom was paying for it anyway but i just didnt appreciate her opinions and trying to force my into a service.

 
Just be near me or near where I ride at, and I promise I'll buy my things from you, cause I usually need shit the day of. Like if my gogs are lost...i need new ones immediately, so I'll definitely buy things from a local shop, and if they have prices at least close to what they have online, I think everyone would.
 
LISTEN TO THIS VERY CAREFULLY:

Here is why I frequently would rather buy online rather than in my local shop: The people in the shop, even the ones who ski and are very knowledgeable, act like douche-bag used-car salesmen, and they treat the customers like idiots.

Here is what they do that pisses me off:

1) Sleazy Pricing.

I research my purchases carefully and I know what the MSRP is on the items I'm going to buy. My shop has good prices, they are exactly MSRP (same as Getboards or Backcountry.com, so you don't even pay more at the shop), but they are MARKED much higher. So, I've been to the Line website and I know that Blends are supposed to cost $450 and I hate it when the salesperson comes over and says "those skis are soooo siiiick, they are $600 normally, but they're on sale today for $450! It's a great deal and you should take advantage." That is bullshit, they are $450 every day and using a sleazy sales tactic insults my intelligence.

2) Sleazy Sales Tactics.

Every time I try on a jacket, some female employee will pop out of somewhere and coo "ooh, that jacket looks soooo hot on you." Bullshit. I'll admit, the first time I fell for it. But after hearing that exact same line a couple times I got it: employees are told to say this every time.

So, the prices are good and the service is good, and they don't need to bullshit me to sell me stuff, I don't like feeling like I'm being lied to.

So that's my advice, have a relaxed and honest atmosphere. If I don't feel comfortable in a shop or if I feel like the people are trying to sleaze me into buying things, I will go to the internet.
 
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