Stuff heard at a ski shop's service desk....

[scott43]

Colour is a real thing.. I don't like to tell tales because they're offensive to some.. But yeah, matching gear is a thing, no matter the price!! I personally don't get it..however..

And yeah..I was terrible at sales...but the good ones..they just let the customer choose..just find out what they're looking for and, within reason (as in, you don't feel like you have to shower afterward cuz you feel so dirty you just rinsed someone on stuff they clearly don't or can't use properly..), you just let him have it. $11k carbon bike for commuting to univeristy? Go for it... Customer is ALWAYS right!!

 

[Philpug]

Has any ski brand or shop offered custom colors/paint/wraps for skis so that they match boots?

If you look at most ski/boot brands, there is a color theme for each collection.

 

[slowrider]

If you look at most ski/boot brands, there is a color theme for each collection.

I did not know that....

 

[newboots]

When it's clear that we will not have a ski match for the requisite boot, I tell customers that the best skiers on the mountain don't have matching outfits, but are the ones with a bit of duct tape where it's needed and non-matching equipment! OTOH, those bedazzled, snazzy, seriously overpriced, designer-clad skinny people are not the ones whose technique you should copy.

Am I wrong?

 

[dbostedo]

If you look at most ski/boot brands, there is a color theme for each collection.

That's not really what I'm getting at though... I'm thinking more along the lines of "you've just been fitted for those black and purple boots, and we have a black and purple matching wrap we can put on whatever skis and bindings you choose".

I'm sure each brand wants to sell it's own skis and boots together as a matching color package, but given the variety of skis and boots, that doesn't even always exist. But it could...

 

[DanoT]

I have worked part time on an off in ski shops and demo centres over the years and the amount of comments I didn't make are many.
It would drive me nuts when someone would be outfitting themselves and drop a grand on an ski outfit and then say that they were not that great of a skier and just want some inexpensive skis. I wanted to tell them they had their priorities backwards but I would lock my jaw shut.

That's not really what I'm getting at though... I'm thinking more along the lines of "you've just been fitted for those black and purple boots, and we have a black and purple matching wrap we can put on whatever skis and bindings you choose".

I'm sure each brand wants to sell it's own skis and boots together as a matching color package, but given the variety of skis and boots, that doesn't even always exist. But it could...

I have always joked that if I owned a ski shop I would have a paint can rack beside the ski wall. Years ago a friend would put blothces of spray paint on his ski top sheet as a theft deterent. Seriously though, custom do your own ski wrap vinyl graphics could be the next big ski biz fad.

 

[Tricia]

So, I was at the local ski shop picking up a board I had them do a base grind (sharpen and wax) after I did some Ptex candle repairs...

while waiting in line....

A customer in front of me wanted his new board hot waxed. So... the person behind the counter said, it doesn't need wax, too much wax is bad and the board will stick to the snow (instead of glide)

Subsequently, the person convinced him to do a quick machine wax (the heated roller wax) for $8. So when I explained toi him, what it entailed, he was bummed... but at the same time, he would like to have it done ASAP, instead of waiting a few days.

Back to the board I picked up... now I know why they say that... the shop scrapes, but doesn't brush the wax out from the structure (you can still see the scraper lines in the wax). So I added another 2 layers of all-temp wax, and brushed out the structure with my brass brush, then my nylon rotobrush on my cordless drill.

So, what outlandish things have you heard them say to customers or to yourself?

Back to the OP....This is crazy.
Who says wax is bad?

 

[Tricia]

That's not really what I'm getting at though... I'm thinking more along the lines of "you've just been fitted for those black and purple boots, and we have a black and purple matching wrap we can put on whatever skis and bindings you choose".

I'm sure each brand wants to sell it's own skis and boots together as a matching color package, but given the variety of skis and boots, that doesn't even always exist. But it could...

Do you purpose that this happen in a ski shop?
Do you know what the average ski shop employee understands about the process as it is?

*Emphasis on average. We all know there are exceptional ski shop employees but there are a whole lot more minimum wage earners who just want to sell me "the ski my mom likes."

 

[newfydog]

I try to keep out of the way of sales people, but had to offer up some advice when I heard a salesman explain that no, cross country skating skis don't use kick wax (so far so good)...but, you might use a little to keep you from slipping back on steep hills (AKKK!) Obviously someone who had not tried to skate up a hill with classic kick wax. Might as well do a 40 yard dash in waist deep water.

 

[mogulman]

I used to travel a lot and have gone to a lot of random ski shops to have my skis sharpened and waxed. I always ask what angle they use for sharpening. I've had a quite a few shops where they didn't know what I was talking about.

 

[Philpug]

"I am a 3+" as they fill out the paperwork for their 160cm rental skis while trying on their 28.5 rental boots.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Two different days in same unnamed shop:

Owner- master boot fit certified:
“I don’t sell boot heaters because they are too much work to put in.”

Bootfitter- also master boot fit certified- to my friend who wanted the intuition liners in her Dalbello Kryzmas heat fitted:
“Are you sure race boots are right for you?”

 

[markojp]

Two different days in same unnamed shop:

Owner- master boot fit certified:
“I don’t sell boot heaters because they are too much work to put in.”

Bootfitter- also master boot fit certified- to my friend who wanted the intuition liners in her Dalbello Kryzmas heat fitted:
“Are you sure race boots are right for you?”

Sometimes it's almost like a shop should be named, or at least the masterfit folks notified.

 

[Wendy]

Back to the OP....This is crazy.
Who says wax is bad?

Maybe that kid waxed his board but didn’t scrape or brush? And ended up glued to the snow? LOL.
Weird that shop didn’t brush out the wax.

 

[Wendy]

"I am a 3+" as they fill out the paperwork for their 160cm rental skis while trying on their 28.5 rental boots.

When I worked behind the rental counter, that was my FAVORITE.

 

[Ken_R]

There is more to this story.
The couple walks into the shop and he asks Phil how long to get his skis waxed because he was planning on skiing the next day.
@Philpug took one look at the skis and said: "You want some new skis to go with that wax?"

The rest of it went pretty much like Phil said, with the exception of the one thing that piqued our boss's interest.
The guy started hemming and hawing about what he may like in a new ski and said, "Maybe I should demo a few pair before buying."
Phil said: "You're not qualified to demo skis. You are coming off a ski that was worn out long ago. Anything you get on is going to feel so different you have no idea what you're looking for. Trust me."

All our boss heard was "You're not qualified to demo skis." from a window just above where Phil was talking to the customer. He ran down stairs to save the sale from Phil's tactics only to find Phil at the register with the guy, new boots(with custom footbeds) new Kästle's, and bindings.
The boss couldn't believe it.

All of this goes to show, if you know how to read the room you can get away with saying a lot.

well Phil was telling it like it is. More people like that than you would think.

 

[DanoT]

Maybe that kid waxed his board but didn’t scrape or brush? And ended up glued to the snow? LOL.
Weird that shop didn’t brush out the wax.

When you don't scrape or brush it's sticky for the first hundred feet or so, then it is fine...err, that's what a friend told me.

 

[Wendy]

The most memorable shop experiences I had were with extremely wealthy people who had no idea what they were doing but thought they did. (We got a lot of well-heeled customers from NYC who had very little experience skiing).

One young guy pulled up in a new Land Rover and comes in with his girlfriend. Girlfriend needs new skis. I ask what she’s currently on and she tells me some beginner ski that is way too short for her. Boyfriend insists she look only at the new old stock stuff, not the current year’s wall. He immediately goes to a pair of Armada twin tips that are not appropriate AT ALL for this young woman. Guy says, “Armada makes the best skis, we are going to buy these.”
Girlfriend looks at me. I redirect them to 2 other pairs of skis that are appropriate for her.
Guy says no, those skis aren’t as good.
I explain they are better FOR HER and I proceed to talk to the girl, not the guy.
Girlfriend asks very good questions and talks honestly about her skiing ability. She clearly has a much better understanding of skis than boyfriend and she has some skiing experience.
Guy gets on his cell phone to call his “ski expert” buddy to confer. I don’t know what he’s saying because he’s speaking in Russian.
He gets off the phone and repeats that he’s buying her the Armadas. Girlfriend says no, those won’t work for me. I am interested in these skis over here, pointing to a pair we had discussed.
Boyfriend says no, I’m buying her the Armadas and can you put these bindings on them? pulling out an old pair of bindings with 80mm brakes (for a pair of 98mm wide skis).
I explain that the brakes are too narrow for those skis and I don’t think the bindings are indemnified. Guy doesn’t understand what brakes are and why the width of them matters.
I tell him his girlfriend will ski much better in the other pair of skis and will be much happier.
Guy ushers girlfriend out of the store.

Honestly, all I wanted to do is to tell the girl to buy the skis she wants and to dump the guy.


Then there was the woman who came in, rented skis for her first day of skiing ever, and proceeded to buy an entire Bogner ski outfit. She dropped about $4000. She also bought a RACE HELMET with chin guard. I kid you not. At that point we just decided to let her get what she wanted. I would’ve paid money to see her on the mountain.

 

[chilehed]

The most memorable shop experiences I had were with extremely wealthy people who had no idea what they were doing but thought they did.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is is a wonder to behold.

 

[DanoT]

I have posted this in the past but might be worth repeating: Whoever was the Marketing Maven that came up with "The customer is always right", never worked in a ski shop.