Retailer Rant - Or Why On-Line might be better
Sorry for the rant, but a recent trip to a local retailer got me thinking - maybe sometimes, just sometimes, the local stores fold because of bad customer service, and not just being undercut by big on-line retailers. I try to support local merchants as much as possible, but sometimes I'd rather deal with a faceless computer screen and UPS.
I was at one of my local retailers to buy $20-30 worth of tying materials. I ended up having the following conversation with the shop employee/owner. (Conversation condensed to its essence).
Shop employee asks "where are you fishing?"
Me: "Well, I am going for steelhead on River XX."
Employee: "Cool. What's your setup?"
Me: "XX lenght XX weight rod."
Emp. "What line? What reel?"
Me: "XYZ and ABC."
Emp. "Well, that's really the wrong set up for that river. Where did you get the rod - I bet it was a 'show special.'" (he says with a patronizing tone as if only an idiot would buy a rod at a show.)
Emp. then proceeds to pull out 3 very very nice high-end rods, $500+ each. "Here feel this." Me: "Well, yes, this is sure nice in the hand." Emp: "Try it with this super sweet reel." (Puts on $500+ reel.) Me: "Well, that sure is sweet. But I'm not spending that kind of coin." Emp: "What do you do for a living?" Me: "XYZ." Emp, laughing "Oh, you can afford This."
Seriously!!! They basically made fun my gear, and impliedly suggested that I was an idiot for using that gear on that river. And then tried to up-sell me a kit in excess of $1,000, again with the suggestion that I would be an idiot to fish River XX with anything else. Seriously, that's how that treat new customers off the street (I am not a regular there.)
Like I said, some retailers, even local ones, do not deserve our support. Needless to say, I will not spend a cent in that store. Not that I'm a big spender, but a sale is a sale, especially in a recession. After all, rods, reels and lines to need to be replaced once on a while.
Oh, and once I got home, I bought the tying stuff I was looking for on-line. Probably cost a little more with shipping, but the on-line shopping basket did not patronize me!
Sorry for the rant. But maybe some retailers will hear the lesson!
Dave
I've never heard of XYZ fly line!
Hi Dave,
Just kidding about the line but where is the XX River? :) I don't think that you have to worry, this fly shop will be a thing of the past very quickly. You might want to find out if the tactful expert is the owner or an employee. If he's just an employee, you might be able to make him a thing of the past. I'm a pretty easy going guy but I would have been royally pissed as well. 8T :)
want to scope out some new equipment without the hard sell?
Quote:
Hmmm, I usually get ignored!--PanFisher
if you want to be truly invisible in an out-of-town fly shop, be female. all eyes raise when the door chime goes "ding!" and they look right past me. if Best Fishing Buddy is along, they focus there. if he's not there, they go back to whatever they were doing. this leaves me browsing happily, quite undisturbed.