Customer service, can a fly shop survive without it?
I now support my local fly shop, but I almost did not due to thier customer service.
I believe that the local fly shops have segmented themselves in the market place, and are telling some people (indirrectly) "You can not shop here until you know more about the sport and can appreciate the good equipment." Some have forgotten that a customer who stays with fly fishing will eventually move into better equipment as they progress in the sport.
Sometimes it seems like the local fly shops only wants customers who spend high dollar or who they get to know as a serious fly fisher.
When I was first getting into fly fishing and looking at the local fly shops for information and supplies. I encounted attitudes at each and every fly shop.
The attitudes centered around how much I spent and if they knew me or not.
The (Fly shop A) shop was the most friendly, but was always blunt when I shopped for a little bit of flies, hackle or equipment at a time. Saying, "If you are going to fly fish, you should not worry about how much you spend." At least that was the attitude, until I mentioned a friend who they knew. Then the attitude shifted.
The (Fly shop B) was standoffish with most questions and I recieved the attitude of "What a stupid Question from one of the partners many times." I liked thier dry fly patterns though and I now buy my hackle from them because I copy the patterns they offer now that I tie. They have some of the best CDC in town. They also have a good web site and I feel obligated to shop them since I use thier site.
(Rich person Fly Shop) had patterns I liked and bought and the manager was super nice, but when I brought a friend in to introduce them to the equipment of fly fishing, the sales reps were indifferent to us and our questions. When a Fat Cat $$$$ walked in they jumped on and fell over themselves to help them, can we say commissioned salesmen? Then as we were leaving a sales rep made a snide comment to my friend about how little he bought and I have never returned.
(Fly Shop C) was nice and I shopped him for everything until he went out of business because he was tired of his rent going up, but it took three to four weeks before the owner warmed up to me and actually would share information on tieing and fishing.
The big chain stores are friendly to most and do not distinguish between what you spend with them and your worthiness to be their customer. Chain stores do not have the best equipment, or the finest advice but neither are they snobbish or indifferent until you prove yourself as a customer.
I think that the local shops should build thier customers for future sales. I succesfully built a High end retail store from losing money to making money in two years with that attitude. I would help people get into what they could afford, even if I did not sell it, and educated them for future sales. Local shops may not get the first equipment sales, but they can exclude themselves from many new customers future purchases by how they treat the customer today; innadequate customer service is a nail in the coffin of any business today that does not have a strong segment in the market place (Some thing that is not substitutable). People now look at customer service as a qualifier in a place to do business. With the increase in competittion, a business can no longer get by on thier small sector of unique offerings alone.
It is great that the local shops work at retention through word of mouth for new customers and loyal past customers, I like the local fly shops I frequent now, and spend 80% of my $$ with them, but I can honestly say that if it was not for this web sites education, I would have avoided most all of the local shops after the first experiences I had.
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