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What's working at a ski shop like?
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I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and I currently ref hockey right now and its not a bad job, (about 20$ a game) but I want a different experience. I'm turning 16 in March, and I know its a long ways away but I'd like to get my resume's and stuff ready early. I thought about what I like to do, and what I want to do, and I had a vague idea, like maybe cooking, photography, or ski lessons, but I think working at a ski shop would be the most realistic. If I'm spending 8 hours a day somewhere, might as well be where I like to spend my time most. There's two ski shops that I'm looking at right now, Comor Sports and Snow Covers.
What I want to know is, what kind of things do you do working at a ski shop? What kind of things is a ski shop looking for in a potential candidate? What kinds of perks are typically involved with a job at a ski shop?
It'd be great if owners of shops or employees could point me in the right direction. Thanks!
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Funny you should ask this. I spend a quite a lotta time at one during winter mornings/afternoons. Wayy back in '02 or so I started buying my stuff there, and as seasons passed I found myself spending more & more time at the shop. Still not an employee or anything, but they let me drill my own skis and use the waxing buffing machine thingy and whatever else. You learn stuff as you go - not gettin paid or anythng but it's a good way to learn first hand. I guess you could consider it an internship.
As for requirements, it depends. Ski techs need to pass tests from companies like Salomon (local rep's the guy to talk to), and salepersonnel need to, well, have rhetoric skills and know their stuff (kinda).
While I'm not familiar with Comor or Snowcovers in Kits (though I've heard Snowcovers is legit), just get in there and get to know the guys.
Aside from proforms and working with a chill bunch of peeps who share the same passion... not that many perks.
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thats how i got my job. jus spend time at the shop and when you need a job in the future the owners wil hook you up with one
awesome atmosphere
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You need to remember that working at a ski shop doesn't just mean talking to people about rodeos and pretzels, and copping proform pricing - there is a LOT behind the scenes that can be quite boring..it's worth it though if you love the sport.
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thats how i got a proform card for my shop this year, im good friends with the manager, and theyre hooking it up... im not even good at skiing :P
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obviously never worked at one but some friends of mine do shit sucks they get to sit and look out the window and watch be jib and wave at them while they are stuck inside on beautiful bluebird days.
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i have a job lined up for this season at a tiny local shop near washington DC
it deals mostly in snowboards and alpine skis (they stock 4 different pairs of twintips...maybe lines this season)
and outerwear
i know all about outerwear, twin tips, and relatively alot about snowboards (my little brother boards and i did all the research for his new setup this year)
but not so much about single tipped alpine skis...
how much different is eat?
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I started for free at christy sports when I was 14. Worked for 6 months, started getting paid. All I did was chill out in the shop all summer (the guys are really bored because its patio season) and talk skiing and how much I love it. I asked the manager If I could help him with stuff in the fall and the rest is history.
The best thing I can say is just be passionate and have a good attitude. Most likely you will start out as a rental bitch. You will have to tag every piece of rental equipment that comes into the shop and have to deal with asshole customers that think they know things about skiing.
Other than that, its way fun, and you meet lots of great people. Id say do it, but only if you have a true passion for the sport.
Oh and like another guy said, you dont get to talk about freeskiing all day. Depending on your customer base, you will most likely be selling all mountain and racing skis, and you gotta know tech so pay attention during clinics.
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i still work in a shop part-time after i've called it a day at my other job. i have friends that have worked at both Comor and Snowcovers and those are two of the premier ski shops in Vancouver. as previously said, you will not be spending your time talking about pretzels or rodeos and what not. as a newbie in a shop you will most likely get stuck with helping families get their children fitted with equipment for the season (this blows but it's part of it). the guys that have been there for a while will be doing fittings for racers and performance adult skiers.
if you plan on working in the service shop you will be required to take tests from what ever companies those shops deal with but the most common will be Salomon and Look. a tech job will will be a lot of drilling and tuning skis. the more senior guys in the service shop will be doing hand tunes for racers and leaving you with the basic stuff.
as the new guy, your best bet at getting further up is to ask questions. if you're working in hard goods and it's slow one day, don't just hang around looking like a dope. talk to the senior guys and see if you can sit in on one of his boot fit sessions. that stuff you pick up can only help you and plus it makes yourself look like you really want to be there.
in the service shop, again, ask questions and learn how to do the complicated hand tunes. you may be trusted right away to do the big stuff but there's always a possibility that when a company puts on a training session for shop employees, you might get sent out for that since you've shown the willingness to learn.
as far as what shops are looking for, just go in and talk to the store managers. take a resume with you and if you're a pretty straight up kid, you'll probably get an interview.
best of luck!
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