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October, 2024

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NSers who work at shops:

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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
sorry if this is a repst. i cant find shit with this new searchbar.

anyway, share your rantings, what do you always screw up, etc.

I hate mounting. I always get super nervous, I start to sweat, and take a long time. I also hate having to fit people I only kind of know for boots. I don't know whether to act like a friend, or a professional, and then I have to touch their feet and shit...
Nov 14 2010 8:30PM
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thesheik
Posts: 1488 - Karma: 18
wow, that does sound awks. there are too many occupations with mandatory awkwardness.
Nov 14 2010 8:32PM
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Jamerson
Posts: 346 - Karma: 10
i like every part of working at a shop except fitting little kids for boots.
pain in the ass
Nov 14 2010 10:01PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
i HATE fitting fat women for boots, they just bitch, and they have huge fuckin kankles. Also ppl who cmoe in to the shop and immeditatly assume i snowboard because im young, even while i just sold them a full ski/boot/binding setup they ask me "so u snowboard right?" NO u idiot.......idk theres just some littl etihngs that piss me off, but other than that, its alot of fun
Nov 14 2010 10:11PM
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Snowcase
Posts: 11456 - Karma: 634
I worked at a shop. I quit because they kept scheduling me on days I told them I wanted off, the manager is just a complete retard/asshole, they joke about ripping people off all the time, didn't train any of us for mounting and charge $80 PER MOUNT. $30 if you fucking buy it there. Doesn't matter if it's a system or regular mount. It's absolutely ridiculous and I hated working there.
Nov 14 2010 10:14PM
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Ducky.
Posts: 5811 - Karma: 1,420
Grinding boot soles.... sucks.
Nov 14 2010 10:16PM
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steezee5
Posts: 1309 - Karma: 136
I managed a shop in Vail CO for a couple years. It was awesome, overall. Definitely a pain when you get a family of 6 from Texas (or worse, a dozen rich Mexicans who don't tip) right before closing and you're dog tired.
But, you have a hilarious time otherwise, drink/smoke at the end of the night when you're tuning, make fun of customers to their faces, hook up with chicks you rent to, and get to ski everyday. Plus I got 50% off or better on everything from Oakley to Armada, and the reps, etc always gave me tons of free shit.

What's not to like? Every job has its drawbacks.
I'd say there's a big difference between working at a Western shop and one on the East coast.
Nov 14 2010 10:18PM
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
that sounds nothing like my job... but i live and work in a college town, so we get to see a lot of nice asses in yoga pants/tights
Nov 15 2010 7:00AM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
Working on tuning some skies and then getting asked to help someone with rentals when the rental desk is RIGHT OVER THERE.
Nov 15 2010 7:02AM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
only my boss does mountings

i do binding cal's, snowboard mounts (fuckin sucks), waxes, ptecs, all that fun stuff!
Nov 15 2010 7:47AM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
completely unrelated, but switch running man 180's are the shit. i had to have done hundreds last season.

but seriously, i hate east coast shops. the ones at the mountains arent as bad but the ones in the cities straight suck ass. 80 dollars to do a fucking mount? get real.
Nov 15 2010 9:23AM
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TheStudioCC
Posts: 2092 - Karma: 366
Telling assholes completely wrong information about boots and such.
Nov 15 2010 9:25AM
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beermuscles
Posts: 1821 - Karma: 100
this and women with HUGE calves.
Nov 15 2010 9:52AM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14486 - Karma: 10,627
What's wrong with flexing skis?
Nov 15 2010 10:30AM
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Kangbang
Posts: 14211 - Karma: 423
i do that. even thought i got new skis this year, i wanna see how soft some skis are compared to my reno jibs
Nov 15 2010 10:34AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
i flex skis, and i hope i'm not a noob ....


Nov 15 2010 10:40AM
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Schlop
Posts: 3640 - Karma: 24
haha yes me too, what's wrong with checking the flex on a pair of skis you might have a snowboner for?
Nov 15 2010 10:42AM
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SteezoSaurus
Posts: 2630 - Karma: 2,670
Because some idiots that come into shops dont actually "flex" the ski. They simply grab the tip and shake it violently back and forth. Then they turn to their friend and say, "Cha Bra. Not near as stiff as the planks im on." And then they walk away. I believe that's what Jodi was getting at.
Nov 15 2010 10:50AM
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SketchySwiss
Posts: 393 - Karma: 43
Flexing skis is like touching boobs


Nov 15 2010 10:56AM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061

i always hated when people grabbed their skis and flipped them over and ran their fingers down the base, as if they can tell whether or not you did a good job just by feeling it. people are such headcases..

Nov 15 2010 10:58AM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
For some reason whenever I go to look at boots I always end up taking them off the shelf and playing with the buckles. Don't know why, just a bad habit I guess.
Nov 15 2010 11:00AM
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ace_
Posts: 3189 - Karma: 39
Anyone ever fit a mentally handicapped person? I did

now that, was weird...

And the people who complain about their boot being too tight even though i tell them to stay in it for a few minutes longer. After that few minutes they say the boot fits perfect.

Fat lady's, they suck hardcore.

Custom footbeds were pretty cool, but not for people who had the worst feet ever.

Maybe worst of all, people who demo a ski and come back and either bash the ski when its good, or the ski is all sorts of scratched and messed up
Nov 15 2010 11:04AM
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NW_Rider
Posts: 2580 - Karma: 314
The people who come in and demand race boots their 2nd year skiing because they do "black diamonds" now. My manager spent like an hour trying to convince this guy last year to buy a softer boot cause she thought he would break his leg in a boot that stiff with his size/skill level. He came in 3 weeks later in a cast to tell her she was right.

People that think, no matter what you tell them that every twin tip ski is a park ski. Yes sir those boomerangs are totally a park ski only, terrible for anything else.

Lastly someone who sizes for a 24 and says everything under a 27 is too small, usually teenage girls. Second the boot slides on "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!".


I love my shop though, everyone that works there is rad.
Nov 15 2010 11:55AM
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Bar_Down
Posts: 5896 - Karma: 395
i worked retail at a local shop and ya, that job made me realize how i dont know shit about any normal skis/boots (non freeski). i had no idea what to say to the customers, i would just hook them up with a random setup ahaha. obviously i knew the basics though like i wouldnt sell top of the line racing skis to someone who started skiing last year and shit like that, but ya it was kinda jks. and for some reason, i always hated dealing with male customers, unless they were around my age. i would always let other ppl take care of them and i would take care of the teens/moms and shit. i dunno, they were easier to work with
Nov 15 2010 12:06PM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
working at a ski shop sounds like hell to me. i dont know shit about ski technology or current products and i dont want to know, except for really quickly when i get my next pair
Nov 15 2010 12:32PM
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Daydreaming
Posts: 1686 - Karma: 48
Start my first shop job in a few weeks. This is pretty good stuff to know ahead of time!!!

My favorite time at a shop was when there was a big sale event with reps and stuff and this guy from k2 was saying the pontoons were 124mm underfoot. 6mm is not a large difference but still, it's his job to know.
Nov 15 2010 12:56PM
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SkiThe603
Posts: 5376 - Karma: 498
Where did you work??
Nov 15 2010 1:01PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
when i started working at a shop 4 years ago, i didnt know much about the majority of the equipment, but now i can sell any ski/boot on the wall and know almost everything about them. Going to the clinics that the reps tell u about the product and such is real helpful, and usually ull be able to score some free skis bindings or boots form one of the reps, or get a sweet deal, better than pro form price.
Nov 15 2010 1:18PM
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Flowsion
Posts: 1461 - Karma: 11
working at a shop is pretty awesome overall if you work with cool people. i party with pretty much everybody i work with, and my manager happens to be an excellent drinking buddy. i can't expect to get rich working there, but it pays the bills. the discounts, swag, and lift tickets save me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars every season. it can suck at first because of the amount of knowledge you need to have to not sound like a complete idiot on the sales floor, but as you learn more it gets way better.
Nov 15 2010 1:20PM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
We would have Brownie day once a week and my dad brought some home once (I only go there to help once in awhile, my dad is employed there).

My mom was somewhat confused by said brownies. I was not.
Nov 15 2010 1:23PM
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
i had to fit a five year old for rental boots yesterday, got her boots a size and a half bigger than she measred at, as we always do. i asked her how everything felt, she would just nod, shake her head, or not respond, but i got across what i thought was her saying they felt ok. then she went and whispered to her mom that her toes were curled over. i went and got her the same size, same boot, different color. TOTALLY different fit, apparently
Nov 15 2010 7:02PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
a lot of little kids are like that. they just want what looks good, and preformance doesnt really matter at that age, especially if they are renting. if they care about preformance, they will probably have their own gear or care less about colors
Nov 15 2010 8:09PM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
haha yea i would not go to where i work to get anything done on my skis.

unrelated... runningman's of all shapes sizes and colors are so dope.
Nov 15 2010 10:20PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
threads.. some interesting stories on here
Nov 15 2010 10:28PM
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JIBpsy^^
Posts: 2851 - Karma: 36
It anoys the hell out of me when people think that snowboard is the coolest sport in the whole dam world when the most experience they have had is drivng past a ski mountain on some stupid trip.  urban dictionary snowboarding if you want an example
Nov 15 2010 11:12PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14486 - Karma: 10,627
Yea the Nordica Rep at the CO Skier Shop Jam on Saturday was saying that the Ace of Spades and Dead Money are the same ski, the dead money just doesn't have any metal in it. He said they were the same skis except the Ace of Spades was symmetrical in the 184 and 177 lengths, but they are two different skis, and the Ace of Spades is symmetrical in all sizes. I kinda face palmed a little bit. I hate seeing reps on mountain on demo days because they are always wrong about something and it just strikes me seeing as it is their job to know. I had an Atomic rep tell me the only pair of twin tips they had on hand were HUGE and way to big for me. I asked what size, he said they were 172's. I was skiing on 171's at the time.
Nov 15 2010 11:55PM
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Bar_Down
Posts: 5896 - Karma: 395
oh and it was such bullshit because the reps would do some next contests all the time to make us sell their shit instead of other companies' stuff. alot of times it was k2, the person who sold the most k2 shit would win an all inclusive trip with limo ride to/from the triple threat at blue mountain, so everyone on the floor was all trying to sell k2 shit instead of a pair of skis that would be a better fit for a particular customer
Nov 15 2010 11:59PM
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Yung_Gnarley
Posts: 9092 - Karma: 3,022
I really want to work at a shop.
Nov 16 2010 12:00AM
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
my gay boss made a comment about something being "so gay" with a negative connotation today. i could have lol'd, but i was a little uncomfortable...
Nov 16 2010 12:01AM
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AdolfShitler
Posts: 1618 - Karma: 32
I love this thread.
Nov 16 2010 12:08AM
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jose=kids
Posts: 7 - Karma: 22
I don't work in a shop and it pisses me off when people assume I snowboard because I'm young and like snow....
Nov 16 2010 12:28AM
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jose=kids
Posts: 7 - Karma: 22
I don't work in a shop and it pisses me off when people assume I snowboard because I'm young and like snow....
Nov 16 2010 12:29AM
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rickroller
Posts: 2468 - Karma: 483
do some people have smelly feet?
Nov 16 2010 12:31AM
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PeterWojnar
Posts: 3937 - Karma: 678
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Nov 16 2010 1:22AM
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Ducky.
Posts: 5811 - Karma: 1,420
Wait, where do you work?
Nov 16 2010 1:23AM
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fsscott
Posts: 4684 - Karma: 114
Running skis through the stone still scares the shit out of me, just because it's too easy to fuck up a ski on one of those.

Fitting boots is easy as hell, women or men doesn't matter.

Get to talk to a bunch of different people, it's always good.

Nov 16 2010 1:27AM
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Mr.Panda
Posts: 17711 - Karma: 564
My dad works at the Chalet and sometimes I go in to help.
Nov 16 2010 2:48AM
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Bean_Slc
Posts: 514 - Karma: 25
At a shop demo day at stowe, my boss asked the armada rep if he could try the ARG and the rep told him that there was "no such thing as the ARG"
Nov 16 2010 2:58AM
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