WRV - - a service / retail biz that is lost

I've been thinking the same thing. Shane's "That it" is about ten times less annoying than Yankee's rant on here. He's actually managed to make the useless store clerk into a sympathetic figure.

 

Tone and inflection can change the implications of those two simple words.

 

who ever said the "customer is always right", was so very wrong. It all sounds very subjective and you can never say you actually know what a person is thinking simply through a look, tone, etc.

I have had a customer screaming at me because I used a word they did not know. Seriously, she started screaming saying she did not understand some of the words I was using. <<<yes she was born in USA.... Or how do I reply to someone who wants to swim in a pool during a lighting storm? Im so sorry lady i would prefer you not die on my watch, or hey stupid person do what i tell you or you willl die. Or sure lady, whatever you want, kill yourself.

I can understand how you feel, but at your age you should have just walked out and took your money elsewhere. I, i do not wait long for customer service/depending and all relative to the service and situation.

 

Youre the one who spent your money where you got the jackass 'tude. I'm glad you found a place to whine about it online. next time maybe just walk out.

 

Great store great boards and they treat people like Yankee... appropriately. 10/10, Would recommend to a friend.

 

I just stumbled on this thread while google searching something else, and I gotta say it made me LOL.

WRV has been in a pretty steady trajectory to corporate-ness for about 20 years. I have no issue with that, but it's certainly diluted the brand a bit. Les Shaw still has a stake in it last I heard, so if you want to get to the top, that's the guy, along with whatever investor du jour he has for a partner. I lost track after Frierson left and then Wes Laine got out. In VB, you pretty much have Whalebone, Freedom, and then a bunch of stucco tourist traps. The worst offender being that abomination known as Coastal Edge. Freedom is ok, but they have a bit of cognitive dissonance going on when they talk about "soul surfing" and then describe themselves as "exclusive" in the same sentence. Seems to sort of contradict in my opinion, but I still think they are a pretty good shop. And they have Patagonia, which is a plus.

As an aside, I thought Austin was shaping for Dave Barnes at Seasoned? I could be off on that, just what I heard.

Anyway, as far as WRV, I'm not surprised by this story, and the descriptions of Micki down in Kitty Hawk are spot on. I don't think they are terrible by any stretch, but I haven't shopped there in 15 years, and I used to go to the original retail spot on Norfolk Ave.

Personally, after living in Santa Barbara, I surf mostly Channel Islands. And on the topic of service, even though they are a huge corporate machine now, you can walk into the SB storefront and they will treat you like family. Or drop them a line via email, and they will give you all the info you want.

 

Ok ok! We all surf. We all need gear time to time. Yes we try to buy locally or where we travel to. Yes I work retail. Yes I get tired of the same old questions day after day. Do we all have good n bad days? yes. Sure they sell a lot of boards. The guys usually selling is hardly ever the shaper. Why? Cuz those boys are too darn busy. Now to get to the post. Sure he may be a good surfer or not. Salesman? Probably not. Does it reflect on store? sure. Even if it was going off that day is no excuse. That's the price for working there in the place he chose to live and surf. Looks like a dream job to me. Did he have to be a jerk? no. Saying hey to a customer when an employee sees them should at least be the norm. Attitude with a purchase definitely not. Whether a local or out of towner should not matter. They both help pay the bills and Paychecks. Maybe out of towners more. Think about that. I bet ya over half the sales are from out of towners. Yes I hate people who feel they deserve more and want it for less. Yet I deal with it. This was not the issue in this thread. Thank god my people don't screw up too often. It's not too hard to be friendly when you re living the dream.

That's my 2 cents

 

Oh, please GOD, do not let this thread return to the top of the forum for the next 3 weeks...

 

17th street in wilmington is my favorite, always helpful.

 

Why? There's comedic gold in here.

 

I was down there on Labor Day weekend. I was checking g out a nugget a salesman with longhair ask me if I needed help he noticed my accent and we started talking about surfing in NY and so on.He was extremely helpful .The next day I went back I was on the fence about purchasing the nugget 4 assholes standing around with their hands down their pants and not one asking if I needed help.I guess it's potluck when you walk into WRV Va beach

 

guys this is not just a coincidence, I happen to know someone named Shane and he as well, is he a huge ****. I think this is more then just ONE surf shop worker, we have a Pandemic. People named Shane are ALWAYS a huge **** and something must be done, maybe Obamacare can help this man find his boardbag and peace in the name of Shane??????

 

In death, a member of project mayhem has a name, his name is Robert Paulsen. His name is Robert Paulsen. His name is Robert Paulsen. His name is Robert Paulsen..

 

Went to Balsa Bills in Satellite beach, Fl. Great customer
service there. The owner patiently took time to answer my
1000 questions abt balsa boards.

 

Bob had b1tch tits.

 

Bob was the man, he crushed dude with his b*tch tits, warrior!

 

Bob was Meatloaf.

 

And they made a fat suit stuffed w/ bird seed for him.

 

Interesting, wonder if they had a hard time keeping the birds from landing on him like a scarecrow or bird feeder