Don't Red Laser me man!!

[skidmarks]

Saw it last season with my own eyes, a few customers were scanning Ski Equipment Bar Codes with their iPhones to compare our prices to the internet's. I kind of like it since our prices are very good and it avoids the "I need to talk to the wife" white lie (they realy are going to price shop). Besides we price match in the rare event that we don't have the best price.

I heard the other day from a customer that another Ski Shop in the Bristol, CT area kicked a kid out of the shop. They don't allow scanning of their bar-codes!

Does it take big balls to use an iPhone to shop??

 

[severine]

Retailers who don't accept the fact that people will use technology to get the best deal are living with their heads in the sand. They should be happy anyone is coming in the store in the first place since better deals can often be found online. Make the customer happy by working with them on the price and you have someone who will come back in for more services and products. Bully them, and you can kiss that business goodbye. (Not to mention, that makes a pretty strong statement about their pricing--it's too high.)

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm a technology dinasour; completely unevolved, but lately I've read about all sorts of things such as even scanning coupons direct from your iPhone at the grocery store.

It's the direction the world is going.

Buddy of mine spent a year in Japan teaching English not too long ago. Made some local tech oriented friends. Said his buddies goal was to develop technology that eventually has phones be used for 100% of your personal business. No more currency, cards, identification etc. Essentially eliminate the wallet and have all the information scannable on the phone.

In the application described above, one thing that will always be unmeasurable is the caliber of service. It's funny, some folks would say that service in general is far worse today than years ago (billskis $100 bill thread comes to mind), but with advances in techonology, service is now all businesses have. I work in sales. With each passing year it's getting harder and harder to hide wholesale costs and margins. For the most part, people buy from me because they like dealing with me, not because I offer the lowest price.

 

[snoseek]

Retailers who don't accept the fact that people will use technology to get the best deal are living with their heads in the sand. They should be happy anyone is coming in the store in the first place since better deals can often be found online. Make the customer happy by working with them on the price and you have someone who will come back in for more services and products. Bully them, and you can kiss that business goodbye. (Not to mention, that makes a pretty strong statement about their pricing--it's too high.)

Well said!

I will add the future of ski shops relies almost solely on customer care. I continue to frequent one particular shop that was nice enough to mount some bindings on the spot. This goes beyond just ski shops too.

 

[dmc]

I got it.. I've used it.. But only when I feel like something is overpriced..

 

[Hawkshot99]

It is amazing what can be done with technology. On one hand it is great that this can be done, but it also pisses me off.
I have helped several customers this fall who come in the store, and take up the salesman's time finding out all of the information possible. I have no problem with this at all, it is what a salesman is there for after all. But then they go and scan some item and find it elsewhere for slightly cheaper. That online place did not help the customer in any way, did not pay to have a store setup, or paying employees to help the customers. Of course this makes it so they can charge a bit less, they have less overhead. If a item is significantly cheaper than yes I would go elsewhere as well, but if you are saving just a few bucks than is it worth it to take the business away from the Brick-and-mortar store? Take enough away and the helpful people will no longer be available to help you at all. Certain places may not have the CHEAPEST price, but I bet they have better service than Cheapskis.com(website name made up in case this sight does exist)

 

[millerm277]

It is a bit rude to waste the shop's time by then going and buying it elsewhere, but on the other hand, I completely understand where they're coming from on some things. I generally can't afford current model year skis, and when I go looking at "last year's" stuff at shops, the prices vary so dramatically I pretty much need to check online before considering buying them.

If the price is within $150, I'll certainly consider buying it in the store, as they'll generally give me a better deal on mounting and it's easier to get problems fixed compared to ebay. However, I've seen year old skis still trying to be sold for $800 in a store, while they're selling for $300 or less online....no amount of service is worth paying 250% of the lowest available price for.

 

[djspookman]

why not? It's a fair market, right? Last time my wife and I went used car shopping, we walked onto the lot and called another dealer to see what he could do for us. We walked inside and chatted w/ the dealer with whom we were at, he started giving us crap for calling another dealer, and that he could kick us out if he wanted.

I flat out told him, "then that other dealer would get my money" and that "I don't have an expendable income, so I to pinch my pennies and get the most bang for our buck" He understood that and gave us a better deal in the end, it worked well for both sides!

It is the world we live in now, people just gotta get used to it. I have no shame in watching out for myself and getting the best deal I can. I simply have to, as I have NO extra coin. Every penny saved adds up.

That being said, I will pay extra for better service.. there's something to be said about that.

 

[riverc0il]

I manage a retail store and this has been happening for quite some time now. Even before the iPhone apps that let you comparison shop by photoing a barcode for instant comparison online, some customers were coming in and jotting down info on blackberries or taking a camera phone picture of price and specs and then going online and coming back only for cheaper products.

I have no problem with it. I comparison shop for the best price too and use internet more often than shops. But I never take a sales person's time if I am just checking prices or looking at an item to buy it else where. If that is my MO, I refuse service. And in my store, if someone says that they are just checking specs and prices, I let them and go look for a customer in my store that needs our service. It works just fine. As said above, people will shop in store when they receive superior service even if the price is a little higher. I have no problems with bargain hunters comparing our price and determining if our service is worth the slight (or sometimes not so slight) premium.

 

[Glenn]

That being said, I will pay extra for better service.. there's something to be said about that.

Agreed. It ends up being cheaper in the long run if you have a problem.

I had one of the employees in a local (now closed) ski shop tell me about a guy who was doing that with his iPhone. The employee seemed a bit annoyed by it, but in the end, told the guy he just couldn't beat the price being offered elsewhere.

I don't have a barcode app, but I have used my blackberry to quickly google the price of a ski coat to see if it was inline with other offerings.

As mentioned, I think you'll see more of this. We're a price/value driven society. I mean, look at how many people will camp out for Black Friday.

 

[gmcunni]

Not being in retail i don't have a problem with the scanner stuff. i appreciate good customer service and don't mind spending a few $$ extra for it and/or to keep my money local.

BUT - rarely to i walk into a store not knowing the basic price of the item(s) i'm shopping for. If i got to a store for skis or boots or whatever - i've probably spent hours on google figuring out what it is i want and what the price range is.

 

[skidmarks]

Heads in the Sand

Retailers who don't accept the fact that people will use technology to get the best deal are living with their heads in the sand. They should be happy anyone is coming in the store in the first place since better deals can often be found online. Make the customer happy by working with them on the price and you have someone who will come back in for more services and products. Bully them, and you can kiss that business goodbye. (Not to mention, that makes a pretty strong statement about their pricing--it's too high.)

I found it amazing that they chose to handle the customer that way. As a retailer you need to know what the "Market" price is for the products you sell. I had a customer last week wanting a better price on a Thule box so we looked together on-line. Sold her the box on the spot after a very slight price adjustment.

PS: IMHO that shop in Bristol, CT is living in the stone age

 

[RootDKJ]

I like what Best Buy has done. They put up "display barcodes" on their big ticket items. If you want to see specs, details or reviews on a product, you can scan their barcode and it takes you to that product on their webpage. I've used this and it works pretty well.

Not being in retail i don't have a problem with the scanner stuff. i appreciate good customer service and don't mind spending a few $$ extra for it and/or to keep my money local.

BUT - rarely to i walk into a store not knowing the basic price of the item(s) i'm shopping for. If i got to a store for skis or boots or whatever - i've probably spent hours on google figuring out what it is i want and what the price range is.

I'm the same way. Better to be prepared and go into a store with an idea of how much you might be shelling out.

 

[Smellytele]

Surprised how many of you are in ski retail. I can't deal with people especially selling anything to anyone.

 

[wa-loaf]

It is amazing what can be done with technology. On one hand it is great that this can be done, but it also pisses me off.
I have helped several customers this fall who come in the store, and take up the salesman's time finding out all of the information possible. I have no problem with this at all, it is what a salesman is there for after all. But then they go and scan some item and find it elsewhere for slightly cheaper. That online place did not help the customer in any way, did not pay to have a store setup, or paying employees to help the customers. Of course this makes it so they can charge a bit less, they have less overhead. If a item is significantly cheaper than yes I would go elsewhere as well, but if you are saving just a few bucks than is it worth it to take the business away from the Brick-and-mortar store? Take enough away and the helpful people will no longer be available to help you at all. Certain places may not have the CHEAPEST price, but I bet they have better service than Cheapskis.com(website name made up in case this sight does exist)

This is rude behavior, but you don't have the flexibility to move closer to the discount price? Or are they not even bothering to negotiate with you?

 

[Ballistic]

I found it amazing that they chose to handle the customer that way. As a retailer you need to know what the "Market" price is for the products you sell. I had a customer last week wanting a better price on a Thule box so we looked together on-line. Sold her the box on the spot after a very slight price adjustment.

PS: IMHO that shop in Bristol, CT is living in the stone age

Alpine Haus???? I love you guys!

 

[mondeo]

I set the line a while ago that if I do anything other than look at prices in a store, I'm committed to buying from a brick and mortar unless the price is drastically different online. In that case it depends how much assistance I've gotten, often I'll buy something else in the store and buy the thing with the large price difference online.

 

[HowieT2]

I use redlaser and love it. But I'm not much of a shopper except for ski/bike gear and with that I do extensive research before I commit to anything. While I mostly shop online, I am extremely loyal to my adopted local ski shop (shout out to Joe at Alpine Options @ Sugarbush). I am not going to pay twice as much to buy skis/bindings but I'll pay whatever they are asking for properly fitted boots.

 

[gymnast46]

Savvy customer this morning at Suburban Sports. Download the Red Laser app from the iTunes store.

 

[tjf67]

If the shop is within 20% I will buy it from them. If they are not I will let them know and they can decide if they want my business. I dont mind supporting the locals but I am a local now to so either work with me or I have to go to the internet.