 Poster: A snowHead
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I am going to put this out here for all to see
Recently i have had a couple of people make appointments to have boot work done, then call up or e mail to cancel them wanting to see only me, whilst this is flattering I have 3 boot fitters ( one new full time and 2 contractors) who are on the team, i don’t employ trainee or apprentice boot fitters, all are very good at their jobs. I keep saying how tough it is to find boot fitters, I am sure I could find a lot more if I was willing to let standards slip but I am not, so when I have employed someone to do a job all I would ask is that you trust that I have employed someone who can do that job.
The MD of Mercedes doesn’t service your car, believe me it is a poorly trained money in most cases! And that’s not how we operate.
The staff I employ are amongst the best paid boot fitters I know of, why, because they are good at their jobs, simple as that ( our contractors are both instructors for footbed suppliers 1 for Sidas and 1 for Masterfit University, and my full time fitter has spent the last two seasons at a very busy specialist shop under the guide of their podiatrist, so yes they are very good at what they do) If you have a major biomechanical issue, an old injury from a car crash etc then yes fine I am likely to be the one putting your ski boot together, but “ I follow you on the forums and I want to see an expert” doesn’t cut it.
If that offends anyone then I am sorry, but I am unable to deal with every single simple request, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day and if I did, what would be the point of the wage bill that I have at the end of each month
One last thing for work on boots that we haven’t supplied we offer this until the end of August so there is still some time left to get adjustments made, after that I am afraid we just don’t have the manpower as there is too much going on
Hopefully see a few familiar faces over the winter
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 22-07-24 12:20; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I should add, that if there is ever an issue that someone needs help with I am normally only about 10 ft away from them
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@CEM, is James still working with you part time? If so, I can vouch for him. I had my first 2 pairs of boots fitted by James when he had a shop a mile from my house and was really pleased with them, then had a new pair fitted by him at Solutions for Feet before this last season. (The best thing is, he obviously realised colour is the most important thing, as my new boots are purple  )
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@sugarmoma666, yes James will be back with us on weekends from the start of October
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| CEM wrote: |
| @sugarmoma666, yes James will be back with us on weekends from the start of October |
I forgot to mention that it's also nice as he still calls me "young lady" 
Joking apart, James is brilliant at what he does, and presumably (as Colin says), so are any other fitters that he employs.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
| CEM wrote: |
| @sugarmoma666, yes James will be back with us on weekends from the start of October |
I forgot to mention that it's also nice as he still calls me "young lady"
Joking apart, James is brilliant at what he does, and presumably (as Colin says), so are any other fitters that he employs. |
It really isn’t worth employing people are are not good, sure you could say train them, but you need someone who really wants to be trained, really wants to work in the industry and that is what we have now
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@sugarmoma666, Thats right, forget the fit and the pain...
God punishes those who don't coordinate.
@CEM, that's the trouble with customers, they are a pain, even when the booots fit.
I have the same problem in my business, the guys have both been working for me since 2010, but they still want the boss to look at there lawn. 
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| DrLawn wrote: |
@sugarmoma666, Thats right, forget the fit and the pain...
God punishes those who don't coordinate.
@CEM, that's the trouble with customers, they are a pain, even when the booots fit.
I have the same problem in my business, the guys have both been working for me since 2010, but they still want the boss to look at there lawn. |
It is definitely a problem, one the people always bring up in small business but never big business…One of my contractors is female!! That makes it even worse, I mean what would a girl know about fitting ski boots,  had to ask a couple of “customers” to leave over that one
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@CEM, the second best bootfitter I've ever interacted with is a female...Anja in Verbier.
The best is a (grumpy?) scot 
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FWIW, one of CEM's colleagues took great care and an awful lot of time over finding and fitting a boot that worked for my son's unusual feet and he is extremely happy with the results.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| jedster wrote: |
| FWIW, one of CEM's colleagues took great care and an awful lot of time over finding and fitting a boot that worked for my son's unusual feet and he is extremely happy with the results. |
That’s the thing, the aim is always the same high level of service whoever is fitting the boot, sure there are things that need me to look over them. And there are many more I don’t need to know about
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I had a pair of boots done at Colin's place - but not by Colin! And it was all excellent. I'm terrible with names, and it was a while ago, so I don't remember who - but the service was top notch, and I left with a pair of boots I used happily for several years with no issues.
It never occurred to me to ask for Colin himself, I just assumed whoever it was would match the reputation of the shop - and they did.
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| rungsp wrote: |
| @CEM, the second best bootfitter I've ever interacted with is a female...Anja in Verbier. |
Anja did a fix on my boots that S4F had fitted (Keith was the fitter) Free of Charge following a recommendation from @CEM as I was away for a 5 week trip and couldn't get back to Bicester to fix them. It was a tiny fix, but still, great service.
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You know it makes sense.
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Had mine fitted by Alex at S4F, she did a great job with the boots and footbeds.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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This is it folks, it’s about consistency, having a small team we can keep that consistency more consistent, nobody on the current team is afraid to ask another team member for an opinion if they are not seeing a solution to an issue.
And as I hope I have got across don’t judge a member of our team by their age, i know a lot of places where people have been”fitting boots” for 30 years plus and still not getting the basics right
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Poster: A snowHead
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My OH and I both had our boots and footbeds fitted at S4F at the same time last September (Colin's advice was to go in September when they had maximum stock). Mine were fitted by Alex, his by Colin. We were both equally happy with the great service and fit and will be back next time we need boots. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Recently i have had a couple of people make appointments to have boot work done, then call up or e mail to cancel them wanting to see only me, whilst this is flattering I have 3 boot fitters ( one new full time and 2 contractors) who are on the team, i don’t employ trainee or apprentice boot fitters, all are very good at their jobs.
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Though I agree with everything else you said, one part of this concerns me - not employing trainee or apprentice fitters. Where are the good fitters of the future to come from? How do people get experience if not working with the best? I for one would be happy to be fitted by an apprentice with the master nearby for consultation and ready to step in if there are difficulties.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| johnE wrote: |
| Quote: |
Recently i have had a couple of people make appointments to have boot work done, then call up or e mail to cancel them wanting to see only me, whilst this is flattering I have 3 boot fitters ( one new full time and 2 contractors) who are on the team, i don’t employ trainee or apprentice boot fitters, all are very good at their jobs.
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Though I agree with everything else you said, one part of this concerns me - not employing trainee or apprentice fitters. Where are the good fitters of the future to come from? How do people get experience if not working with the best? I for one would be happy to be fitted by an apprentice with the master nearby for consultation and ready to step in if there are difficulties. |
There is a reason we don’t and it is pretty simple, as a small team we do not have the time in the season to train someone from scratch to the standards I need them to be at to be let loose on the customers so to speak, I have done it once and it nearly killed me and my business, much as we wish it wasn’t training a member of staff from zero is a massive financial strain on a small business and much as people talk about apprenticeships and grants form the government ski boot fitting is not seen by the government as a career ( it is now in many alpine nations)
What I will do ( and have done a number of times) is take on someone who has done a little bit so long as they show the aptitude we are looking for and mold them into a great boot fitter, we need that base and that person who actually wants to do the job, this industry is notoriously poorly paid, I would like to think we buck that trend but that more than anything is the main reason nobody is wanting to joint it, a lot see it as a retail job so expect poor retail wages then add to that it’s not just hanging up hats and jumpers and having an easy life.
I am actually involved with a global association where we are funding more training for people coming into the industry, but the people have to want to work in skiing they need to have a passion for it
One of my reps told me recently they were in a chain store branch that had opened not that long ago, they spoke to the 2 members of staff in the ski department, neither of them skied, snowboarded or had any interest in the outdoors at all, when he asked why they were doing the job the response was “ it’s a job isn’t it”
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
it’s not just hanging up hats and jumpers and having an easy life.
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Dude, i used to have to hang up hats and jumpers, every Monday, and it was anything but easy under the watchful eye of the "Sarah" thing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| CH2O wrote: |
| Quote: |
it’s not just hanging up hats and jumpers and having an easy life.
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Dude, i used to have to hang up hats and jumpers, every Monday, and it was anything but easy under the watchful eye of the "Sarah" thing. |
Actually that is true ( although it would have been Tuesday unless she made you come in for an extra day for bad behaviour )
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ah poo-poo, yes we didn't work Mondays, ugly narcissistic woman is single handedly the reason i moved into fitting boots, and am now a drawing pin on your favorite fitting stool.
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When I had my boots fitted in your store it was done by a lady, the results were fine and she was a lot kinder on the eyes than yourself. 
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| CEM wrote: |
| The MD of Mercedes doesn’t service your car, believe me it is a poorly trained money in most cases! |
I don't believe you because you don't have a clue what you're talking about.
That is an extremely poor and inaccurate analogy that does you no credit. The MD of Mercedes is most likely an MBA qualified businessman whose main concern is return on investment to shareholders. Of course he doesn't service your car.
The accurate analogy may be the workshop supervisor/controller or the most highly qualified master technician within the dealership. And no, he doesn't usually service your car either because they are there for the complex cases; you don't need the equivalent of a BASI ISTD or FIS racer for an L1 level job. But the service will be supervised by an L4 level person, just like the scenario that you have outlined in your business where you deal with the most complex cases yourself and are the supervisor for the "standard" fittings.
Calling a main dealer technician a "poorly trained monkey" (sic) when they will have already had to have attended and passed numerous online and physical technical training courses and achieve NVQ level qualifications before they're let anywhere near a customer's car is just plain ignorant.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Je suis un Skieur, uh, dude, are you feeling a bit “triggered” or something? You need to go skiing
I think everyone else got the message …
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I will add my 2ps worth.
3 or 4 years ago I booked a appointment with SfF and travelled down from NE Scotland expecting Colin but got another guy can't remember his name (worked in France think ex military) at the time i was slightly disappointed but most importantly my boots where fitted v well and preformed excellent . My problem now is to upgrade liners (zipfit) or invest in a pair that accept pins this time. Both options will result in a another trip to bicester! First World problems!
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sat 3-08-24 18:30; edited 1 time in total
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@powderfetish, that was Keith. Had a shop in Morzine. He fitted my boots also, and did a great job. I went in for an adjustment on some boots i'd bought elsewhere (it was summer time before it was too busy) and ended up walking out in a brand new pair as mine were just too big for my feet.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Je suis un Skieur wrote: |
| CEM wrote: |
| The MD of Mercedes doesn’t service your car, believe me it is a poorly trained money in most cases! |
I don't believe you because you don't have a clue what you're talking about.
That is an extremely poor and inaccurate analogy that does you no credit. The MD of Mercedes is most likely an MBA qualified businessman whose main concern is return on investment to shareholders. Of course he doesn't service your car.
The accurate analogy may be the workshop supervisor/controller or the most highly qualified master technician within the dealership. And no, he doesn't usually service your car either because they are there for the complex cases; you don't need the equivalent of a BASI ISTD or FIS racer for an L1 level job. But the service will be supervised by an L4 level person, just like the scenario that you have outlined in your business where you deal with the most complex cases yourself and are the supervisor for the "standard" fittings.
Calling a main dealer technician a "poorly trained monkey" (sic) when they will have already had to have attended and passed numerous online and physical technical training courses and achieve NVQ level qualifications before they're let anywhere near a customer's car is just plain ignorant. |
Actually a poorly trained monkey could be no worse than the Fiat main dealer mechanics that were appointed to fix my van under warranty. 7 times it went into have an oil leak fixed from the gearbox.
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