Golf shop etiquette or when is enough, enough?

If you're coming in to have my fitter fit your into three different options so that you can go ebay shopping, then yeah, I'm raping you. But buy from me and we'll call it even.

I've seen the cost of a full irons fitting (ditto for a driver fitting) and IMO, those prices ARE rape. Call it what you want. I'll call it as It see it.

I never said overcharge. I think the full price for fittings is a little "rapey". Others may not and that's o.k. we all spend our golf dollars as we see fit. To me, $300.00+ for a full bag fitting is over the top (again, TO ME). Others may find it as a bargain.

My philosophy doesn't change. If I ran the shop, put you through a fitting, and you purchased your clubs from my shop, the fee is waived. If not you, pay full price, here's your print out, have a nice day.

here is the thing that a bit unsettling to me about what you say. Fwiw..you at first did say "im rapping" you. And so you cant blame me for questioning that mode of thinking. But ok....so you then tamed that down to then say that you feel the price for it is rapey. With that your basically admitting the prices are too high. But you don't indicate you wouldn't also charge that same rapey price.

So from you and your business its a......."mr customer"...….."here is your rape priced (bill), now go away and have a nice day".

I mean even though you feel the price is too high and is raping the customer you would still charge it instead of charging something that is fair and reasonable. That is the part that Im not getting here.

What is so wrong about charging your customer an honest fair fee (a price that you don't feel is rapey) for an honest service and just saying thank you, come again we are always here.

Are you seeing the connection (or disconnection) here?
 
To me he explained himself. If he had a golf shop he'd charge the full fair market price for the fitting but waive that charge if the customer bought the clubs from him. Many fitters and retailers do exactly that or at the very least shave a significant portion of the fitting charge off a final sales price. He also believes (as a customer) those full fair market costs are high, an opinion I'm sure some others share. As a shop owner, paying his fitters, he'd likely feel much differently about how 'fair' that charge is, as most of us would.
 
To me he explained himself. If he had a golf shop he'd charge the full fair market price for the fitting but waive that charge if the customer bought the clubs from him. Many fitters and retailers do exactly that or at the very least shave a significant portion of the fitting charge off a final sales price. He also believes (as a customer) those full fair market costs are high, an opinion I'm sure some others share. As a shop owner, paying his fitters, he'd likely feel much differently about how 'fair' that charge is, as most of us would.

Someone gets it.
 
To me he explained himself. If he had a golf shop he'd charge the full fair market price for the fitting but waive that charge if the customer bought the clubs from him. Many fitters and retailers do exactly that or at the very least shave a significant portion of the fitting charge off a final sales price. He also believes (as a customer) those full fair market costs are high, an opinion I'm sure some others share. As a shop owner, paying his fitters, he'd likely feel much differently about how 'fair' that charge is, as most of us would.

yes but there is still (and Im not saying just from him) but still a bit of a "buy from me or Im slamming you" mindset. And I think that is a wrong approach for one in business. Its ooart if the problem with many businesses. I have been directly and indirectly involved in small business's in my life. So I know all too well the other side that customers dont begin to even fathom and I have a respect for that because I been there. That said...there is still a fair and unfair practice for things. If something is imo far over priced then I would charge a fair price because I never believed in financially raping people especially just on some principle of spite. Certainly in the right to charge fees for a service no doubt and also to discount those fees in place of further sales. But a buy from us or you will get slammed ideology is the very thing that causes customers to seek out other avenues. And trust me I do know how customers can be unfair the other way and will take advantage of every cent they can. But being unfair back was never an answer imo.

Everybody wants everything for nothing and everyone wants to give nothing for everything. The wrong is on both sides. Not many customers will worry about the business and not many businesses will worry about the customer. Which came first? Its the chicken and the egg. I know people in the business's I use to be involved with and honestly don't know how they ever put their head on their pillow at night. Lets not even mention big corporate and how so many them couldn't give a crap about the customer as well as their own rank and file employees. Getting off to a tad of a different avenue here but point is the same….there needs to be fair principles and morals on both sides. As a small business owner there will always be customers looking to take unfair advantage and will never understand your overhead nor your efforts, and headaches but that doesn't mean the business has to also give that unfair advantage back. If I felt something I offered is being over priced than Im going to offer that at a fair price. I wouldn't hold honest customers hostage or take advantage because of the way some of them are looking to take advantage of me. I have to protect myself best I can via policy but I cant over charge when I know and feel its an unfair price to charge. IDk that's just me. I believe in fair. I never ventured into business so that I can work so hard and only take home the same money as I did without the headaches of being in business. Its not worth it unless its worth it. But I also wouldn't slam customers especially based on a spite principle. There needs to be a happy and fair respect medium regardless of the ones who take advantage.
 
Is this thread still going on?


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There's this

And certainly this.....

And absolutely this....


I'm not sure if the issue is that you're not sure what to buy or if it are you going to by at all. If you're not sure that your going to buy, then yeah, I could see how repeated returns to a shop would result in less attention than your first couple of visits. However, a decent sales person should be able to recognize that your continued interest in a possible purchase would be an opportunity to tilt the scales in his favor.

If you're for sure going to buy ad are having a hard time deciding then, yeah, the sales staff is dropping the ball, IMHO. If you KNOW you're going to purchase, you're basically screaming "take my money". It's up to their sales and fitting staff to get you what works best for you. I don't know if fitters do this but If I were a small golf shop retailer, I would waive the fitting fee if you purchased from my shop. If you're coming in to have my fitter fit your into three different options so that you can go ebay shopping, then yeah, I'm raping you. But buy from me and we'll call it even.
im definitely going to buy, ive been out of the game so long and technology has changed, I just want to try as many manufacturers as possible. Going by this thread though, I’ve been going at it the wrong way. One other issue is I’ve been getting a few different sales people and the shaft and lie angle they put me is not consistent at all. It could just be the variation of my swing from day to day but one day I’m a black dot and the next week the guy says I’m green/white. So! I think the plan is to schedule a proper fitting, over a 2 week period to take into account swing variation. Pay the fitter upfront so he knows I’m not wasting his time with the promise of purchasing clubs of getting that money back. No more of this, just show up and try clubs that I’ve been doing. If I’m serious about this, and I want the fitter to be serious, then I need to go about this in a more structured way.

By the way, hit the i500 and it was nice. Shaft seemed a bit wrong for me but I’m thinking I’d like to feel a bit more off the face of the club. I’m not anticipating what club to try next. I’ll let the fitter get me there.
 
im definitely going to buy, ive been out of the game so long and technology has changed, I just want to try as many manufacturers as possible. Going by this thread though, I’ve been going at it the wrong way. One other issue is I’ve been getting a few different sales people and the shaft and lie angle they put me is not consistent at all. It could just be the variation of my swing from day to day but one day I’m a black dot and the next week the guy says I’m green/white. So! I think the plan is to schedule a proper fitting, over a 2 week period to take into account swing variation. Pay the fitter upfront so he knows I’m not wasting his time with the promise of purchasing clubs of getting that money back. No more of this, just show up and try clubs that I’ve been doing. If I’m serious about this, and I want the fitter to be serious, then I need to go about this in a more structured way.

By the way, hit the i500 and it was nice. Shaft seemed a bit wrong for me but I’m thinking I’d like to feel a bit more off the face of the club. I’m not anticipating what club to try next. I’ll let the fitter get me there.

There ya go, brother!
 
I look at it the same way as if I’m buying a car.

I do my research and I find the items I want to try - after so much time online and reading up you need to test drive and see what fit you the best.

You should be open with the salesperson and detail out your process and they should respect that.
 
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