What do you want in a surf shop?

DEALS. I want deals. I dont care if im wearing the 2011 hoodie, i prefer the 2009 model at half price. I wish whiskey militia had a store that you could walk into and go wild. Im sick of getting raped at the register in local shops.

locally shaped boards are always cheaper, last years model wetsuits, etc, etc, etc.

Until that happens, ill keep wearing levis and perusing the web for my non-handmaid equipment.

 

great question -

Board selection for sure - Shop that carries local shapes big plus for me. Shops that will do custom orders from local shapers even better...sometimes financially it just works out to trade in a old stick for a new custom. Having a bunch of vintage eye candy hung up high on the ceiling waayy out of reach, and a crappy floor selection of pop outs/GSI crap is a huge buzz kill.

Wetsuit selection - To me selection is no big deal...first hand knowledge and the ability to order means more to me. Dont get me wrong, its nice to have a few suits to stretch out the rubber and try on but i dont really expect shops to have $50K worth of rubber hanging up in the shop all year just so they will have my size/brand the day i stop in. Having employees who know what size in what brand will fit you, and can order one and order/get it in within 7-10 days reliably at a great price is really what matters and Malibus, K-Coast, and Chaunceys have always done that and been close/beat the price of the big web outiftters.

Brands of clothing- Personally i dont care much about it.

Customer service - Yeah this is big. It kind of bums me out when i go into a shop and the guy working is a great surfer, someone you see ripping all the time, you ask them about boards and they talk about what models/dimensions for THEM, and they are 20 years younger than you, 30 pounds lighter and even though they are really cool and friendly they just dont think in terms of YOUR needs, or you have to drag it out of them.

Loyalty -
Malibus has helped me sell "difficult" boards on consignment quickly. Theres less profit for them in selling a$200 consignment board than a new boards so that means something to me.

K-Coast has twice given me a really decent amount of $ on a trade-in towards a custom Ashton. I get cash for a trade-in i dont have to try and sell, I get a sick Ashton custom, they make money coming and going so its win-win.

Chaunceys has solid board selection, crazy knowledge about boards/fins etc. does great repairs, and old/hard to find fins/items in the back that is basically 30 years of accumulated junk but no other shop would have it...

 

I have to say all is important.

Like said earlier having a wide variety of shapes and seeing the local shapers boards plus a few high dollar boards is nice.

Wetsuits in many sizes and brands is nice so you can try diffent stuff on to see what fits best

Clothing I dont buy it that offten and when I do it on the leftover rack so I oculd careless

Customer service is important cause if you have a question you want the right answer not some have ass reply for someone who dont know jack .

But I find it more important to have the little stuff too. Things like fins, Leashes , Bags and ect . Makes the search for these things more of a pain than trying to track down what board or suit you want

 

My thoughts are:
Is it board selection? Not a problem with board selection in VA Beach or the OBX, however it would be nice if you could demo boards. Nothing sucks worse than paying 600.00 for a board and then discovering you hate it. I would gladly pay 50 or so to test one first. CI actually did this this summer.

Is it wetsuit selection? No give me a fair deal and good suit and I will go away happy and continue to come back with more money to spend.

The brands of clothing offered? Who cares Im not 15 anymore; sorry groms nothing personal.

The customer service? Please see answer to wesuit selection.

 

Cool guys in the shop... cool owners who are always in their shops just making friends with everyone who walks in... talking about the golden days... I always like walking into shops and just chatting with the people who work there. simple as that

 

thats what i like about the new shop that opened up down in wb at the southend. the owner is always there has amazing employees has hot girl employees, gives me discounts.

but the thing with new shops is that if they wanna carry a big name surf company like billabong they have to build a credit and show the company that the shop isnt gonna close right after that company comes in.

 

surfshops

I would say you need a shop that has a good selection of boards and wetsuits definetly. service is big you dont won't a 17 year old shobie giving you advice. Clothing i could care less about i really only won't good boards,wetsuit, and customer service. Another thing is a shop that runs good deals in the winter or early spring on boards and wetsuits.
Here are 2 surf shops i recomend in New Jersey:

WaveHog Surf Shop- Good selection on local brand boards, good prices, wetsuit selection is above average, and customer service is really good.

Surf Shack- very good selection on boards( Cannibal and Kechele),wide variety of wetsuits,Talk to someone working their and you can get good advice on anything.

Here are 2 shops i don't recomend:

Ron Jon Surf Shop: Nothing more than a girls swimsuit store

Faris Surf Shop: This is one level below Ron Jon. Its a shobie shop,they were already when i went by it this weekend

 

for me its board and wetsuit selection. its hard to find a good shop that has a whole bunch of board sections and a huge variety of each model and brand. there's always either too many shortboards, too many lonboards, or not enough shortboard variety. i think every shop should have a high performance section, a retro section, a longboard section, and an all around section. with wetsuits, it's all about variety and size. there are wayyyy too many of the same suit in each shop, and usually no more than 3 sizes. and most of the time, its some ridiculous hyper freak psycho bull****. i just want a good, thick suit that will last me.

 

1 - A shop thats open all year round with knowledgeable help that surfs

2 - A shop that carrys a good selection of domestic boards. I don't care if they sell pop-outs but they need to have some boards made in the good old USA

3 - A shop that can do board repairs without weeks of waiting

4 - Good selection of wetsuits, cold weather gear, leashes, etc.

5 - Finally, no punk a$$ pubescent help that think they are pro surfers and are too busy texting rather than waiting on customers

 

sounds like you found Wild Ocean LOL

 

I think board selection is important. Important to have atleast 1 of each size and shape. And also a good used selection.

Wetsuit selection. As long as it is good suits at a fair price with all different sizes. I think people are looking for performance at a low price because there are suits out there that are top of the line but still low on price.

The brand of clothes i think are not important to a surfer (or atleast the majority) BUT VERY IMPORTANT to the cash flow of the business because there are far more people going in that store for that purpose to sorta be a part of surfing by wearing surf brand clothes they like.

Customer service is basic and shouldn't be hard to achieve to a typical customer. But to the surfer they would prefer someone they could trust with there knowledge on how to listen to what the customer wants and the product to achieve it.

 

Kevin Cook at surf shack is the man

 

x 2 on this.

As a matter of fact, I'll pay a little extra for it. The product has to be good, but if the owner is a genuinely good guy that shows an interested in me getting what I need (even if it's sending me to another shop), I try as much as possible to give him my business.

Gear for surfing, not clothes...specifically wetsuits and boards. It helps if the staff actually has used the wetsuit or model of board you're looking at...or even another model by the same maker. Have your staff demo some of that rep gear.

I'm a huge fan of demo boards. A surf shop in Va Bch has several and while it's limited, the shapes are different enough to help you dial in new designs & materials that will work for you.

 

Surf Shack is BOSS

Kevin Cook is the man. I think im gona buy a board from there in the winter. I really like this 6'4 SB Cannibal corevac board they got there. I would go shorter but im 6 feet tall and im 15. I figure it would give me something to grow into a little bit.

 

when i was like 14 15 i picked up a sh*tty dinged up 50 dollar 5'10 board... i had no idea what brand it was or who shaped it or anything but i loved it... Anyway... years later I actually read the bottom of the board and noticed it was shaped by Kevin Cook. I brought the board into him and he laughed that the thing was still in one piece. So was I as a matter of fact. That guy just loves everything about surfing. Great dude

 

Yep #5 is Wild Ocean for sure.

My biggest thing is loyalty. I usually find a shop I like and stick with it and I expect that loyalty to be returned with things like discounts and free wax. I don't expect that right up front but after using a shop for a year or so the owner needs to step up and reward that loyalty.

 

the customer / shop owner loyalty is important it brings more buisness to the shop and brings the shops rep up and show the surf community that the shop isnt gonna try to rape them .

I have been dealing with Woody's since they opened up in Nww. I buy 95% for my stuff there , Boards, leashes, Clothes ,shoes Ect. The owner Chris is the most down to earth guy you'll ever meet and his staff is pretty cool and knowledgeable in what they are selling you and can answer almost any question you have.

 

Zumba

 

I cant wake up that early for it and if I do get up that early its for waves