What is it about the golf marketplace that makes the vendors think they are able to treat us golfers with such disdain?

I bought and paid a hefty price for a pair of Dexter shoes. They lasted about 6 months before falling apart, literally. Contacted Dexter – no response. My new Etonics are wonderful – haven’t required any customer service yet though….....

I have a Pilgrim pull buggy. A member of the club ran over it with a cart and broke the axle (thanks Ian). I contacted Pilgrim n Melbourne for a spare aprt – an axle. Buy from Australian companies they say – I could get no response from Pilgrim in Melbourne after phone calls and emails, my club pro couldn’t get a response and he sells the buggies. After some weeks of trying I gave up and fixed it myself. I’ll never buy another one from them.

So back to my first question – what is it about the golf marketplace that makes the vendors think they are able to treat us golfers with such disdain?

dexter shoes are basically non existent now…..because they change the Australian distributor almost every 2 years…...

this makes it extremely hard to get warranty support and customer service as you may need to speak to 2 different companies to get a warranty claim…..

as for pilgrim, i myself have had no troubles dealing with the company for buggy requirements. they have are normally very good to deal with. it is sometimes difficult to contact them over the phone, most times i will be confronted with a answering machine, but messages are always followed up.

as a rule, it is always best to follow up repairs/warranty claims with the shop that sold you the item. distributors do not normally like to handle these matters with the end user and will most likely not bother unless the retail store chases it up.

I bought and paid a hefty price for a pair of Dexter shoes. They lasted about 6 months before falling apart, literally. Contacted Dexter – no response. My new Etonics are wonderful – haven’t required any customer service yet though……..

That is what you get for buying crap. FootJoy – the number one shoe in golf.

I’ve never had a problem, I’ve cracked heads, snapped shafts etc, i’ve had nothing but good service.I’ve been very luck most companys will do the right thing.

Great service here, especially from Callaway Golf.

I bought and paid a hefty price for a pair of Dexter shoes. They lasted about 6 months before falling apart, literally. Contacted Dexter – no response. My new Etonics are wonderful – haven’t required any customer service yet though……..

That is what you get for buying crap. FootJoy – the number one shoe in golf.

Puma’s are really good!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mate I am the Golf Manager at a club, and I have to say the main reason for lack of customer service is that customers expect products to turn them from extreme retardation into a world beater. the majority of the time they would be far better off spending $50 on a lesson than spending $700 on a single club.

Nobody is happy to look in the mirror and realise that they are the reason they are having 25 points and not their set of Taylor Mades.

And stop coming in the shop and telling us how unlucky you were on the 4th when your ball ended up behind a tree. We have heard 30 horror stories each day, and guess what? We still don’t give a stuff!

And stop coming in the shop and telling us how unlucky you were on the 4th when your ball ended up behind a tree. We have heard 30 horror stories each day, and guess what? We still don’t give a stuff!

So you join a golf forum where you can hear it ten fold. HAHAHA!!!

Mate I am the Golf Manager at a club, and I have to say the main reason for lack of customer service is that customers expect products to turn them from extreme retardation into a world beater. the majority of the time they would be far better off spending $50 on a lesson than spending $700 on a single club.

Nobody is happy to look in the mirror and realise that they are the reason they are having 25 points and not their set of Taylor Mades.

And stop coming in the shop and telling us how unlucky you were on the 4th when your ball ended up behind a tree. We have heard 30 horror stories each day, and guess what? We still don’t give a stuff!

Come on SMS, it’s the drivers fault for the ball going into the lake, not mine :)

I have to say the main reason for lack of customer service is that customers expect products to turn them from extreme retardation into a world beater. the majority of the time they would be far better off spending $50 on a lesson than spending $700 on a single club.

But every time a new driver is released it makes you hit it straighter and longer by 10-15m. You can’t tell me the advertising is all garbage. I routinely hit 400m hole in ones with my TM Burner.

when you say your an golf manager at a club, are you attached to the club? or are you say the manager of the pro shop or something?

Being a manager at a golf club/pro-shop means many things. It is in your best interests (SMS316) to actually listen and care about people who purchase equipment of you. Integrity in the marketplace goes a long way. I have also never had any problem with golf manufactures/vendors etc.. Why? I have never paid for any golf equipment in 20 years and I ain’t no manager of a golf shop/club.. Slightly higher than that.Which club are you the manager of? I am sure you will not say because if you did, you would lose many customers.

Mate I am the Golf Manager at a club, and I have to say the main reason for lack of customer service is that customers expect products to turn them from extreme retardation into a world beater. the majority of the time they would be far better off spending $50 on a lesson than spending $700 on a single club.

Nobody is happy to look in the mirror and realise that they are the reason they are having 25 points and not their set of Taylor Mades.

And stop coming in the shop and telling us how unlucky you were on the 4th when your ball ended up behind a tree. We have heard 30 horror stories each day, and guess what? We still don’t give a stuff!

sms316 P.S. : I dearly hope you slip up one day, call someone a retard, then get everything you deserve.

You might find this suprising;

If somebody comes in asking if a club will help them I will generally tell them to go and have a lesson with the pro. if they still wan’t the club I will give them the price of the lesson off the club.

Most people don’t actually ask that question though – they just say “can I order XXXX”, without asking for advise. I feel no sorrow for these people when they buy something like that and don’t ask half-normal questions.

Oh – and Flip – you are a squid!

I must be lucky. I have only had great service. Once from Prosimmon 12 years ago that reshafted my whole set of second hand Oakwoods for free and also recently from Bridgestone.

I bought a runout Tourstage Z375 driver and broke the original shaft at the hosel after 6 months, the orginal Jap made Tourstage shaft cost a fortune so they replaced it with a Grafalloy attack (actually had the rep call me personally and gave me his number), After I got it back I did not like the Attack and called the rep I was not happy so he promptly picked it up and then asked whether I preferred a Harrison Striper or Aldila NV, I got the NV and well after 1.5 years of service I snapped that. Straight back and got it reshafted again with an NV and its been good since.

Lesson in that – buy bridgestone? just joking but i must admit I was impressed and in this day and age where customer service is not very personal, I thought I was getting the royal treatment but really i was just joe average!

Most people do just walk in and buy what they feel will improve their game without asking advice from a pro. I have been guilty of that in the past, but now would only get fitted for what works best for me… ie irons, lie angles, driver etc…...

To add to this;

With relation to customer service I recently had my own little experience. I started getting lessons from a pro at the start of March, everything was ok, I hadn’t had any lessons prior to this so I didn’t have any expectations. The pro was mildly arrogant with a know it all kind of attitude. However, I accepted this hearing from others that he was great teacher and that he knew his stuff, I just wanted to learn, I wasn’t there to be best mates.

About 8 lessons into my learning, I tried a driver that he pulled out, it felt good so I asked him for a price. In the end, I ended up buying it from a store as there was $130 difference in the price. I must admit, if there was a $40 or less difference, I would have bought from him. He ended up carrying on like a spoilt brat because I didn’t purchase from him and he also tried to embarass me in front of his trainee pro with his comments. Here I am a paying student and member being belittled in front of people. I could have put him into next week with my vented disbelief but I remained calm….

Here I am paying this guy to teach me, and he gives me a guilt trip for not going to him, when he was $130 more expensive. I remained calm and told him that I would have bought from him if his price was competitive to the one I had recieved from a vendor… It’s simple economics…

I knew then and there that I couldn’t trust him, and that he was going to be different towards me in my future lessons, so I no longer see him….

Pretty poor customer service in my book.

I work for myself, so I know the importance of treating your customers right. I am the type of guy that if you treat right I will always come back to you for your business…

Sorry Rowand, back to your intended topic. I reckon I have spent a decent buck in the last six months on golf gear, and have caught both good and bad service at large off course retailers. Starting with the worst to get it out of the way. I had started to shop for my first quality set of irons, with a budget of $600. I went to see the largest retailer in town, thinking they must be good to have such a great range, so much business going through. Only when I got there, my partner in tow, I browsed for a good half hour, nobody asked me if I needed any help, so I waited at the counter. Quarter of an hour later I left, after having been snobbed off for several older better dressed customers, (think they bought a pair of shorts and some tees…..) I then went to several other smaller stores, some were much the same. But one store had a bloke who asked and cared about what I wanted. Since then, I have bought all my gear there, organised my coaching through there and will continue to do so, not because of the price, (it helps that they’re not bad there though,) but because the guys there helped me improve my game by fitting the right equipment. So I guess I’ve been lucky.

I am an aussie living in China and have been very pleased with the service that i have received in Australia when i have returned for holidays. On a visit last year I was fitted for a set of Callaway Fusion clubs at the Cairns store of Golf World. They went out of their way to help and even posted the completed clubs to me in China. Great clubs great service.

To add to this;

About 8 lessons into my learning, I tried a driver that he pulled out, it felt good so I asked him for a price. In the end, I ended up buying it from a store as there was $130 difference in the price. I must admit, if there was a $40 or less difference, I would have bought from him. …

It might sound strange, but did you let the guy know what you could get it for elsewhere and give him a chance to look after a regular?

Pricing is complex, and you never know what the other guy is selling for, for a multitude of reasons. An aweful lot of gear gets sold at near cost in this industry, or even at a loss. Trust me – a significantly higher ticketed price often does not mean the seller is trying to make a killing with a big mark up.

With the exception of large pro shops at affluent Golf Clubs a Green Grass Pro is going to be competitive on average, if not on a particular item. I will sell at little or no profit to price match, and for a long term customer I’ll swallow a loss to allow him to buy from me. So long as I know about it.

Packard, I gave him every opportunity to better the price, but he remained defiant and even questioned the credentials of the golf store. Before I joined a this club, I had bought many items from the reputable chain. I had a friend that used to work as a rep, I know mark-ups.

I am in business too, I know that you must make a dollar to live, and must be able to adapt and adjust prices. I wanted to buy from him, but I wasn’t prepared to pay that much more for the driver… I’m not the type to squeeze, but I want to be treated fairly.

You’d think as a present student of his, he would attempt to look after me a little (making a profit of course), but it seems as though he was under the impression that I was one of these young hot shot guys that rocks up to the club in a Porsche and just doesn’t give a hoot about prices.

Not all of us in the industry are bad and like packhard said some of us will even take a loss just to keep the customers happy (i.e. I don’t won’t to know how you broke the shaft, hard luck,don’t worry heres another one for free champ), because word of mouth is so important. SMS just remmber no customers, no money,no money NO JOB. If you don’t want to hear sob stories your in the wrong job. Also remmber guys if you are having no luck with customer service go right to the top, write a letter to the CEO in the USA it works, If one thing pisses them off, its customers getting a bum deal. Tell them who you have been dealing with (name, bussiness etc), something will happen.

Not all of us in the industry are bad and like packhard said some of us will even take a loss just to keep the customers happy (i.e. I don’t won’t to know how you broke the shaft, hard luck,don’t worry heres another one for free champ), because word of mouth is so important. SMS just remmber no customers, no money,no money NO JOB. If you don’t want to hear sob stories your in the wrong job. Also remmber guys if you are having no luck with customer service go right to the top, write a letter to the CEO in the USA it works, If one thing pisses them off, its customers getting a bum deal. Tell them who you have been dealing with (name, bussiness etc), something will happen.

I know there are honest folk out there Nigel, they are just a very rare species.

Conversely, I had the best customer service of my life at the clubfitter that djgolf recommended here in Melb. Like yourself, they were more than happy to help a fellow golfer, and insisted that I give them some feedabck on the work they had done once I had played a few rounds with the adjusted clubs..

I am an aussie living in China and have been very pleased with the service that i have received in Australia when i have returned for holidays. On a visit last year I was fitted for a set of Callaway Fusion clubs at the Cairns store of Golf World. They went out of their way to help and even posted the completed clubs to me in China. Great clubs great service.

Be careful of buying clubs from Aussies and shipping to China, you don’t want to get fakes, or was that the other way around? :-P

Great to hear from guys overseas (even if they are true blue). How’s the weather there? I’ll be going back to Shanghai at Chrismas if all goes well with the inlaws, if not they’ll be comming here…:-(