We here it all the time. "Big box" stores are putting the "mom and pops" out of business. Now I admit, I enjoy shopping at Wal-mart or Home Depot once in a while, but there is something to be said for local business owners. They know their product and their customers.
My friends John and Alice Corbett own a running store in Oro Valley called All About Running and Walking. When I first started running a few years ago, they fitted me properly and hooked me up with my first pair of good shoes. Over the years I have stopped and started running due to various injuries. Last week was a "start again" week, and it was time for new shoes.
Now I know better, but I shopped the Nike outlet, Dicks, and Sports Authority just to see what they had. Nike had good prices but as far as I could tell, no technical shoes. When I asked about a neutral shoe with lots of cushioning, I was met with a "deer in the headlights" stare.
Moving on to Sports Authority. Nice guy with Manager on his name tag was very helpful. I explained that I did not pronate and liked a lot of cushioning. He knew what this meant (a good start), but when I mentioned that I had an IT band issue that kicks in around the 4-5 mile mark, he didn't know what I was talking about.
On to Dicks. By now I realized that I should have gone to AARW in the first place (duh), but Dicks carries a brand that I had never tried, and I wanted to see how they felt. On two separate occasions, I could not find anyone to help me. On the second visit, I was clearly standing around waiting to be helped, and employees ignored me. Corporate will be getting a letter from me.
Back to AARW. John greeted me by name, knew what shoe I previously purchased from him over six months ago without looking it up and remembered my IT band issue and asked about it. Then he asked how many miles I was currently doing and it I was running intervals, and at what rate. He then brought out the perfect shoe and showed me a way to lace them that would be better for me.
Long story short - the person that knows and listens to their customers will win in the end. Doesn't matter if you are selling shoes or houses.
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