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Don’t
just be an ‘order taker’;
employ your customer-service skills
to help your players select the right string
When helping a customer with racquet service, do you utilize
your expertise as a racquet technician? Or do you find it easier
to comply with “just do it the same…” instructions?
Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with
“the same” if at some point in the past you have taken
the time to analyze and discuss the customer’s game, needs
and desires in order to help them choose the proper string and
tension to optimize their performance on the court.
But if you haven’t done
this and find yourself just taking orders and giving advice only
when requested, then you are doing your customers, as well as
your business, a disservice.
Sure, if you have a decent flow
of business it is easy to just fall into an order-taking mode
and string them up and collect the fee. But, if you are willing
to invest a little time to really find out something about your
customer and his or her game and work with them to get the right
set-up that will elevate their game, alleviate their sore arm,
or whatever else they are looking for, you will have a lifetime
customer who will be doing more word-of-mouth advertising for
your business than you can ever buy.
I’ve been in this business
for decades, yet I’m still con-stantly amazed at what customers
ask for. When asked, “Why do you want that particular string?”
their answers vary, everything from, “My favorite pro player
uses that” to “That’s what my friend said was
the newest and best” to everything in between.
It may be easy to simply install
the stiff poly string at 64 pounds for the 65-year-old 3.0 player
just because he asked for it. But when he hates it, or if it
takes his game down a notch or puts him out of the game to heal
his arm for three months, he isn’t going to blame himself—he’s
going to blame you. So, instead of having a customer singing
your praises to everyone and increasing your customer base, you
have now alienated one more.
The Poly
Trend
For a variety of reasons, the current trend is for polyester-based
strings, and the demand for poly seems to have no end. I have
nothing against poly strings—in fact, I think they are a
great innovation. But they are not for everyone, and in this
case, they should not be for the majority of recreational players.
In our May 2015 issue, we discussed
this topic in “The Evolution of Poly Strings” with
a panel of experts from various string manufacturers who nearly
unanimously agreed that they shouldn’t be for every rec
player. So why does such a large contingent of recreational players
still use them?
I believe much of the blame falls
on us for not educating our customers. We’ve all dealt with
some hard-headed players who—despite you having solid credentials
and experience fitting customers to the right racquets and strings—will
still ignore your best attempts to advise them.
But there are many other customers
who will listen, pro vided they are given the proper information
in the proper format. I think, though, that we often fail to
do just that, because it is easier to give them what they want—without
taking the time to educate them.
Before we simply give them a
string and take their money, we owe it to their games, their
health, your business and our profession to, at the very least,
let them know why we may not recommend a particular type of string
for them.
For a customer who insists on
using a poly string, two key areas that must be discussed are
stiffness and longevity.
Stiffness
Poly strings are much stiffer than other strings and must be
installed at much lower tensions than other types of strings.
This takes some detailed explanation to make them understand
why this is necessary. Stringing at higher tensions is basically
going to negate most of the good attributes of the string. It
will feel much harsher, impact more shock to your arm and be
much less forgiving on off-center hits.
While most manufacturers recommend
a 5 to 10 percent drop in tension when stringing poly strings,
I believe for recreational players it should be a larger drop
than that. To reap the best benefits of the string—spin
potential—the strings have to be able to move in order to
achieve that superfast snap-back effect that puts extra spin
on the ball. Most recre-ational players don’t (or can’t)
swing the racquet fast enough to achieve this, especially with
strings at high tension. Lower tensions will not only help with
this, but also will slightly lower the shock factor and provide
a bit more forgiveness on those off-center hits.
Longevity
For most players, poly strings are much harder to break and thus
are often considered a good choice for durability. This is true
if you are a string breaker, meaning that you break strings long
before they lose their resiliency and effectiveness.
The truth is that poly strings
generally lose resiliency and tension retention faster than other
types of string. This is why you see the pros going to a freshly
strung racquet so frequently. Poly strings may not break easily,
but they lose there “stuff” fast!
This is a big problem on the
junior circuits where long days of training put a lot of stress
on strings and on young players’ bodies. Many juniors can
go through a set of nylon-based strings every session, and some
even faster, especially if using an open pattern racquet. So,
for the sake of the budget alone, parents switch to a poly string.
The trouble is that since the
poly string doesn’t break after four hours like the nylon
may, the junior plays on it longer than he or she should. It
becomes much deader and the player is working harder to get depth,
so he or she is putting more stress on the wrist, elbow, arm
and shoulder and taking a lot more shock that will eventually
lead to injury.
Adults can see the same problems,
too, since poly strings most likely will show no signs of wear
after three months of league play, and so they keep on playing
with the strings until the pain comes and it is too late.
Trends are good, but don’t
let them dictate your recommendations. Give customers your best
advice. If they still insist on trying something you don’t
recommend, offer advice on things they should watch for as signs
the string or tension they have insisted on may not be working,
or may be doing them harm.
In the end, all you can do is
give it your best shot, but we owe it to our customers to give
them the value of our knowledge and expertise. |
