Local hobbyshop pisses me off!

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Trip

Trip

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Ypsilanti Michigan U.S.
I didn't know where to post this so feel free to move it.

I went in to my local Riders HobbyShop earlier today with my FG in one hand and the Marder in the other. The hobby shop has a little indoor carpet track set up and there were a bunch of kids and adults running their slash trucks and evaders and whatnot. I plopped down these 2 rigs and instantly there was a crowd! The employees had a puzzled look upon their faces, but the customers drew to me like I was giving out free money. I must have had 20 people around me in about 5 minutes. I had not started them or anything I just plopped them down on the tables that were set up.

The HS manager came storming over to me like MR GetBad and insisted I leave. "You didn't buy those here and I don't want them in my store!" I responded politely (first time for everything) "I came in to see if I could find some parts for the buggy. You guys used to sell Firehammer parts and I was hoping that you still did."

"Well we don't carry that junk, now get the hell out of my store!" My patience has grown strong, being the father of 4, so I calmly said "OK, if you don't want my business, I'll leave, see ya." I grabbed up my largescales and started to leave. Captain BadAss had to open his mouth one more time with "...And don't come back" I dropped my FG on the ground and in an extremely loud F**K You! came out of my mouth, just as I was walking out the door. I didn't know I could snap and be that loud, but it sure grabbed a ton of attention as I walked through the front door.

Funny thing was, about 10 people followed me outside, commenting on what a "Butthole" this guy was. I have no idea what his problem was, nor did I care. So I did what any other person in my situation would have done, I fired up that FG and let that JetPro scream up and down the parking lot! There were people coming out of McDonalds to see what all the commotion was about. Kids running out in front of cars just to get a glimpse of my truck. I wasn't going to run my R/C's because I know they're loud as hell, but that boob done pissed me off!

There I was with 40+ people standing around me in the freezing cold watching me run my truck around! I will say the FG ran better than it ever has and made me proud as hell to be a largescale owner!

Piss on ya, I'll buy my junk online!

Trip..
 
id contact BBB and file a complaint first off, next id go to the local forums and tell your story. no need for that sort of thing.

most hobby shops that don't deal in large scale hate it. its so hard to sell a 1/8 scale buggy or a nitro monster truck as the biggest and baddest thing when people know about large scale. now what happens is those people that saw it are going to go home and look online for it, and id bet one of those people that looked at it in the hobby shop will buy one, and thats a lot of someones disposable income that is now taken out of that hobby shop.

im lucky, both my lhs's don't have an issue with large scale. one stocks hpi baja parts, and is willing to order almost anything, the other doesn't stock anything for large scale, but ive been a customer for 10 years and i still by all my little stuff for it from them (servos, screws, linkage stuff, ect).
 
Sharkey said:
id contact BBB and file a complaint first off, next id go to the local forums and tell your story. no need for that sort of thing.

most hobby shops that don't deal in large scale hate it. its so hard to sell a 1/8 scale buggy or a nitro monster truck as the biggest and baddest thing when people know about large scale. now what happens is those people that saw it are going to go home and look online for it, and id bet one of those people that looked at it in the hobby shop will buy one, and thats a lot of someones disposable income that is now taken out of that hobby shop.

im lucky, both my lhs's don't have an issue with large scale. one stocks hpi baja parts, and is willing to order almost anything, the other doesn't stock anything for large scale, but ive been a customer for 10 years and i still by all my little stuff for it from them (servos, screws, linkage stuff, ect).
Click to expand...

I agree with you, but as I had mentioned, they used to carry the Firehammer, now that it's been discontinued, they could just as easily carry the 5b/t. They stock Savages and firestorms, so I know they are getting HPI. I wasn't going in there to start anything. I was planning on going in there getting some parts and to brag a little, maybe get a few more people turned on to largescale. I know what firehammer parts would fit my buggy, so I didn't need to take it in there but I wanted to! I have brought in about 50 people over the past 10 years, into this hobby (R/C's in general not necessarily largescale) I get them lured in by having something unique or way over powered. I was the first person in my town to have a twin big blocked T-Maxx. I know I was the first person to have a twin-Picco 26 (hottest affordable motor on the market in 02) Thunderquake and a few Big block rustlers and HPi RS4MT's... I didn't get people into this hobby by showing off with a tyco and looking like a Tool!

Go in with the biggest and baddest or at least the best looking rig you can get your hands on and show the average Joe that r/c is more than just the junk at walmart and radioshack. That has worked very well for me over the years. Most of these people have never seen a largescale, some have never even heard of them, so when you walk in with a pair of them hanging down to the floor, it's pretty impressive.

I don't know why these clowns don't stock Baja's or something else large scale, they used to carry that POS Traxxas Monster Buggy, for well over a grand! I remember them trying to push that rag on me back in 2000. They also used to carry gas powered 50"+ boats? So I know they didn't USED to have a problem with LS?

I do know with the lousy attitude they had toward me a few people said they would boycott the store... Which really is a shame because Riders is the only hobby shop for a 50 mile radius! I told them not to worry, go ahead and shop with them, but don't let the HS people talk to them the way they did me.

I know what you are saying about the biggest r/c they stock in the store being dwarfed by my largescales, but they still should have treated me with respect... The little prick is lucky he didn't walk away with a handful of bloody teeth. Yes, I would whip some ass over a toy car! :lol: It's the lack of human respect is what about got him knocked out. So instead of getting physical, I dragged all his customers outside for a largescale show!

The last time I was in that store was right after I bought my FG (07) and I was looking to buy some cans of paint for the body. They told me and I quote, "You ought to sell that piece of poop and by the Savage 4.6." I said why would I want to do something like that? This truck is 3 times as cool as a Savage! I turned around and walked out. Do you know where I bought the paint for my FG? It certainly wasn't from them, I bought it online so I didn't have to deal with some shumck with a chip on his shoulder because my FG was 4 times the size of his Losi xxt. Just because he has an inferiority problem with his tiny manhood, doesn't mean he has the right to rag on my $1,200 truck.

You can't treat people like that and expect to make any money or friends. I ran a hobby shop for a buddy of mine for about 3 years and I had a blast. I would help people whether they were spending money in the store or not, I would do it just to help out the hobby. I remember one guy came in with an old Kyosho Nitro USA-1 and you haven't able to buy parts for that thing since the mid 90's, but I still found a way to retro fit modern buggy parts to make it work and the guys was tickled pink. A week later and he brought 3 buddies with him and because of my attitude they bought Mad Forces and a Savage. If I would have laughed in his face, the guy may have given up on the hobby and walked away, who knows?

Courtesy, it goes a long way!
 
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I busted them out on IP (insider Pages.com) it's an online review board...

Here's what I wrote, mind you this is all true. I couldn't make this up, I'm not that creative.

This place however small it may be is filled with empty shelves and empty headed employees with rudeness abound. I run 1/5 scale gasoline R/C and I walked into their store and I was instantly rushed out and was told not to comeback because they don't sell the R/C's I run and they don't want them in their store! I don't know why, but this is the second time I have entered this store with my 30 inch long R/C truck and was treated this way. Once I had obscenities shouted at me.

I have come in the store with an older r/c car and was ridiculed by the employees because it wasn't a "new" or "exciting" model. 10 years ago I ran a hobby shop and I know how difficult it can be to keep everyone happy, but when a customer is shunned because they have a classic collectible model, (Tamiya Brusier) it can be terribly frustrating especially to a new r/c owner. I have been in this hobby for over 25 years, so I am not a teenager with a chip on my shoulder. I am a 35 year old man and the last time I went in this store, I went in with my family and had profanity shouted at me!

They do have an indoor track, but if you break something (and you will) they don't have any parts in stock to fix anything they sell.

I walked in one day to look around and I was appalled when I heard the desk jockey tell a customer that he needed a $300 battery charger to charge his $10 battery! The little boy was probably 12, he was there with his Dad and they both left with nothing. Riders had a $35 charger that would have worked just fine for the boy, but when I asked the clerk why he tried to sell them a $300 charger, he said "Because he bought that battery from TowerHobbies(.)com and we stick it to 'em everytime they come in here for parts" Can you believe that?!? This company needs to take a class on business ethics!

Lousy store, with a lousy selection, with lousy attitudes. If they weren't the only hobby shop for 50 miles I would say avoid them, but you can't. It really is a shame because people really should support their local hobby shop, but when they act like this it is next to impossible to spend your hard earned money in a store that doesn't respect you and expects you to spend more. When you go to the checkout, it isn't "have a nice day", or "thank you", it's "Why didn't you spend more? How much money do you have? Oh that's not enough," so they ridicule you.

If you do go in, please mention this review.

Thanks for your time,
Trip..

I don't think it will do anything, but hey, if one person mentions this review to them, maybe they will change their attitudes. Probably not though...
 
sounds like their real problem is with people who shop online. with the refference to the kid buying a charger, sure he may have gotten it online, but now wants a charger and if you treat him right he will be back for more stuff. same thing with you, you didnt buy it from him, you bought it online, so they take the attitude of why should we help you? a few years ago one of the not so local hobby shops i visited got bought by a racer. he took the attitude of "buy only what i sell and tell you to buy", and got mad at people who bought online or even disagreed with him. a shop that ran for 15 years closed its doors because of that, later to be re-opened by a new owner.

really this is the sort of hobby shop that sells t-maxx's by the hundreds to people that have no idea what they are getting into, have no clue how to fix them, and take them back in for the hobby shop to fix. they rely on the high volume of rtr vehicles, they are easy to sell and have better profit, where the large scale stuff is harder to sell, far more costly to stock parts for and accounts for a low volume of sales.
 
I agree with you 100%!

I used to wrench on peoples junk for free most of the time and after awhile it did get old.

I used to be the guy that tuned everybody's carb at the track. I was doing this before every race and sometimes I didn't even get to tune my own Savage before the race, so I started charging people 5 bux to tune a carb each time.

Or for 10 bux I will take you across the street and privately TEACH you how to tune your own carb, with the understanding that they were not to use my teachings to show others on race day... That way I could still make my money. I made alot of money that way. I always had my lazy customers that would rather I tuned it everytime and that was cool because it gave me gas and beer money!

Whats that old saying give him a fish verses teaching him how to fish...
 
Amazing story Trip.
If ever there was a need for a New Year's Resolution, particularly in this economic climate, they definitely need to do something, if they wish to continue operating ... !!!
Al.
 
Years ago, I had been buying RS4 electric - on-road and rally - parts from GB Models, then I'd bought a Traxxas E-Maxx (from somewhere else, probably Tower), took it into them to show, and despite stocking Savages, they were made up to see it .... totally different - real enthusiasts.
Al.
 
I think these shops are all around us .The shop by me started a offroad track with good intensions a few years back with a few buddies an me that built it .This dude ran it about half ass for a few months to help his hobby shop.Then as it got warmer all he wanted to do is fly planes and the shop carried more an more plane stuff, what the hell was that. Then trains then plains. Last year my budies took over the track with the lease an the intensions of buying the timing system from him an he said he would sell it to them an over the winter he sold it .They didnt find out till the week of opening day that they had no timing system and at $4000 .After putting money into the track not much cash for a the whole system which they were agreed to make payments on.Needless to say I don't go there no more.

I hope I was to long winded just another example of but heads shop owners
 
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it may be alittle out of your way but go to larry's rc performance. alot of people around windsor/leamington/ and even kingsville (and there is 2 hobby shops there) travel to larry's. massive hobby shop and they have 2 tracks with excellent customer service.
 
That is the difference between a Hobby Shop and some jerk turning a profit selling toys to children.

I mentioned that I ran a hobbyshop a few years back, well we were lucky to break even. Not much room for markup with places like Tower Hobbies and Ebay selling stuff at wholesale prices. It was more so just a service or a place to get together and play with toys and not be ashamed of it. We used to have R/C bashes even in the middle of winter and still 75-100 people would show up and the sound of 20 nitros running around would attract a bunch of attention and cause more people to come in and buy stuff.

To me it didn't matter what R/C you brought into the store, if you were proud of it, then it was cool in my book. But that was/is the kind of person I am. I remember a kid bringing in an old Sears Super Lobo, (Plastic Chinese toy grade) it was dead, but he bought it at a garage sale and he really wanted to drive it around. I tore that thing apart and replaced the circuit board and janky radio gear with my own personal stuff, I tossed in a Midnight 2 stock motor and a hitec 645 servo. I didn't even charge the kid for the parts or labor.

Now that kid is 25 years old and one of my close friends. He still has that Super Lobo and he still loves it just as much now as he did then.

That Riders place charges $30./hr by unqualified idiots that just replace parts, none of them even know how to rewind a recoil.

After awhile though, the Great Planes and Horizon bills would come in and sometimes they were $10,000 each plus other building expenses we couldn't make enough to cover the bills. Selling parts at a 10% markup and selling trucks at a mere 5%, not counting theft, we just couldn't do it anymore and still be an honest seller. So instead of scamming people and getting a bad reputation, we closed up...
 
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I guess I'm lucky with my local hobby shop. they have people that actually know about RC cars and planes. These guys are friendly and try to help the customer. Best of all they carry large scale models and sell them almost as fast as they can get them in. They originally carried The HPI Baja 5b but are now carrying the 5t and the 5SC on order. They will order any HPI part you need without a hassle. The only downfall is that they don't have an outdoor track. Oh well, you can't have everything.
 
I know no hobby shop can stock every part for every car, but when I need it, I need it now. If I wanted to order it, I would buy it off the internet for less...

I ordered parts for one of my Savages from these clowns and it took them 2 weeks just to put in the order, because they only order once a month and then it took another week to get it... I paid them when I ordered it and had to wait for 3 weeks to receive the item. In the meantime, I got tired of waiting and just ordered it from my online store and had it in 3 days. I still have the extra part from the hobby shop...
 
We had this hobby shop called overgeared (they aren't open anymore but still run racing). I bought a used bump starter box from the owner. I purchased a glow igniter cable from them to use with this box. the power panel was burned out though and the cable was useless. I took the cable back for a refund and he says he is charging me a restocking fee for returning it. I lost it on him after trying to make him understand he sold me something for something he sold me that didn't work and I still have to pay is wrong, he couldn't figure that one out.... and I spent a fair amount there and helped bring people in etc. he not only lost my business but many of my bud's wouldn't go there anymore either. we'd drive to langley first
 
It just goes to prove again a theory Ive always had its true.

Just because a person has the ability to get a buisness up and running or has the resources to buy out an excisting buisness, dosent mean that they themselves are going to be good at buisness or dealing with the general public.
 
I guess I'm lucky with my LHS, we have 3 in a 20 mile radius, one is a HobbyTown, one deals exclusively in trains/static models/diecast, and the third does some car/boats, but 99% of his business/interest is in planes, and was the same with the original owner

the guys at hobby town are all very knowledgeable but do not stock 1/5th scale stuff(none of the shops do) but they have a 5t on the shelf, the reason they don't stock, theres maybe a dozen 1/5th scales in the state and no one really breaks anything, but if you have a problem with say a plane and they can't figure it out, they(even the store's owner) will send you to the other shop that deals with planes, same for trains in a 60 mile radius we probably have a half dozen hobby shops
 
There are a few LHS with-in an hour of where I am on So. NH. Only 1 that I am aware of handles some 1/5th scale stuff....but parking is rediculas far away for a disabled person(me). Rt106 HS and raceway is realy good for 1/10 or 1/12 stuff or whatever 4x4 nitro or electric monster truck is in fashion atm...all nice people there to. But no in stock support for anything related to 1/th scale. And theres a Hobbytown in Manchester....great if you like doll house and miniture items....I spent 30 minutes in there a few months ago....walked right past by 3 different employee's at least a couple times each. Not once did any of them ask if I was looking for anything or needed help...nothing. Not even a blank stare...not the freindly establishment I would spend money at.

SO I rely on the interwebz to suport both my Baja and Axial Scorpian crawler habits.
 
It really has come to that, these kids working at the hobby shops have no love, joys or skills in this hobby. They are just there for a paycheck. It's better than getting out of work smelling like greasy french fries and spilled milkshakes...

We need to get workers that have a love for the hobby and a desire to help educate others to make this sport/hobby fun for everyone!

It's time to talk to owners and store managers, if they get enough complaints and lack of customer sales, they will have to listen or be forced to close their doors.

There was a local hobbyshop around here a few years ago, the owner took all the profits and blew it on hookers and his baseball team. Quite the combo huh? Needless to say, he didn't last long. He was in filing bankruptcy at the same time my buddy was and had to explain to the judge why he owed $50,000 to Great Planes and Horizon... "Well your Honor, I have a problem with women..." He was another worthless loser that was only interested in the profits from stealing from his customers.
 
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