24 replies to this topic

[Gronk]

Heads up everyone.

For today only (Thursday 30/11/06) NRMA Members will receive a 20% discount if you flash your membership card.

More about it 80/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/rebel_sport.htm?cpssessionid=SID-3F5768EC-A7C38346" target="_blank">here.

[crabby]

Thanks for the tip. Stocked up on Thorlos and Bodyglide....

[Bandanna]

Thanks Gronk, appreciate the heads up.

Am heading off to the Pitt Street Mid City store right now to check it out.

NB - The Brookvale Rebel Sport store has a 20% discount on all goods next Wednesday 6 December from 4pm to 9pm.

[SlowDave]

Yes we had a similr RACV/Rebel Sport promo in Melbourne. The promo was for the Friday, so i was less than impressed to see an ad in the previous Sunday's papers advertising a 20% off sale at Rebel Sport Mon-Thur. So the special deal RACV got was the same one the general public got for the 4 days prior.

[FakePlasticTrees]

I went to have a look but they failed my test. Within 2 minutes of being there 3 people asked me if I needed help. One was a carefully placed Brooks rep who basically scoffed at me when I picked up a Nike shoe. F that, 20% still doesn't make their prices cheap enough to get my business.

[Spud]

Pauls Warehouse 50% off is pretty good, limited range but I still managed to pick up 2 pairs of Asics 2100s for a neat $200!
Shame they have reduced their stock to mainly Asics, New Balance and Brooks.

[Oakley]

FakePlasticTrees, on Nov 30 2006, 04:30 PM, said:

I went to have a look but they failed my test. Within 2 minutes of being there 3 people asked me if I needed help. One was a carefully placed Brooks rep who basically scoffed at me when I picked up a Nike shoe. F that, 20% still doesn't make their prices cheap enough to get my business.

was he in a Rebel Sport uniform- if so he wasnt a rep. Unlike podiestrists we have no affiation with a particualr brand of shoes and get no kick backs as a result. Mizuno and Brooks look after us in terms of cheap shoes but that is about it. Asics do nothing for us at all! But i still wear their shoes because they are good!
If he was a rep he shouldnt of helped you, not what he is there for. I pulled a staff member up the other day (im only casual) as they were telling a customer who really wanted the Nike Pegasus III's that they were shyte shoes that will cause your foot harm. Wrong Wrong. Some of the other more radical Nike's I reckon cant be good for feet with all that air in the heel such as the Air Max 180 and the Shox. But the Pegasus' are great for the neutral light runner, even the Pegasus 3's are good for those who over pronate slightly.
We did a big trade yesterday with alot of people picking up a bargain which is good to see before Xmas. This is our 2nd NRMA discont offer. If you missed out, dont worry because the 4day after Xmas sale will be HUGE with just about everything in the store discounted! The new Asics range arrived yerterday and it looks sweet! the Kayano 13 looks miles better than the previous models. 2120s are my pick though, cant wait to get my hands on a pair!
Sorry your experience wasnt pleasant, they were just doing their job! Cant please everyone all of the time

Edited by Oakley, 01 December 2006 - 08:24 AM.

[FakePlasticTrees]

Oakley, on Dec 1 2006, 09:20 AM, said:

was he in a Rebel Sport uniform- if so he wasnt a rep.

Nope he was wearing a brooks shirt. The only rebel store that is OK to shop at is the factory outlet out at auburn. Generally because the staff there don't seem to give a crap.

[Bristol City FC]

Agree with FPT on the Auburn store, I like going there cause they leave you alone, its so nice to be able to browse and not be hassled. The city stores are too pushy. Oakly, isn't the customer always right?, isn't their job to give the customers what they want? When you have so many people telling you how pissed off pushy sales techinques make them, why isn't that conveyed to the staff? wasn't this on another thread? :-)

[BEN-HUR]

Oakley, on Nov 30 2006, 04:20 PM, said:

was he in a Rebel Sport uniform- if so he wasnt a rep. Unlike podiestrists we have no affiation with a particualr brand of shoes and get no kick backs as a result. Mizuno and Brooks look after us in terms of cheap shoes but that is about it. Asics do nothing for us at all! But i still wear their shoes because they are good!

What does the word podiestrists mean ... & what do you mean by the statement I have outlined in red.
Looking forward to an informative reply.
Regards,
Ben-Hur.

[Oakley]

sorry podiatrist, my bad spelling mistake
they have a deal with Brooks, they reccomend their shoes and they get a kick back from it. It's well known and it is why not many podiestrists reccomend Asics, NB or Nike.....

As for Rebel, ive been over this at length in another thread. I really dislike pushy sales people. Hence I am not one. I just make sure im visible within the store as usually people will ask a question when they see you.

Customer is NOT always right. Why do you think that? Have you ever worked in retail? We have so many bone head come into the store and just flat out tell me im going to take say 30% off that table tennis table for them. I say no of course, and point out that if they were nice I would of probably given them a discount as much as I could. But seeing as they were tools, there is the door and im sure you know how to use it. I am nice to people who are nice and have little tollerence to those people who want to be arseholes to me!
go to www.rebelsport.com.au and email someone about the service thing. They sure as hell dont listen to us staff that people dont like it.. perhaps they will listen to you. Oh we as staff members know! We hear it from customers first hand!!! But they (management) STILL dont listen. They are being told by their customer service boffins that the approach is all important.
Brooks rep- that is very very poor form on his behalf! The RBK rep has a reputation for pulling stunts like that, only on a bigger, more public scale!

Edited by Oakley, 01 December 2006 - 02:55 PM.

[Bristol City FC]

Oakley, on Dec 1 2006, 03:51 PM, said:

sorry podiatrist, my bad spelling mistake
they have a deal with Brooks, they reccomend their shoes and they get a kick back from it. It's well known and it is why not many podiestrists reccomend Asics, NB or Nike.....

As for Rebel, ive been over this at length in another thread. I really dislike pushy sales people. Hence I am not one. I just make sure im visible within the store as usually people will ask a question when they see you.

Customer is NOT always right. Why do you think that? Have you ever worked in retail? We have so many bone head come into the store and just flat out tell me im going to take say 30% off that table tennis table for them. I say no of course, and point out that if they were nice I would of probably given them a discount as much as I could. But seeing as they were tools, there is the door and im sure you know how to use it. I am nice to people who are nice and have little tollerence to those people who want to be arseholes to me!
go to www.rebelsport.com.au and email someone about the service thing. They sure as hell dont listen to us staff that people dont like it.. perhaps they will listen to you. Oh we as staff members know! We hear it from customers first hand!!! But they (management) STILL dont listen. They are being told by their customer service boffins that the approach is all important.
Brooks rep- that is very very poor form on his behalf! The RBK rep has a reputation for pulling stunts like that, only on a bigger, more public scale!

To answer you question, yes, for a lot of years. I'm sure sales staff who refer to their customers, (ie, who without their money coming into the store, there jobs would be unecessary) as 'bone heads' and 'arseholes' hopefully wont be in line for sales staff of the year awards,..................no wonder so many people shop on the internet.

[BEN-HUR]

Oakley, on Nov 30 2006, 10:51 PM, said:

sorry podiatrist, my bad spelling mistake
they have a deal with Brooks, they reccomend their shoes and they get a kick back from it. It's well known and it is why not many podiestrists reccomend Asics, NB or Nike.....

You make it sound as if all Podiatrists do this by the wording of your post - which is wrong. In fact I have not heard of this - maybe it is one of those retail conspiracy myths! If it does happen, I'm sure it would be just a few Podiatrists - if that!. I should know as I am a Podiatrist - & a competitive runner for over 20 years. When I recommend footwear to patients I inform them on a few vital characteristics they need to be looking for in a shoe - which depends on their biomechanics, foot type, weight, type of activity they are doing (i.e. how many km's they run) & whether I have prescribed orthotics. I do not push any particular brand. I do most of my training in the Nike Free because I am suited to this particular shoe thus I enjoy running in it but I would know that the majority of my patients would need to be very cautious if they were to do likewise & for some it would be out of the question.
On a different point but related to your latest post - I know that dealing with the public can be difficult at times but you might find it easier if you lose the attitude.
Regards,
Ben-Hur.

[Oakley]

mate
if i came up to you, without even saying hello and said "we want that, but you will give us 30% off wont you" you wouldnt like it
or people come in and take their frustration out on me because they arent getting it at home or whatever... I dont get paid enough to put up with abuse and shit like that.
Like I said, being nice gets you a LONG way. On the other hand it is piss funny to be really nice to shitty customers, they dont knw what to do to that! They cant get the shits at you because you dont give them the chance.

[Oakley]

I think your confusing me with the actual Rebel Sport.... i just work there! In the 10 years ive been at Rebel as a casual I havent ONCE had a person come to me from a pod who have been recomended anything but Brooks... interesting. However I dont know everything and could be wrong.
Its good you take the time to do all that as there arent may pods in this area who are good at the whole sports shoe side of things? Do you do any subjects at Uni about it?
I think you all have missunderstood me. I dont have attitude towards nice customers, i really love helping people out and try to do my best for them. As that is what I would expect of someone who I went into a shop and they helped me. But if I say went into a shop and couldnt say.. find a shoe.. so i asked someone then made a comment about how crap our range is and we are expensive... it doesnt really want to make me go that extra mile for that person does it.
My point about the discount thing is that there is a way to go about bargaining. For example... I like that treadmill, is there anyway I can get a better price for it" Customer isnt demanding that it is their right to get it cheaper and it doesnt offend the sales person... the chances of them taking more money off for you goes up a high percentage!
I had one lady tell me I was pretty stupid and must be colour blind because I got the colour of a ball wrong... she wouldnt let it go. Kept scoffing and saying things like "how on earth did you think that was green" etc etc. I just walked off, there was no need for that.
On the other hand, some people have the right to be pissed a someone, somewhere has stuffed up. So I try and make it right, compensate them in some way for their being mucked around. most dont appreciate it.
Im doing primary teaching at uni... im going from the public to parents lol joy joy

[Becky O]

I went into the City store yesterday and as usual was very disappointed by their lack of women's running apparel. I got excited when I saw one running singlet on the rack until I realised it was a men's singlet that had been put in the wrong place It seems to be very hard to find a good range of women's running clothes these days, they seem to focus more on stuff that looks pretty for the gym bunnies.

Anyway, thats my beef...

[Oakley]

Becky
I dont look at womens running gear much, apart from the shoes but would agree with you.
Love the Hippo or whatever it is in your avitar!

[BEN-HUR]

Oakley, on Nov 30 2006, 11:56 PM, said:

I think your confusing me with the actual Rebel Sport.... i just work there! In the 10 years ive been at Rebel as a casual I havent ONCE had a person come to me from a pod who have been recomended anything but Brooks... interesting. However I dont know everything and could be wrong.
Its good you take the time to do all that as there arent may pods in this area who are good at the whole sports shoe side of things? Do you do any subjects at Uni about it?

If your experience is an honest one in regard to Podiatrists recommending only Brooks, then I can understand the basis of your oppinion. This doesn't however mean that it is a 'well known' fact (thus true) nor do they have a deal with Brooks & get 'kick backs' or any financial incentive. This is speculative on your part. I do not know the Brooks rep. The only rep. I know is from Nike & that encounter was after a race - I was wearing Nike Frees at the time thus we got to talking.
There was a course in footwear in the Podiatry syllabus but the marjority of my knowledge comes from personal experience, common sence & knowing what are gimmicks & what may actually work in the structure of a shoe.
I do sympathize in the fact that you have dealt with very rude cutomers in the past - just don't sink to their level... walk on & forget about them. They aren't worth worrying about thus killing your DNA over.
Regards,
Ben-Hur.

[Bristol City FC]

Oakley, on Dec 1 2006, 04:43 PM, said:

mate
if i came up to you, without even saying hello and said "we want that, but you will give us 30% off wont you" you wouldnt like it
or people come in and take their frustration out on me because they arent getting it at home or whatever... I dont get paid enough to put up with abuse and shit like that.
Like I said, being nice gets you a LONG way. On the other hand it is piss funny to be really nice to shitty customers, they dont knw what to do to that! They cant get the shits at you because you dont give them the chance.

piss funny or not, thats the role of the job to be nice, no matter how obnoxious the customer is. Maybe you should look at whether customer facing roles are the right career path for you?.........

[Oakley]

I am positive ive seen on Brooks shoes at some stage that they are in with one of the pod association... know anything about that? Yes you are right, i have based my opinion of what i have seen/heard and experienced, hence it is my opinion. however two pods' that i went to see (who knew SFA about running shoes BTW and were only interested in putting me into these mammoth orthoics that cost a fortune) said that they reccomend brooks as they get them for cost price from the reps, and this was a common thing among ALOT of people in your profession. thinking back though, both mentioned Brooks Beast as it "is the only shoe on the market that controls the foot"

Needless to say I didnt go with their advice and have since found out im a pretty neutral runner, god only knows what those orthotics would have done to me. NOT THAT EVERY PODIATRIST IS LIKE THAT. I was thinking of studying it myself!

You mentioned gimmicks. What do you think they are? I saw some Asics DVD's the other day on their products and it was very cool and very interesting. Of course they said their shoes were the best. But semi had a go (without naming names) of the 'motion control' shoes. Saying that the foot needs support, cushioning and a little bit of guidence rather than something that will stop the foot from doing what it really wants to. Makes sense to me... what is your take on it?
I have loads of shoe related questions lol hobby of mine of late in a quest to discover all about what is best for me and other people.
And yes i am honist and like i said, i put together what i saw and heard and experienced and came to the conclusion Brooks gave freebies or cheapies out to you guys.

Edited by Oakley, 01 December 2006 - 05:37 PM.

[Oakley]

Bristol City FC, on Dec 1 2006, 06:34 PM, said:

piss funny or not, thats the role of the job to be nice, no matter how obnoxious the customer is. Maybe you should look at whether customer facing roles are the right career path for you?.........

I appreciate what you are saying and I can take certain things in my stride and just let it go and move on, their issue not mine. A few things I will never ever stand for and that is violence, abusing be it physical or emotional (name calling etc) Believe it or not we do get people in who insist on calling staff stupid so and so's because thier whatever is one day late when we told them it would be 10 days etc.
Do you work in retail, if not then you really wouldnt understand what it is like.
For example. I had one derro lady in to buy some footy boots for her son, end of the season and we dont have much left in our range which has been discounted but about 50%. Anyway there were a pair there her son liked but they were WAY too big for the little fella. So i said I wouldnt feel comfortable saying they were the right size and her buying them. No other brands had sizes he needed. I said i was very sorry, you know, suggested she try the other stores. So, apparently she goes down to TAF or Footlocker or whoever. The person in there stick him in the shoe I said was way too big for him, she buys it! Then comes back to tell me I know nothing about shoes (i wasnt there so she told someone else lol) apparently, according to the other store. For children you HAVE TO have TWO finger widths of room between the end of the shoe and the big toe. 4cm going off my fingers.... you cant help but get pissed off at these morons who some how think they are superiour as they are the customer... now you try not getting peeved about that?!? I think you might struggle.
On the other hand there are so many wonderful people I meet everyday that it makes up for the crap ones. even had a little old lady bring me in lollies as I sold her some NB walking shoes and it stopped her foot aches (she was walking in slippers)

Customer facing rolls arent my career path... it is a part time job and thats how it will always stay! I would lose my mind having to deal with them day in day out, especially around Xmas time.

Edited by Oakley, 01 December 2006 - 05:50 PM.

[BEN-HUR]

Oakley, on Dec 1 2006, 01:34 AM, said:

I am positive ive seen on Brooks shoes at some stage that they are in with one of the pod association... know anything about that? Yes you are right, i have based my opinion of what i have seen/heard and experienced, hence it is my opinion. however two pods' that i went to see (who knew SFA about running shoes BTW and were only interested in putting me into these mammoth orthoics that cost a fortune) said that they reccomend brooks as they get them for cost price from the reps, and this was a common thing among ALOT of people in your profession. thinking back though, both mentioned Brooks Beast as it "is the only shoe on the market that controls the foot"

Needless to say I didnt go with their advice and have since found out im a pretty neutral runner, god only knows what those orthotics would have done to me. NOT THAT EVERY PODIATRIST IS LIKE THAT. I was thinking of studying it myself!

You mentioned gimmicks. What do you think they are? I saw some Asics DVD's the other day on their products and it was very cool and very interesting. Of course they said their shoes were the best. But semi had a go (without naming names) of the 'motion control' shoes. Saying that the foot needs support, cushioning and a little bit of guidence rather than something that will stop the foot from doing what it really wants to. Makes sense to me... what is your take on it?
I have loads of shoe related questions lol hobby of mine of late in a quest to discover all about what is best for me and other people.
And yes i am honist and like i said, i put together what i saw and heard and experienced and came to the conclusion Brooks gave freebies or cheapies out to you guys.

I couldn't understand some of the points you were making (did you say earlier that you were studying to be a teacher?) As far as I believe it is the American Podiatry Association that recommends Brooks as well as Rockport. That is where it ends as far as I am concerned (just a recommendation) - I am not influenced by it - thus I don't care. Listen here Oakley...... this isn't rocket science - it's just shoes. If this sort of business was common in the Podiatry profession (pushing a particular brand of shoe) I would know about it, particularly as I am heavily involved in running.... or maybe the Brooks rep. is avoiding me??!! There are fruits & nuts in all professions - including the footware industry & the people who sell them but I don't make generalized statements about them.
As far as gimmicks are concerned there has been plenty of them over the years claiming better foot performance i.e. torsional bars, inbuilt Windlass mechanisms; & to a lesser extent better cushioning i.e. air, hydroflow, gel etc. etc. Remember... there are just as many running related injuries today - maybe even more so than there were 20 - 30 years ago, despite all the wonderful innovative footware technology. It just doesn't add up, except if you are talking about dollars - & this is the underlining issue here. The footware industry is a competitive industry - multi billion dollars. If all their wonderful gimmicks worked I wouldn't be seeing so many biomechanically related problems in my practice.
It sounds like you need to take a couple of chill pills.
Over & out.
Ben-Hur

[Oakley]

yeah i am studying to be a teacher, but they offer podiatry at the uni as well and i had considered swapping.
Settle down, its just my opinion which I have every right in the world to have. So lose the attitude! The American Podiatry Assoc. does ring a bell and make sense... like i said.. i could be wrong!
Good points re running related injuries, i hadnt ever thought of that.

[nando]

Rebel are having another 20% discount day for NRMA members on Thursday 8th Feb.

nando

[rodthehornet]

Very fascinating reading. And to think I missed this thread first time around. I just hope Nando's post reignites the debate. My money is on the podiatrist to win this one. I just hope Oakley is not going to be an english teacher in his after life. You really need some help with your spelling.

Edited by rodthehornet, 12 January 2007 - 09:19 PM.