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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    denver
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    sarcastic remarks can get you banned from Neptune Mountaineering

    I never thought I would have to write something like this. I actually got banned from Neptune Mountaineering today. Here's how it all went down. And no, this isn't a joke.

    After receiving a call that my Axons were in, I rushed down to Neptune to pick them up that night. Finally I could ditch those miserable Day Wrekkers. I was beyond excited.

    I walked directly back to the boot department and told the salesman I had Axons waiting on the hold shelf. He promptly snapped back that they didn't carry such a product. I was surprised by his response since I've had such good service in the past. Maybe he misunderstood me. I asked him again but this time he said Garmont didn't even make a boot called the Axon. I didn't have the time or patience for these antics. I pointed to the Axon on the wall and asked him if these appeared out of the ether then. My pair was delivered today and will be waiting on the hold shelf. While he stood there with a blank stare on his face, another salesman came over and asked if he could help me. I told him this guy was incompetent and obviously incapable of performing the simple task of retrieving a pair of boots from the back.

    Once I finally had the boots on they felt decent but I wanted to try the next shell size down. I asked if I could try on a 25.5. They said my boots came from a special order and the store didn't carry Axons. Not this garbage again. I had talked to the hard goods manager about 1.5 months ago and I thought I remembered him saying they would have a pair of 25s. After repeatedly asking them to please check the back, they came up empty handed. It turns out that 26.5 was the smallest shell they had. Oh well. I probably needed a 26.5 anyway but it shouldn't be this hard to get service. I left the boots on for a few minutes and had to listen to the same salesman's inane questions. Are those water skis? Why do you want such a stiff boot? Etc.

    I left my skis for the tech to mount and told him I would give him a few extra bucks for an extra careful mount. I didn't want any prereleases on these things.

    Two days later I receive a call from the general manager. He heard bits and pieces of the story and didn't appreciate how I treated the salesman. I explained my side of the story but his response was the store won't mount the skis and you are no longer welcome here. Unbelievable. I never once raised my voice or cursed and I remained calm throughout the whole incident. Sure I was a smartass but even Mother Theresa would have strangled the guy. To make it worse, I now had to find someone to mount my skis on very short notice. Luckily Edge Works was more accommodating. They even gave me a student discount.

    I thought I would share this story since lots of Front Rangers probably shop at Neptune. I had been a loyal customer before this incident, even driving down from Colorado Springs for my last pair of boots. Salesman like this are one of the main reasons I'd rather buy online. They can turn what should be a pleasant experience into a nightmare.

    I'm ultimately grateful that I scored a rare pair of boots from them but I don't understand the know-it-all salesman mentality. It’s better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt. All the salesman had to do was say he didn’t know and he would check. Seems simple enough to me.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Market St. Station
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    1,034
    Consider yourself lucky.
    let your tracks be lost in the dark and snow

  3. #3
    The word Gaper is overused Guest
    That's typical ski shop mentality...

    "I know more than you cause I work here and you don't"

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Golden
    Posts
    61
    Yeah..... I got the Nep-tude one time over a pair of Dynafit bindings.

    Never been back.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Making the Bowl Great Again
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    13,779
    Quote Originally Posted by adimmen View Post
    I told him this guy was incompetent and obviously incapable of performing the simple task of retrieving a pair of boots from the back.
    Ok, they sound like morons, but when you escalate the situation like this you can't expect it to turn out good in the end.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Not in the PRB
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    32,776
    I will not shop in Neptunes. After many years of going into their store and receiving very hit or miss service, it finally dawned on me. Their philosophy does not really consider customer service. Rather, they seem to think that if they hire accomplished people (climbers, mountaineers, etc) that this will magically translate into good customer service. And indeed, sometimes it does, but more often it seems to translate into attitude (Nep-tude, I like that!).

    They clearly lack any sort of general concept of good customer service, and it seems like that lack must come from the top. So they don't get any of my (considerable) outdoor gear dollars. I'd sooner give it to big box REI.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    P-tex, CA
    Posts
    8,660
    I just assume all ski shops are like this....

    Back in the day, I flipped out on an old guy at BSD after bringing in a pair of skis to get some patch work and a basegrind. I just came back from xmas break skiing back home in Tahoe with a 144" base. He asked how the skiing was and I replied it was awesome. He looked at my skis and said they must lie on the snow reports because it looks like you skied on rocks. I tell him that its just from Kirkwood, they have volcanic rock all over the place. It goes on and on...and I stop and tell him if I could just get my skis fixed. He tells me to throw them away, so I grabbed my stuff, tell him that he is moron, and proceed to tell the manager as well, when he comes over and says that...here comes the best line..."I can ski shit that would make me piss my pants." Never went back.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    5,917
    Is this for real? I really would like to call them up and ask them about this.

    If this is true, I will never shop there, and I will call them and let em know it. What's the general manager's name?
    Last edited by Below Zero; 12-13-2007 at 02:14 PM.
    "Can't vouch for him, though he seems normal via email."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    LV-426
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    So who was it?
    http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...=0&dept_id=100

    Let Neptune know how their customer service efforts are appreciated:
    http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...t_1.asp?s_id=0


    And for future reference -- doesn't Fabrizio have a chalet in Colorado too?
    (303) 499-8866

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Mammoth/Santa Barbara
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    1,497
    What I don't get is why anyone would name a mountaineering store after the god of the ocean? You probably would have gotten better service you walked in asking for a wetsuit.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    my own private idaho
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    2,458
    I can't stand that Core-r-than-thou attitude. You'd think in this day when local shops are struggling to make it they would cut the 'tude and learn to listen to their customers.



    Don't they know not to fuck with the maggots? After all, we are in Skiing magazine now.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    in the middle of a Norman Rockwell painting
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    1,068
    Neptune is full of accomplished outdoors people with the social skills of the rocks they like to climb. With so many good shops with rootsy employees, I am continually blown away that they manage to stay in business. Sounds like a shitty experience, and one you needn't have been quite so much of a dick about, but point taken. Call Marshall next time you need something, I promise he'll be gentle....

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    denver
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    Quote Originally Posted by Below Zero View Post
    Is this for real? I really would like to call them up and ask them about this.

    If this is true, I will never shop there, and I will call them and let em know it. What's the general manager's name?
    I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

    The general manager said he was proud to stand up for an employee and would do so again. He also said I was creating an unacceptable disturbance on the sales floor. I find this hard to believe given that he relied on second hand information and I never raised my voice, cursed, or did anything of the sort. I merely let out a few sarcastic remarks that could only be heard by the salesman and myself.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
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    Colyrady
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    3,781
    Neptunes used to be great, but its gone down hill
    I have a good friend who wont go there anymore because of the jack-ass sales people he's come across.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
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    Denver, gorgeous!
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    787
    Ummm... I thought everyone knew about and avoided the Nep-tude.
    SLOWER TRAFFIC
    KEEP RIGHT
    http://shifter102.blogspot.com/

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    19,201
    Gary is a good guy, but he sucks at hiring. This shit's been going on forever. I put working at Neptune's on the list of soloing Kieners and aiding Moonlight Buttress for the wannabe Boulder hardman. Sounds core, but in the grand scheme of things, BFD.

    I hear this chick Marsha can do a pretty good mount, and any Garmont dealer should be able to order you some boots.
    Is it radix panax notoginseng? - splat
    This is like hanging yourself but the rope breaks. - DTM
    Dude Listen to mtm. He's a marriage counselor at burning man. - subtle plague

  17. #17
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    Apr 2005
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    Definitely too sexy for retail!







    These guys are bad ass. You shouldn't have messed with them Adimm!

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    No of SoBo, So of NoBo
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    2,284
    IMHO, sarcastic remarks feel satisfying when you say them, but rarely result in getting what you want. Better to grumble quietly and get your problem solved. Of course, once you realize you never want to deal with a particular person/store again, let 'er rip.

    This probably applies with significant others as well.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Republic of Snow
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    336
    Quote Originally Posted by tarkman1 View Post
    What I don't get is why anyone would name a mountaineering store after the god of the ocean? You probably would have gotten better service you walked in asking for a wetsuit.
    The owner's name is Gary Neptune. Funny guy, owns one of the best gear stores in Boulder since the 70s, and skis in leather boots and wool sweaters

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
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    Boulder, CO
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    2,260
    I drive from Boulder down to Golden's Bent Gate to avoid Neptune on a regular basis. Fuck those guys.

    Quote Originally Posted by tarkman1
    What I don't get is why anyone would name a mountaineering store after the god of the ocean? You probably would have gotten better service you walked in asking for a wetsuit.
    It's named for the owner Gary Neptune.

  21. #21
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    Oct 2006
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    Hokkaido
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    As a long time friend of Gary Neptune and many of the people who work in his shop, I am always puzzled by accounts of attitude there. I have never experienced it even when I don't go in for a while and new people there don't recognize me.

    I think there may be a certain level of explanation for what adimmen experienced and if you want to PM me, I will attempt to shed a little light on it. Not to excuse anything you experienced, but I can imagine a scenario under which this might have happened and understand the protectiveness if that scenario is in fact the operative one. Sorry to be so circumspect but I will be happy to explain that in private.

    I boiled my thermometer, and sure enough, this spot, which purported to be two thousand feet higher than the locality of the hotel, turned out to be nine thousand feet LOWER. Thus the fact was clearly demonstrated that, ABOVE A CERTAIN POINT, THE HIGHER A POINT SEEMS TO BE, THE LOWER IT ACTUALLY IS. Our ascent itself was a great achievement, but this contribution to science was an inconceivably greater matter.

    --MT--

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Flavor Country
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    Too bad no one warned you ahead of time about what to expect. Gary is a nice guy but some of his employees suck. I only ever went there if I knew exactly what I wanted and wasn't going to need any help or suggestions.
    Last edited by Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo; 12-13-2007 at 02:43 PM.
    "They don't think it be like it is, but it do."

  23. #23
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    Sep 2004
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    I sent them the following email from a spammable email addy:

    Hi-

    Do you carry the Garmont Axon in a 27.5?

    Thanks-

    Kermit

  24. #24
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    May 2004
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    Colorado
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    I don't really care what the conversation was, but unless adimmen was being vulgar, threatening lives, making racist comments, or doing anything that would be considered verbal or physical abuse, there is no excuse for any shop banning someone from their store. That's unacceptable and horrible customer service.
    "Can't vouch for him, though he seems normal via email."

  25. #25
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    Sep 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by telepariah View Post
    As a long time friend of Gary Neptune and many of the people who work in his shop, I am always puzzled by accounts of attitude there. I have never experienced it even when I don't go in for a while and new people there don't recognize me.

    I think there may be a certain level of explanation for what adimmen experienced and if you want to PM me, I will attempt to shed a little light on it. Not to excuse anything you experienced, but I can imagine a scenario under which this might have happened and understand the protectiveness if that scenario is in fact the operative one. Sorry to be so circumspect but I will be happy to explain that in private.
    Charlie, I have no doubt that Gary is a nice guy, and that the same is true of many of his employees. My experiences there have not shown me that they are assholes, but that they absolutely suck at customer service. They simply have no concept of it. And they don't impress good customer service values on the employees. That doesn't mean you can't get good service from them, just that you can't get it consistently unless you are cool enough (or hot enough, which I am not ).

    The fact that you yourself have heard repeated accounts of attitude there should tell you something; blaming it all on us, simply because you have not had such experiences, would be silly. My experiences have never involved serious negative interaction, they have merely involved some of the following: extremely inattentive salespeople (no help even when it would be abundantly obvious to anyone looking that I needed help, and there were more salespeople than customers in the store), this one has happened to me repeatedly and is a big pet peeve of mine; not engaging me in any conversation about skis while they were fitting my friend for x-c ski gear (you'd think that they would, considering I brought this friend in to rent from them, and was asking him about skis that they sell!); making a snide remark about not understanding why I would want to mount a 3 pin hardwire on a pair of nice boards (seriously, did this guy actually know anything?), and similar things like that. And I hear similar stories from a lot of other people.
    Last edited by Danno; 12-13-2007 at 02:51 PM.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

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