Neptune sucks. Way too core for me.
Neptune sucks. Way too core for me.
I avoid Neptune's unless I know exactly what I want and can just go in and get it. I don't bother buying climbing gear there anymore, because there's been countless times I've been standing at the counter waiting for help watching two employees chat with each other rather than come over to grab a biner or sling off the wall for me (and yes they did look right at me then go back to their conversation). A couple of the older guys that work there are cool, and I know another salesman who is awesome at bootfitting and helping out, but so many of the younger employees seem to have no interest in actually working and helping out customers. It often feels like I am bothering them to ask a question or look at some gear.
Bent Gate on the other hand has been nothing but awesome every time I've been there, as well as Sawatch Backcountry here in Leadville.
I’ve never been to Neptune Mountaineering, but their customer service sounds exactly like Marmot Mountaineering’s (in Berkeley, CA).
They mismounted 2 pairs of a buddies skis, that's good enough for me.
Reason #45782 why Marshal should run his own shop.
Seeing that we're kicking Neptune when they're down, I'll put on my crampons: I went in to Neptune a few days ago and had some questions about the skins they carry. I've owned five or six pairs and had some specific questions. During the conversation, it became apparent that the guy helping me didn't have a fucking clue what he was talking about. So I changed the subject and bailed.
Previously, I'd gone in to rent some AT skis for my girlfriend. When we got to the trailhead, I found that the forward pressure wasn't even close.
So, in general, I've learned not to trust them for any sort of ski stuff. Climbing may be a different story, but they're hopeless with skiing.
Same vibe experienced here...fuck that shop. I've never even been waited on once going in that place. I guess I don't look core enough or some other shit. Bent Gate is the shiznit, and Alpenglow have always made me feel welcome too. Neptune never ever got a chance after the second time I could get no one...on a slow day both days mind you...to even stop what they were doing to help me. Dumbasses...their loss.:fuckyou:
Ski shop techs are fucking jong faks who think they know everything. In reality they read to much SKI Magazine and rarely ski.... they also pride themselves on having cum stains on the wax scrapers they use.
I remember going to Neptune in 1991 when they were located in Idaho Springs.
Pinheads from Hell.
Then they moved to Boulder and got more extreme. So did their attitude,if I member correctly.
Self absorbed Buddhists.
Free Tibet but your ski gear is made in China.:confused:
er... Neptune Mountaineering has been in Boulder since the early 70s, jong.
Again, I am not here to apologize for the bad service many have received there. There is no excuse for bad mounts or staff chatting away in their own self-absorbtion rather than assisting customers. If it were my shop I would fire their asses.
Wow. That's hilarious. Those guys must have more then enough customers to tell a potential customer to fuck off.
Who does that? Horrible CS. The funny thing is that after hearing this, I would never go there to buy anything.
What's that CS saying... every customer you screw over is like losing 20 would-be's?
laughable.
Why is the store named after the Persian God of War?
1500+ page views now. The Interweb can really come back to bite you in the ass when your CS sucks.
Dude, basegrind? [slim]Ptex![slim]Quote:
Originally Posted by skier666
I am just dumbfounded, nay SHOCKED, that you actually had not one but two people offer to help you in that store. Everytime I go in there I have to interrupt 3 of the employees hanging out talking about the wicked hard dyno on that one route in "the canyon" or how long of a whipper they took in "eldo" or all the #1 camalots they had to use at "the creek".
Rent yourself a cute girl to go in there with you and the customer service gets much better.
Neptune lost my business about 2 years ago because of attitude. Last year, I gladly took my business to Bent Gate and purchased a pair of Mantras mounted with 21s. No attitude there.
On a side note, I don't mind paying a few extra bucks for good customer service.
Not even close. I get awesome treatment from my local shop. Main thing with ski shops is you got to deal with shops in mountain towns. Trying to find good ski shops in the city is too hit or miss. Second, develop a good relationship with one or two long time employees in said shop and only deal with those guys. I only deal with one guy for my mounts, and I won't even drop my skis off if he's not there. Call ahead and bring along their contraband of choice and you're golden.Quote:
Originally Posted by skier666
Hah, pretty entertaining. Never been to the shop, but your general response was definitely warranted. Shop attitude is gat.
Its sucks, especially the history that surrounds that place. 10 Years back when a n00b climber i walked into that place like i was in mecca.
Too bad in a matter of moments i was greeted with attitude. Its a shame because I knew a few people that used to work there, outside of that shop they were cool people, I have never understood the vibe in a place so rooted in climbing history. There are many other shops that have been around that do not have the same vibe. IME in NH for instance is a nice shop and decent vibe and often times is frequented by the hard core.
but Thank goodness for Bent Gate, and the people that work there.
even if you were a punk, its no excuse for a retail establishment, its so bad for business.
you should have said , yes i want a stiff ass boot to shralp the gnar..w00t w00t, got change for a nickel ? FKNA
i worked in CS at Backcountry.com...we were told that the amount of money it takes to get a new customer is about 10 times as much as it takes to keep a previous customer.
It is basic business knowledge. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.
Luckily boulder has enough rich gaper kids moving in to go to school or to just be in boulder and be cool that they've probably learned that keeping real outdoorspeople for cusotmers isnt absolutely neccessary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flow
For real. Same principle applies to Boulder Nazi Deals.
2000 thread views... I'm pretty sure they lost more than 20 customers over this :FIREdevilQuote:
Originally Posted by pointedem
and finally a Neptune employee weighs in...Quote:
Originally Posted by samuelf
Hey Neptune! :fuckyou::fuckyou::fuckyou:
You escalated the situation and should consider yourself lucky you weren't tasered.
On a more serious note, you said you wanted to try the next size down to see if you needed the shell. Did you shell fit the ones you got or any other boot or any similar shell? Doesn't sound like it. That alone is reason enough to not deal with them.
I've shopped at Neptune for about 20 years -- other members of my family longer. Even when we moved away, we would stop at Neptunes when we visited family. Collectively, we spent a lot of money there over the years.
Customer service has always been highly variable and, in my experience, it seems to have gotten worse over time. To quote the mrs., "they are always so self important there." Too bad, because they have often had interesting and unique gear items relative to other shops. They have typically done good boot fitting. They have traditionally had the best selection of backcountry ski gear, tele and AT. Their display of ski bindings from the years always entertains me. Back before the age of women's specific gear, Neptune's was one of the few places where my petite wife could find appropriately sized gear, esp. ski demos. The couple of times I met Gary, he seemed like a really good guy. Once in the 80s I even watched a tornado of all things outside the shop with some of the shop employees at that time. There was plenty of good over the years, but the customer service roulette made it less and less interesting to shop there. We no longer shop there.
Sorry to hear your story. It takes two to tango, but it sounds like they blew it in this case. I would have likely gotten mouthy as well if I had ordered something and could see it on a shelf only to get feedback that they don't sell it and why would anyone want such a thing. I would also have gone ballistic if they kept my skis for a couple of days for a mount only to tell me they wouldn't do the mount and retroactively banned me, after I had bought expensive AT boots. Purchasing very expensive ski gear can be stressful, and if there is any reason to buy at a local shop it is to get supportive customer service. Otherwise, screw em.
call bent gate, order the boots get them mounted , they do a respectable boot fitting , take a picture and send it to neptune with a letter, better yet send the letter to garmont.
http://www.bentgate.com/gaaxrabowigl.html
cant believe that happened man. Im really glad the only thing I do at neptune is go in, scrape my skis on their bench, and leave without buying anything. That could have happened to anybody...
This works. I sent my wife there to get me some skins, she asked for skids :confused:, but the dude obviously thought she was cute cuz he was actually nice. I've talked to dozens of guys in there, but I can only remember one that didn't talk to me with some kind of attitude.Quote:
Originally Posted by mcsquared
Oh well, fuck em. They don't have anything I can't get somewhere else.
Well, I can't say I'm suprised. Some of the Neptune crew are stand-up, down to earth people. Other's are ego driven asshats.
Gary is definitely a nice guy and as far as I know he isn't in charge of hiring- maybe that is the problem.
Out of curiousity, which manager called you and told you that you were banned?
They do have some pretty poor customer service, and i didnt get a very good mount when I brought in my naxo's in for my brand new ARVs. Also they told my friend they wouldn't trim his skins, even after he offered up beer and $$$.
Hey thats my first jong :)Quote:
Originally Posted by telepariah
I lived in Winter Park then 19 years old and they were located in Idaho Springs then too, correct though? I was young lad back then and sorry my post was not factually correct. I moved away from Colorado in 1996.
And if I ever go to Boulder I aint definately going to Neptune cause I heard it here on the TGR forums after that Skiing magazine article showed me how cool this place is.
i used to travel several times a year to Boulder on business, and would usually kill some time at neptune and occasionally buy gear.
i don't mind too much that most ski or bike shop employees know less about gear than i do --- at most shops their basic attitude is 'trying to be helpful' so i really can't and don't hold their gear ignorance against them. and typically there's always at least one employee who knows what's going on---just a matter of figuring out who that is.
Neptune, however, was a different story. repeatedly i'd encounter an irritating combination of attitude and ignorance.
to put it in terms maggots can appreciate, imagine a ski shop where the guy tells you 'Markers rule -- they never pre-release' in a tone of voice that implies that he knows everything and you know nothing, despite the fact that what he just said was idiotic in the eyes of 99% of people who pay attention to gear issues. that analogy pretty much summed up most of my NEptune experiences (but usually the discussions were about analog vs digital avy transceivers, etc.)
i deal w/ a couple of bike shops that sometimes cop an attitude, somewhat, but it doesn't really bother me since they have the deep knowledge to back it up. but attitude + ignorance = you will lose my business. I'd have to say Neptune is the only mountaineering shop in OR/WA/UT/CA/CO that has ticked me off in this way.
Seems that whenever the topic of shitty customer service attitude at Neptune comes up, everyone piles on with their story. Almost to the point that 'Neptune Mtneering' brand has come to be equated with 'tude.
I think Gary Neptune has spent to much time in his back yard modeling G STRING bikinis,
Swear to GOD, had friends in Boulder who lived next door when he was out we could not bar-b-Q anything with out puking.
He probly should spend more time in the Shop.
Bummer.
I had a similar experience this summer. But I was in the airport trying to get on a plane. After two cancelled flights, sitting in the Vegas airport for 8 hours and reacting the same as you I was kicked off the flight. They would not let me on airplane.
Some people love to be in power, whether its over a pair of ski boots, seats on a plane or money. Fucking some people love that power trip.
I'm currently boycotting the airline industry. I think its going pretty good so far.
Whats up with dorks from Colorado always getting into dorky situations, and then being dorky enough to tell about their dorkiness?
The real story:
Admin strides in with the self assumed air of authority which accrues only in those who have experienced the empowerment deriving from driving better to the ski area than everyone else.
The Neptune Clerk, whose keen eye for judging customers was formed by years of reading every single climbing article about every single pathetic named climb in greater Boulder area, does not immediately take notice of Admin; the Clerk is basking in his own glory of having just returned from a one week "expedition" to Patagonia where he sat in a tent the whole time because "it was a little windy." But it was core and an impressive story of survival to the Boulder patagonia wearing dweebs. His belated acknowledgment of Admin is an intentional and affected slight, honed by years talking but not doing.
Realizing the dis, the battle of the hard man titans ensues. Admin busts in with a "Do you know who I'm?!," followed with a detailed, spittle articulated, blow by blow account of "400' first descents." Sensing the desired of impression has not been made, Admin then resorts to diatribes about how famous he is on a website called the tgr forums and offers to show the Clerk a sticker on his ride in a grasping attempt for validation.
The Clerk's climbing tights, underneath his climbing shorts, are now creeping uncomfortable up the nearest ass crack, inducing the realization that this fucking poser wants the only remaining pair of boots promised to his girlfriend. They both wear a men's 27.5 and she'll kick his ass if he sold boots.
So the Clerk employs the time honored Neptune gear snob routine, thus defeating Admin, who, flustered, strides pufflingly out, trying to make himself look bigger than he is, forgetting to take his skis.
That one made me laugh. Nice work.Quote:
Originally Posted by do overr
He's talking about The Suit, you know, "admin", not you.Quote:
Originally Posted by adimmen
That's a threat. Too bad for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rimjob