Found a lousy kite shop, turned out to be OK

Campbell · Since 07 Sep 2008 409 Posts Camas, WA Obsessed

Um, how would you know they don't have kiters working at their shop unless you went down there yourself? The fact is that they do have kiters there, and the more shops that support the kite community the better. We all know youre from hood river, and are all very proud of you, but for those of us in pdx GP is a great shop with knowledgable staff and has been around for a long time. Live outside the box (or hood as the case may be) a little.

Inept_Fun · Since 14 Apr 2005 1417 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

Im so glad that your proud of me for being from hood river, thats really what I wanted...

Ill be sure to live outside of the box and visit gorge performance one day, lol.

K4L · Since 19 Jan 2009 483 Posts Obsessed

Someone said something about two sides to a story. Actually there is usually three. Your story their story and the true story. Regardless thanks for your experiance.

chrissmack · Since 08 Jun 2005 526 Posts portland Addicted

in your story, do the capital letters imply you were yelling at the sales guy, or were you just typing really hard on the keyboard when you got home?

bob has been in business for decades, with plenty of satisfied customers. i am one of them.

you have been on the forum for three weeks and already are flying off the handle, ranting, name calling, about a fairly personal matter on a public forum.

the kiting community is pretty small and sometimes close knit. thank you for showing your true colors in a timely fashion.

Bettyboarder · Sat Nov 12, 11 9:55 am

It's your choice where you spend your $ but I am happy you posted your experience and sounds like it's resolved.

Give 2nd Wind a chance its worth the drive to HR

pollywog · Since 07 Aug 2009 291 Posts Obsessed

like any obessed kiter, i've shopped numerous times at all kiteboarding and surfing shops in Oregon. My opinion: if you are looking for the best customer service, Windance and Cleanline win. All the other shops are good, but those two seem to be more attentive and friendly.

Working in retail, policies are in place to make it less chaotic for both employees and customers. There are exceptions to those always.

Give small businesses a break. Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a printing machine in back printing money! They are in business to make money or at least stay afloat.

Like everyone else has said, if you have a problem talk to the decision makers. By the same token, don't be an ass to the sales associate. They are only doing what they've been told.

gorgebob · Since 25 Jun 2007 259 Posts Portland, OR Shop Owner

Here is my 2 cents on our return policy. I figure that if you have decided that you don't really need what you purchased that a week is plenty of time to return the product for a refund. Gorge Performance is a small shop and many items are the only one in the store. We reorder to keep the shop stocked. I myself rarely take anything back for refund or exchange but that's me. Getting items back quickly allows the product then to be available to another customer. I always try to make the shop run as simple as it can. I also have make the shop keep running. The return refund policy was done from a poll of local shops many years ago. I am going to make another poll of policies and work from that.
The best return that I loved : 6 Hawaiian shirts, still with tags . Didn't notice till later the stench of the local bowling alley team night till later. - Bob

BKA · Since 19 May 2011 43 Posts Harrison

yes but in this guys case he never took possession of anything. A refund of a $200 deposit in his situation looking for a used kite instead of brand new being a beginner is a legit request in my eyes.

Also just dropping $700 in your store knowing that he would be spending thousands over the next years makes it pretty low that you gave him such a hard time about a 200$ deposit.

The shop I get all my gear from would never do that to me or any of there customers as they have amazing customer service and customer loyalty.

gorgebob · Since 25 Jun 2007 259 Posts Portland, OR Shop Owner

I did check returns on a few stores around the area. 15 to 30 days seems to be the norm for return CASH or exchange. No returns and sales final on closeout items also seems to be the norm. The Kite was a closeout but our return policy is the same as if it was not a closeout. I see a deposit as a purchase to be paid off later when more funds become available.
As I rework our returns, I read the return policies on all purchases I make.
Oh what fun.

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