Running Store Owners/Employees - Question

Depends on the brand.

At my store, we do our special orders in the mornings Mondays and Thursdays. It takes too much of our staff time to enter them each day. So if you order your shoes from our store on Thursday night, we don't submit the order to Nike/NB/Asics/etc. until the following Monday morning. Hence, if you order your shoe on Sunday, you'll probably get it on Friday, 5 days. Maybe, if the company is slow to ship, it could be the following Monday, so 8 days. But if you ordered on Thursday and it isn't placed until Monday, 10 days is pretty reasonable.

We understand that this costs us a little bit of business, but not so much as to make it worth spending extra staff time and incurring extra shipping costs by doing our ordering more than twice per week. Companies charge a lot to ship one shoe, but not much more than that to ship a dozen. Ordering many at a time saves us more money than we lose when somebody decides not to order because of the time they have to wait.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply.

If the running store was on top of things, she would've told you the shoe was already on order. There's no reason to be doing single shoe special orders for a core shoe like the Vomero in a size 10.

When I worked as a rep, I was shocked by the number of stores that didn't have some sort of POS system in place. Owners had no clue about their inventory and what shoe stocks were low and needed a fill-in order. They had no idea how many pairs of Adrenalines they sold in 2012, so they had no idea how many pairs to order in 2013.

The two main advantages of a running store are 1) the ability to try on shoes without tha hassle of return shipping and 2) the ability to walk out today with a new pair of shoes. That's it. Price, selection, availability are all advantages held by internet stores. Brick and motor stores that rely too much on special ordering instead of properly restocking will be killed by the internet stores.

Its been a few years since I worked in one but I did work at a very small specialty running store for 5 years in HS and college.

Oftentimes order time depended on location, we were about 200 miles from one of the major brands distribution centers and that brand often came in 2-3 business days. Others came from 1000-2000 miles away and may take up to 5-6 business days.

Generally we would say up to 2 weeks and then called when it came in after say 7-10 days. The reasoning was because customers generally lose their mind if it's even 1 day over what you promised. Oftentimes it wasn't the stores fault, it was the result of a snowstorm, distributor doesn't fill the order within what they promise, etc... its better to give yourself a slight buffer. If you miss a sale, thats part of the risk/reward. Hope this helps.

Man, I can see missing a sale here or there, but what you guys don't see is that you're missing out on a lifetime of sales to these customers.

10 days?! We'll call you when it arrives? LOL. C'mon. I can order online and get it tomorrow. Many times shipping is free. One of the jokes about Zappos is that regardless of what shipping option you choose - standard, priority, next day - you'll still get it tomorrow. It never takes more than a day or two.

I love running stores and used to work in one, in fact. If this were my store, I would order it next day through Zappos and lose a few bucks on the customer, just so they would come back next time.

Riley Kilo wrote:

Man, I can see missing a sale here or there, but what you guys don't see is that you're missing out on a lifetime of sales to these customers.

10 days?! We'll call you when it arrives? LOL. C'mon. I can order online and get it tomorrow. Many times shipping is free. One of the jokes about Zappos is that regardless of what shipping option you choose - standard, priority, next day - you'll still get it tomorrow. It never takes more than a day or two.

I love running stores and used to work in one, in fact. If this were my store, I would order it next day through Zappos and lose a few bucks on the customer, just so they would come back next time.

+1

This is why I don't shop at running stores any more. Crap selection, crap prices, crap service compared to amazon, zappos, and runningwarehouse. Not to mention that some stores give terrible advice and cop a "we're local so you're a douche if you don't support us" attitude.

Running stores need to up their game if they want to survive in today's marketplace. Have a good stock or offer next-day shipping TO MY HOUSE. None of this "we'll call you in 7-10 days" b.s. Also, offer extra services like massages, gait testing with laser machines, shop repair, etc. Stuff that I can't easily get online. It's that simple. Runningwarehouse is a perfect example... they have a good physical location, but also supplement with an awesome online store.

Why do the prices of running shoes go up $10 each and every year it seems?

The difference is Zappos has the shoes instock and your order goes directly to the computer which picks them using robots. The running store has to enter the order. it is received by the vendor and the vendor then ships. Zappos and amazon are the best in the world at picking and shipping product.

The one week was important enough for you cost the running store a sale.

I work at a running store and when we order Nike's we usually get them in two days no matter how many you order. Nike is really good about getting the shoe to the dealer in a timely manner. 10 days is way too many days. Are they ordering them from China?

Yeah, where I work it takes 3-5 business days tops. Nike and Brooks come quicker than that even usually. Not sure where you are, but I think I'd look to find another store in the area. They sound like they do a poor job of keeping shoes in stock and then perhaps don't have a very good relationship with their dealers?! 10 days minimum is ridiculous nowadays-- if that was the case with us we'd honestly pretty much have to close our doors because we'd know we'd lose out to Zappos, Amazon, and other online sites.

4/10

How the hell can you expect a shoe store to offer next day delivery if the shoe companies do not even offer that to the shoe store? What you're asking for would be awesome, and as a shoe store we would LOVE to do this. Next day delivery for the middle man is next to IMPOSSIBLE.

If you're in the great state of Washington then the only real place you can get shoes next day order is if you order from Brooks by 12pm. If you order a New Balance, which has its warehouse in Boston (I think) then you can in no way expect to see the shoe the very next day.

Massages,gait testing with laser machines? That...is a good idea if you're in a big city. Small towns not so much.

^This.

Shipping is a cost. Running stores are small businesses, the locally owned ones at least, and they have costs. If you buy a Vomero ($130), but need it shipped, thats roughly $10-$15 freight. Most stores will submit orders only on Mondays because there's extra incentives, (more of a discount, better shipping rates, guaranteed arrival by a certain date). If they place your order along side, say another 20-30 shoes, that cost of freight is greatly reduced and spread across more shoes. There is also the chance that the shoe gets ordered and no one ever picks it up. This happens A LOT. The OP was nice enough to call and inform the store that this time they were just going to go online but would be back.

I've worked in a running store and I see the decline happening. There is a small resurgence of people looking for a well fitted shoe and sound advice. I think most people find their first shoe in store and then just order online the same model. I imagine most people here know what shoes work for them and shop online for the cheaper costs which I understand. HOWEVER, if you are one of those people who habitually visits running stores to try on shoes JUST to purchase them online then you're a douche.

skiddish wrote:

I've worked in a running store and I see the decline happening. There is a small resurgence of people looking for a well fitted shoe and sound advice. I think most people find their first shoe in store and then just order online the same model. I imagine most people here know what shoes work for them and shop online for the cheaper costs which I understand. HOWEVER, if you are one of those people who habitually visits running stores to try on shoes JUST to purchase them online then you're a douche.

That is a douchey move, but it's one easily countered by the running shoe: match prices. The stores by me refuse to do this. I'll usually buy my first pair at a physical store, then every other pair online.

I understand how hard it is to run a business. I worked in running shops just before the big rise in online shopping. It was tough then, and I can imagine it's tougher now. But for an experienced runner, the average running store offers little. We don't need "expert advice" or a shoe fitting. We know what we're looking for in terms of shoe type, we just want to make sure the latest and greatest version fits. Same with clothing.

Why should I pay $20 more for a shoe just to keep an outdated business model running?

At our store, we tell customers a week or less when ordering shoes. It usually takes less time, but you don't want to over-promise. Most of the time, we can get the shoes in 3-4 days. We place special orders as soon as we can, even if it's for one pair. The customer comes first. But sh*t happens; maybe the buyer is sick, maybe there's a snowstorm, maybe we get swamped and an order gets put off. So we don't over-promise.

However, unless there's a back order, 10 days is ridiculous.

At our store, we pride ourselves on customer service. If you don't like the shoes, bring 'em back. We'll bring up 20 shoes to try on if you want. We'll price match. We host community runs, put on all-comers track meets, sponsor races. We've got legit runners on staff who will spend as much time as you want talking training, injuries, racing, etc. If your local store isn't doing all these things, then they're slippin'.

However, "gait analysis" at a running store is a load of BS. Find a good PT or a biomechanist for that sh*t. Running store employees are runners, not doctors. At a store, just try to find something comfortable and get out there and run.

It is challenging. Customers want discounts, price match, ASAP shipping and all the service and support of a specialty store. While 10 days is certainly too long to wait, shipping is extremely expensive. If a store 2-day ships a shoe and gives a 15% discount to be competitive it will be very difficult to stay in business.

I buy a few pairs a year from thelocal store and a few on line.

It isn't all about low prices. I support my local store because they put on races, training runs, and organize the local community. These things are valuable.

That said, if an on line outlet has a screaming deal on a shoe I already wear, I won't pass it up.

Hmm, to be honest, I didn't know runners purchased that much stuff from online retailers. How do these running stores stay in business?

Hingle McCringleberry wrote:

Hmm, to be honest, I didn't know runners purchased that much stuff from online retailers. How do these running stores stay in business?

The running store I worked at stays in business by being part of the community. If you have a welcoming store with helpful employees, there are plenty of people who will pay a little extra for their gear.