Last week we serviced a new customer who reminded me again about the value our customers receive by using our stringing services. We are not the least expensive in town, but our pricing is generally lower than the specialty retailers and is definitely not out of line given the overall quality of personal care and assistance we provide.
Anyway, last week my new customer asked me how fast I could string a racquet. He explained that he was the former manager of the golf and tennis department for a sporting goods retail establishment in town. He went on to tell me about a test he was given in which 3 racquets were in a large brown paper bag. His task was to select a racquet, unseen, and string it in 10 minutes for certification. Admittedly I have never heard of such a test, but that is not to doubt his story. He then went on to brag about the speed at which he and his staff could knock out racquets. They averaged approximately 10 minutes per racquet.
After lifting my jaw from the ground and trying not to let my face show complete horror, I responded to his question. “I really do not pay much attention to how fast I am stringing a racquet, but I do know it takes me much longer than 10 minutes. In fact, I do not mean to be disrespectful in any way, but I have to question how you and your staff were able to accomplish the task so fast?”
As the conversation continued I learned that they did not pull tension on every string. I was told “we would juice up the tension and pull 2-3-4 strings at once…the customers couldn’t tell the difference. It’s not like they are professionals.” He then went on to admit that he would never be able to string his own racquet using the process that was used for the customers of the retail establishment.
For those reading this entry who are not familiar with stringing, pulling tension on multiple strings at one time is not an acceptable method of stringing. Yes, it is faster, but the results are wildly inconsistent and unprofessional. It leads to uneven stringbed stiffness creating an unbalanced and unpredictable response to the ball off of the strings. In a nutshell: It’s amateurish.
Morale of the Story: Just because a retailer exists and has a tennis department does not mean they provide quality services. It can be tempting to cut corners in pursuit of the almighty dollar and some stringers apparently follow this practice.
At Guts and Glory Tennis we never cut corners and you can be assured your racquet is strung to the highest possible standards using the most modern and best equipment. Here are some of the advantages of stringing with us:
1. Personal service. Most area tennis retailers employ multiple stringers. Each stringer uses his or her own technique. In fact, when using the same equipment with the same string at the same tension the final results can often vary from stringer to stringer. Because we have one full-time professional stringer who strings all our racquets, you will have a consistent string job that will play the same with each and every stringing service. The top professional players hire personal stringers so that they will have consistently strung racquets. Using Guts and Glory Tennis provides you the same personal and consistent service that the professionals receive for a fraction of the cost.
2. We offer free racquet pick-up and delivery for customers who reside in our service delivery area.
3. We have personally playtested each string we carry and have one of the widest selection of strings available. Our first-hand knowledge of our products allows us to provide you with information and assistance to help you select a string and tension that will optimize your game.
4. We offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. We fully stand behind our products and services.
5. We treat your racquet as if it were our own. No shortcuts and the level of service that you can trust.
