Approved For Use
Dec 14 2009, POSTED BY Jon
FILED UNDER: Customer Experience, Haddonfield, Shoes
The world of sports "gear" - be it in the form of running shoes, cold weather apparel, or carbon road bikes - is a complete riot. There is never a shortage of opinions, and everyone is very particular about what items do or don't "work for them." I can certainly make fun of it as much as I'd like, but I'm in this group as well – I have my own fussy tendencies when it comes to my shoes, gloves, or socks of choice. The challenge in the never-ending quest for perfect gear is what to do when you're just beginning to break into a new arena. How do you, short of the black-hole that is the internet-research extravaganza, get a sense of what items might best align with your own preferences? If you're in our area (and are interested in running), the answer is the Haddonfield Running Company – complete with shoes, apparel, and some sage advice from a crew that might actually know what they're talking about.
I've found myself in the Haddonfield Running Company three times in the past three months - each time for a different reason - and have been surprisingly, yet consistently, impressed by how helpful the staff (mostly owners, I surmise), has been on each occasion. Here's a quick recount of my visits:
Visit one: new shoes for Jon (me)
Right out of the gate, the HRC approach is unique (especially if you've never purchased shoes from an actual running store). Typically there's a 'walk around the room' session that is meant to point out any strange bodily quirks that could be addressed with the appropriate shoe. I've done this before (and happen to have duck-like flat feet), so we skipped this initial step. We went straight to step two: analysis of the existing running shoes (a must-bring) as well as a quick chat about what you like / don't like about your current pair. I had been running in the Mizuno Wave Riders (V10) and was looking to try out something new. After discussing my fit preferences, I flopped around the room (I have comically huge feet) in four different pairs – one of which was the updated Wave Rider (V12). It didn't take long for me to realize that the Mizunos were clearly the best fit, and my apprehension about purchasing, yet again, the same pair of shoes was met with a detailed explanation about how Mizuno-wearers tend to be Mizuno-wearers for life. The shoe-man (for lack of a better name) went on to tell me about one of the other guys in the shop who can't seem to shake his love of how this brand perfectly fits his feet. I left the store with Mizunos in hand.
Visit two: running pants for Jon (my wife's brother)
On this trip, we were going back and forth between three pairs of pants, and we had two HRC employees helping us out. Far from the typical (and expected) "any of those will be fine" feedback, we received a full break-down of each pair, complete with the strengths and weaknesses of the three. Both of the guys told us which pair they preferred (which happened to also be the cheapest of the bunch), and they gave us a quick "I wear a large / I wear a medium" comparison for sizing purposes. We left the store with pants in hand.
Visit three: gift for my dad (and new hat for me)
After combing through the store and deciding on a handful of pieces for my dad, I was trying on a few running hats (in anticipation of the 27 degree day that was expected). At this point, I was clearly done the bulk of my shopping (and had already dropped my items on the counter), but I was approached by one of the HRC employees who began to comment on the hat that I was now holding in my hand. He told me not only how great it was, but that he had worn it in the Chicago Marathon and that it was the only article of clothing that remained dry by the end of his 26.2-mile jaunt. I left the store with hat in hand (in the non-idiom sense).
My three trips to the Haddonfield Running Company make this Onething any easy approach to dissect: great service isn't about merely being friendly and attentive (as it's often thought to be) but is instead about knowing everything about your industry and then sharing that knowledge with your customers. I can think of countless stores that would have handled each of those three interactions differently. The Mizuno discourse could have been replaced with a much colder "these should be fine," the pants were a great opportunity for an easy upsell, and the hat story would have mostly likely been swapped out for a simple "that'll be all?" at the counter. The thing is, none of those scenarios would have necessarily been bad – they just wouldn't say anything overly positive, or memorable, about that type of store. In the case of the Haddonfield Running Company, it's in that extra bit of conversation that loyalists are born. The common thread in each of my interactions at HRC is that in addition to feeling like this is a business that is willing to take the time to help you out, I really got a sense that I was getting input from a pack of seasoned runners who had road-tested every item in the store. Being that there are a grotesque number of options these days for any isolated purchase (for any product in any industry), I find it comforting to know that there are businesses out there that will not only do the homework for you but will also personally vouch for what they sell. By being runners themselves, and sharing their first-hand knowledge of just about everything in the store with their customers, the Haddonfield Running Company has turned personal experiences into a Onething while also tacitly stating that all items in their shop are "approved for use."
Approved For Use
The Haddonfield Running Company knows the importance of road-testing all of their products.
http://www.runningco.com
