ok... so the manager asks me for answers..

Originally Posted by Jordan0589

Originally Posted by soups24

i'd cut my man some slack - i'm not sure that not everyone that works at a sneaker store is a sneakerhead...

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he actually is a sneakerhead, he's got every release bookmarked on his iPhone but on some of the current release news i guess he hasn't been up to date.
oh well i told him about the 5s n it sounds like i might get a hook up wit the Cement Dub Zeros so give a lil get a lil

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nice man..it's all about relationships...hahaha

People are surprised that shoe stores managers dont know anything about shoes? It seems like almost every manager and half of his workers dont know athing about any new release, if they are getting them in, etc. Managers are only worried about hiring cute little girls they can hit on all day every day,instead of someone who actually knows info on what they will be selling.

that was crazy at foolocker this chick said she can get me the Concord 6Rings, but the pic she showed me was the prototype, ya know the one that looks like a11 wit the 13 sole?
this one


this 3 weeks before the actual release so that was the last time ichecked em out though

Originally Posted by AgentPD21

Originally Posted by jahsondc

Originally Posted by AIR 305

Sneaker shops should only hire SneakerHeads period

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cosign

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they really should

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Yes and no. Sneaker heads working at shoe stores need to be knowledgeable on all platforms of shoes though. I'm not mad if my managerdoesn't know what DMP II's or Air Yeezy's are.

So my question to all the folks walking in knowing more about "Certain" shoes than the Manager....

Can he ask you about Nike Running Shoes or Nike ACGs or Nike Womens products and you will know just as much as he?

Or will you know ONLY about the Hypebeast Releases and Popular ONLINE releases?

It all Gravy until you stop knowing as much as you think you do.

Next time I go into the Grocery Store, I am goin to complain to the Executive Management cause the Cashier dont know $+! about my Captain Crunch and FamilyPack of Magnum Condom needs....

LOL ^ amazing point.

i can relate this to my store (New Era Toronto) ...and dudes walk in...and see 900+ hats and still ask "yo where da excluuuusives at like? like those oneson the internet an %++@ like that hat Jim jones was rockin"


i tell them we dont have them and we arent expected to know everything (im a manager as well) ...but its frustrating to see that they don't understand wedo have other things to do...i do my research but theres only so much I can research on.

anyways I know my example isn't about shoes, but I was hoping to show you guys a manager's perspective

NT only cares baout resell values.

Originally Posted by KidFlint13

Originally Posted by roly2345

Yes most if not all employee's @ shoes stores do not know or care enough about sneakers to give a $&@" enough to do the research like most sneakerheads like you and I do, so therefore we have all the info, same thing happens to me with my friend who is a manager @ footaction.

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exactly there should be at least some sort of sneaker knowledge required for these jobs

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Yea dude should put up a sneaker test as a requirement to be hired. I'm tired of seeing some fool in the shoe shops

This happens to me also when I go into stores too, but sometimes you got to think about and understand the situation they are in and the stuff that they haveto worry about other than shoes.

That's just the way it is. It would make sense to hire people who know sneakers....

Originally Posted by Jordan0589

at my local finishline, the manager is my bro just got his release calendar or watever, but he still looks at me like i know all about the new releases comin out this year...
he says they gettin the DMP pack but automatically thinks of the 6s and 11s until he contacts me and i tell him about the raging bulls 5s and the 3m 5s, is this the intelligence you expect from a finishline manager?


discuss

and at my local Footlocker, this chick's like "we can get any shoe you wanna order" so i ask another employee the next day he's like: "HUH??"

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I'm pretty sure you only know what these releases are based off what you see on NT like myself. So you can let the air outta your head on that one.

Intelligence? The guys intelligence is not supposed to be about what shoes are coming that he's never seen before. His intelligence is to understand how tosuccessfully operate a business.

You know good and well that what the girl meant was they can order any shoe that they currently carry as a company. The guy you went to the next day I bet yousaid "I was just here yesterday and this girl said I can order some columbia XI's if I wanted or volt foam pros." Then he goes "huh?"

Why did you even make this thread?

most fools that work at those chain stores dont know anything about kicks...

Originally Posted by jahsondc

Originally Posted by AIR 305

Sneaker shops should only hire SneakerHeads period

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cosign

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X3

It's not about being a sneakehead, how could you not know about the fastest selling product in the store?

It's to a point where you have to walk in the store with a magazine pic of the shoe

Asking for a shoe by name is a road to nowhere

The grocery store analogy was terrible because a grocery store is 100% self service, you can't walk into a shoe store and get your own shoes from the back

That's like going to a car dealership and the salesperson is clueless to every car question you have

Doesn't matter for me tho, I order all my shoes, but ******ed customer service is partly why I don't deal with malls

To piggyback off of what Rock said, how would you grade someone who knows the release date calendar like the back of theirhand when some teenagers ask him about the newest Jordans that are coming out, but can't tell the difference between overpronating and supinating to aserious runner? In my store, I understand that the younger and urban crowds are visually oriented, so we have a binder with all the new stuff that's goingto come out and skus we didn't carry in order to stock locate on the spot. At the same time, I don't manage a Nike Factory Store or Flight Club; wehave to be knowledgeable about the features and benefits of a Kayano XV, explain what's so hot right now about the Under Armour shoes, sell the Formotiontechnology to a ball player. What some of you guys saying is almost like a theater attendant needs to know everything about the blockbuster action movies andscrew the chick flicks and romantic comedies.

Believe me, I 100% agree that ideally, in a shoe store it's far from illogical to expect the employees to know whatthe hell they are talking about. You'd expect the same from a car salesman or a realtor. But at the same time, take into context the demographics ofwho's working. A great deal of stores are staffed with high school and college kids because of their availability and willingness to work at a lower wage,which in turn means they are usually not the cream of the crop. I'd be amazed if a 17 year old kid could tell me all about the lineage of Starbucks andcreating the "Third Place" but reality is they likely just needed a hustle and aren't CoffeeHeads.

As for managers, it goes both ways. While I love to interact with other managers who know their products and what thehell they are selling, you actually don't have to be a product maven to have success. The basics of retail success is discovering how to create salesgains while keeping costs as low as possible, all while keeping a steady flow of customers in your door. It doesn't serve much good to a retailer if amanager is the king of shoeheads, but is getting killed in payroll costs, has a high shrink (theft) percentage and can't create a gain when the competionis able to.

Basically, it takes a lot more than simply knowing about products to have a successful, profitable store, but it definetlydoesn't hurt to have it.

people from a shoe store should atleast know what their craft is all about.

The worst is selling clearance shoes as a full-time Footlocker employee, because these employees work at a based salary then need 2 sell as many $200 dollarshoes as possible. The problem don't normalcy spend that much gwap on a pair. Clearance season is the worst.
Nike is not the only brand that sells. It is about being a good salesman and getting your grind on.
About sneaker stores only hiring sneaker heads, that won't work.

Sneakers (especially J's) will sell themselves. It's about being all-around salesmen/women. Getting fools to buy accessories & crap with their newJ's is the tricky part. It's nice to know what's coming out in 2021, but it's not a major priority. Half the time, managers don't even knowwhat they're getting more than a month in advance.

Does it matter?