Why are staff in surf shops so dumb?

Because they are normally children.

I tried after high school to get a job in the local-mall surf shop. After a day of trial with a few other prospective job-seekers, I thought I did an excellent job giving wetsuit and surfboard advice, good customer service and selling a bunch of stuff, but the owners told me that they were after staff with a more "surfy image". So instead they hired the 15yr old kid with a trucker hat, fluro pink polo shirt with a popped collar, and who had never spent more than a day at a beach other than to get drunk underneath the pier.

Yes I am totally bitter about it.

surf shop staff are so dumb cause they need to be able to relate to the idiots who spend $50 on a t-shirt

^^^ $50? and the rest doc

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airjunkie said..

slammin said..

I find it amusing that many people expect minimum wage earners to be smart, efficient, polite and caring. You pay for what you get.

What's more retail is one of the worst jobs going. Boring boring, look at watch, boring. Staff discount is the only benefit.... oh and the repetitious music.

regardless of what your paid if you take the job your supposed to do it and at least make some effort

its people with the retarded attitude like this that caused the frustration in the first place


. . . . if you take a job a monkey can do and you fail at it - what does that say about you ?

So stop whinging get a job in the said shop and solve the problem......

?????????????

What's that?

You wouldn't do it for the $hit wages and better off in your current position?

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slammin said..

airjunkie said..

slammin said..

I find it amusing that many people expect minimum wage earners to be smart, efficient, polite and caring. You pay for what you get.

What's more retail is one of the worst jobs going. Boring boring, look at watch, boring. Staff discount is the only benefit.... oh and the repetitious music.

regardless of what your paid if you take the job your supposed to do it and at least make some effort

its people with the retarded attitude like this that caused the frustration in the first place


. . . . if you take a job a monkey can do and you fail at it - what does that say about you ?

So stop whinging get a job in the said shop and solve the problem......

?????????????

What's that?

You wouldn't do it for the $hit wages and better off in your current position?

not winging just stating some facts . . . .

but i do apologise to you slammin for using the word "retarded" its not politically correct and has obviously touched a nerve

Totally out of the ordinary I know. Now all they sell is wallets and $80 idiotic straw hats

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theDoctor said..
surf shop staff are so dumb cause they need to be able to relate to the idiots who spend $50 on a t-shirt

WTF, they're only $5 at BigW... got some trackies for $8.50 today... I'm wearing them now... super comfy.

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airjunkie said..

slammin said..


No stress or offense taken. I just think that unless you're willing to do the job better yourself then you can't expect someone else to. Lead by example and don't ask anyone to do something that you yourself wouldn't do. Are you willing to take the job?

to be honest the drive to and from work accross the nullarbor would get a little tedious so in this case no !

but your asking the wrong person. . . . .
. . . . in the past 15 years i have travelled through europe, north and south america working in workshops, farms, factories, communes and even a convent . . . . . sometimes just for food and board and no money changing hands

I repeat what i posted
regardless of what your paid if you take the job you enter into a contract with your employer to do the job - otherwise don't take the job

So you did some $hitty jobs for a short period while travelling and then went back to your job "across the Nullarbor". Congrat's.

Now take the next step and do it 5 days a week so that people like you, who know more than you do, can come in the shop and tell you what they already know.

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airjunkie said..


actually i was away just short of 13 years and held nearly all the jobs for 6 months or much more time. . . i lived in these places long term (is that the next step). . . but we digress- back on topic my point is "regardless of what your paid if you take the job you enter into a contract with your employer to do the job - otherwise don't take the job"

translation just for you . . . If the job your going for does not pay you enough to complete the required tasks then Don't take the job

I don't think that having the opinion that "people were supposed to do the job that they were paid to do" makes me a know it all in fact ,Up untill your response i didn't think i knew more than anyone on this forum

i feel that this conversation with you is actually is making me even less intelligent than i already am
and continuing it is making me look like slightly more of a tw*t than i actually am to all the other forum readers - seeya

I know that you're reading whether you post or not. So just because we have a difference of opinion it isn't the end of the world. It's not about intelligence it's about opinion, simply because mine differs to yours, it isn't a question of intelligence. Up until now I haven't questioned yours at all. It's a forum, not everyone is going to agree with you.

While I DO agree with you , "regardless of what your you're paid if you take the job you enter into a contract with your employer to do the job - otherwise don't take the job" you have missed the point entirely of my posts, so maybe you are indeed a TW^T.

6 months is a holiday. Do it for 5yrs minimum, so that customers like you get good advice and leave happy!

As you originally stated in post #1 "MOST OF THE STAFF HAVE MOVED ON". (Do I need to highlight that? Like you enjoy so much). As you did in many positions after 6 months.

And I'll ask again, How the hell do you expect people on the minimum wage for to actually give a f*ck? AND IF EVEN IF THEY DO, DO THEY STAY? nup, non, nicht, nada, nein. Guess what they move on!

As I have stated numerous times, if you're not willing to do the job yourself (6 months, doesn't count it. Try 5 yrs.), DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IF FOR YOU.

There was this talk show where they were talking about minimum wage.
Many of the callers, mostly youngsters working at McDonalds type restaurants, were of the thinking that if I'm gonna be at minimum wage, may as well do the least (or as one said, the **tiest) possible job.
No amount of "you'll never move up then" could sway their thinking.

I got the same from young engineers in my days - "why should I work more/better if I'm the least paid in the shop?". Lucky they ain't all like that...

The vast majority of people I am talking about are adults. They're not kids doing an after school job. They're not stupid, as in low IQ, they just seem to work against their own interests by hanging **** on stuff, or saying things that are clearly nonsense, or by doing not even the most basic research into the products they sell.

One shop has a bevy of hot chicks and dudes but they also separate the surf gear into a separate department. The surf guys generally know their stuff.

Conversely, I go to a place run by some seriously old school surfers. I can tell they don't like pop out kiteboards and SUPs and things but they generally find something positive to say. It's a much more pleasant and rewarding experience.

I've got this thought that when baby boomers start to retire they'll take the jobs in surf shops for the pocket money and the discounted gear. Imagine asking for advice on gear and having it backed up by 40-50 years of experience.

Asked for a wax comb at my local surf shop last week, two young kids (only employees there) spent 15 odd minutes looking, finally found a box of combs under til, turned to me blank look on face and asked was this it?

shop sells surfboards not just clothes, just hoping no one asks them for board advice

Agree with mark and finger, I go to citybeach just to check out the hot chicks.... (too bad they're probably all only 16....)
some of them are barely dressed

And then I buy my boardshorts in a factory outlet....