Great way to annoy your customer...

T

Tamiya

Semi-Pro
Headsup to all ye professional stringers... don't do this! :evil:

DSC04347-640.jpg


whack your ID sticker over the mfg's hologram barcode

DSC04348-640.jpg


then when sticker is peeled off, clearcoat comes off with it GRRR!

Some ppl might think nothing of it, but methinks differently - even if
you're the best stringer in town i don't think i'll be coming back again.
 
S

struggle

Legend
i don't use stickers, but i'm not here to tell others not to.

Any player that cares will know what tension their racket
USED TO BE until it came off the machine (according the stringer, yada yada).

good point on where NOT to put them though.
 
eelhc

eelhc

Hall of Fame
Not just Tennis Racquets...

How many folks have bought a new car and the dealer painted their logo on the trunk lid? I tell the salesperson any decal/marking on the vehicle that's not stock the deal's off.
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
^ Yeah, to fuel his ego. Other than that, I think the stickers was a form of advertisement.

Guy 1: What is that on your racquet?
Guy 2: Some dude strung my racquet.
Guy 1: What's his name?
Guy 2: His name is blah blah..

That should explain it.
 
M

Matt G

Rookie
I always give a business card with the details on the back including weight, balance, string, tension and date. Stickers are a PITA to get off.

To the OP, if you are ever near the Central Coast and want a hit or restring let me know! Good to see aussies on here
 
KineticChain

KineticChain

Hall of Fame
why don't you tell them not to put it there? everyone has little things they hate that no one knows about until the person explodes. how could they possibly know you didn't want a sticker over a sticker? stop acting so entitled and politely tell them you would like the sticker else where or not at all
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
KineticChain said:
and?

_____
Click to expand...

That means his reaction is justified. If I gave my racquet to that man and find a sticker on it (without any acknowledgement), I would not continue any business with him. A business card is a proper and more professional form of advertisement than a sticker.
 
zapvor

zapvor

G.O.A.T.
ok the thing is, the tennis population here on TT is VERY different from the tennis population not on TT
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
^

Regardless, this business practice isn't very good. I know there are people outside of TT who finds this annoying (even if they are casual players).
 
Chotobaka

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
These are a throwback to when stringers did not maintain a database of customer string jobs. I have always hated labels.
 
W

Wikky

Rookie
I make it a personal point to take off the previous sticker, clean the area where the previous sticker was to remove any left over residue using alcohol and a rag, and then put on the new sticker. The stickers we use simply say "restring date" and then 4 months from the time of purchase.

Is this marketing, a way to make sure people come back in? Sure, but it's also based upon the 3 times a week average that most people in our area play. Also I always make sure to put the sticker in either a completely blank space or over something that doesn't need to be seen.
 
S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
Wikky said:
I make it a personal point to take off the previous sticker, clean the area where the previous sticker was to remove any left over residue using alcohol and a rag, and then put on the new sticker. The stickers we use simply say "restring date" and then 4 months from the time of purchase.

Is this marketing, a way to make sure people come back in? Sure, but it's also based upon the 3 times a week average that most people in our area play. Also I always make sure to put the sticker in either a completely blank space or over something that doesn't need to be seen.
Click to expand...

I don't see a big deal one way or the other with the sticker. I do agree about putting it on a "blank" spot. I surely wouldn't put a sticker on top of another like in the original post picture.
 
C

Clintspin

Professional
I use stickers from the Brother P-touch series. They are easy to peel off and don't leave a residue. I have found stickers to be so helpful for keeping track of my own racquets and for when I run into customers on the court. I can look at the date and quickly tell them how long it has been since they had a string job. They seem to forget that my stickers are there at all and are surprised how long it has been since their last stringing.
 
Chotobaka

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
Clintspin said:
I use stickers from the Brother P-touch series. They are easy to peel off and don't leave a residue. I have found stickers to be so helpful for keeping track of my own racquets and for when I run into customers on the court. I can look at the date and quickly tell them how long it has been since they had a string job. They seem to forget that my stickers are there at all and are surprised how long it has been since their last stringing.
Click to expand...

That is good directional information but, alternatively, you can just carry an ERT in your bag and check the customer's DT, giving them a better idea of what's actually going on with their racquet. The P-Touch labels are much cleaner in both appearance and removal if going the label route.
 
Irvin

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
The only time I have ever had a customer say anything about labels it was because I forgot to put one one. No one has ever asked for a date when it should be strung but several times they specifically want to know when it was strung. They want to determine for themselves when it should be strung. The only thing I put of the label is string type, tension, and date. If you have trouble getting the labels off you can always put them on the blue painters tape.
 
T

Tamiya

Semi-Pro
tbuggle said:
i don't use stickers, but i'm not here to tell others not to.
Any player that cares will know what tension their racket
USED TO BE until it came off the machine (according the stringer, yada yada).
good point on where NOT to put them though.
Click to expand...

these days I gotta write everything down, can't remember verbatim anymore

but that sticker just Shop's name & #, not even useful data like string specs


eelhc said:
Not just Tennis Racquets...

How many folks have bought a new car and the dealer painted their logo on the trunk lid? I tell the salesperson any decal/marking on the vehicle that's not stock the deal's off.
Click to expand...

+1... sometimes I don't even make it home from dealer/service
before I pullover and scrape off any new decal or freebie keychain


Matt G said:
To the OP, if you are ever near the Central Coast and want a hit or restring let me know! Good to see aussies on here
Click to expand...

hola Matt... I'm a mexican from Melbourne ;)


KineticChain said:
why don't you tell them not to put it there? everyone has little things they hate that no one knows about until the person explodes. how could they possibly know you didn't want a sticker over a sticker? stop acting so entitled and politely tell them you would like the sticker else where or not at all
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&
Overdrive said:
^ Maybe he didn't know that they would put a sticker on the racquet at all.
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aha... I didn't send it there for stringing, original owner did - arrived used/strung

Bigger mystery is why o.o like natgut for cross with smooth poly mains. Wierd!

spinovic said:
I don't see a big deal one way or the other with the sticker. I do agree about putting it on a "blank" spot. I surely wouldn't put a sticker on top of another like in the original post picture.
Click to expand...

there's a perfect sticker sized area on the other arm of the yoke where
Prince advises "Made in China" & "Use Prince High Performance Strings"

why coverup the valuable barcode instead :shock:

mmk said:
I know that store, Strung Out in Rushcutters Bay in Sydney.
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Right you are sir... haha was wondering if anybody was familiar with NSW joints.
Had intentionally avoided showing the 1st pic of before I started peeling.


In the (very) old days stringers used to put round or octagonal stickers
on the buttcap. Then 80s think it was Prince that started doing long stickers
for inside the yoke before everyone else followed suit.

I like string specs on the sticker, maybe also who (person) strung it & when.
Being a tinkering geek, I'd like note of what machine it was done on.
Don't need "when to restring", its marketing fluff.
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
Irvin said:
The only time I have ever had a customer say anything about labels it was because I forgot to put one one. No one has ever asked for a date when it should be strung but several times they specifically want to know when it was strung. They want to determine for themselves when it should be strung. The only thing I put of the label is string type, tension, and date. If you have trouble getting the labels off you can always put them on the blue painters tape.
Click to expand...

Okay, do you ask them before you put on a label? I would ask first. Also, having keeping records of all of your customers and specifications is more efficient than a label.

Having trouble of getting the labels off is not the case. To me, it is a form of cheap advertising (my opinion).
 
Irvin

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Overdrive said:
Okay, do you ask them before you put on a label? I would ask ...
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I have never asked. Seldom if ever do rackets come back with the label and the only time a customer has said anything to me is to tell me to put the string date on the tag, or they get upset when I don't put on a tag.
 
C

Clintspin

Professional
The ERT is a rather fragile piece of equipment that I would not carry in my bag. I am mildly rough with my bag.

I have never had a complaint about a sticker. I have never put one on the hologram either. It actually speeds up the stringing process for me. I try to put the sticker on the butts up side of the racquet throat. When I mount the racquet I can easily see the sticker while stringing. When I am finished I can easily check my last DT number before removing the old sticker. Sure I could open the computer file with this information but I seldom need to.
 
Irvin

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
For anyone who objects to tags I have heard the average life of a business card is about 10 seconds. Why not put a piece of blue painter's tape on the back of your business card? If your customer does not want the tag they can throw it away with the card. If they want the tag they can peel it off the painters tape and put it on there racket or anywhere else they make want to stick it. Painter's tape does not stick well on either side.

If they peel the painter's tape off and trim it up it is real easy to get off the racket too.
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
Irvin said:
I have never asked. Seldom if ever do rackets come back with the label and the only time a customer has said anything to me is to tell me to put the string date on the tag, or they get upset when I don't put on a tag.
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Irony, huh?

I would ask your new customers if they want a label or not. Some players are really conscious about their racquets and a simple thing like this might cause you to lose some business.

Clintspin said:
The ERT is a rather fragile piece of equipment that I would not carry in my bag. I am mildly rough with my bag.

I have never had a complaint about a sticker. I have never put one on the hologram either. It actually speeds up the stringing process for me. I try to put the sticker on the butts up side of the racquet throat. When I mount the racquet I can easily see the sticker while stringing. When I am finished I can easily check my last DT number before removing the old sticker. Sure I could open the computer file with this information but I seldom need to.
Click to expand...

So you put the sticker on the racquet throat so you know what the set-up is?

Hmmmm......
Irvin said:
For anyone who objects to tags I have heard the average life of a business card is about 10 seconds. Why not put a piece of blue painter's tape on the back of your business card? If your customer does not want the tag they can throw it away with the card. If they want the tag they can peel it off the painters tape and put it on there racket or anywhere else they make want to stick it. Painter's tape does not stick well on either side.

If they peel the painter's tape off and trim it up it is real easy to get off the racket too.
Click to expand...

I first thing I do about business cards is that I add them to my contacts. I still keep the cards too.

Another thing you could do is to have a log and everything a person signs in, they fill out their contact information and racquet specs.
 
Irvin

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Well I guess that's why the say the average life is 10 seconds. I don't even look at them most of the time.
 
R

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
Most of string shops in town use labels. I'm sure it's effective for them to advertise. Sometimes I will throw a sticker on my racket with a date to remember how long the strings lasted before they snapped. As residue can be easily removed with rubbing alcohol any ways.
 
J

jim e

Legend
Rjtennis said:
Most of string shops in town use labels. I'm sure it's effective for them to advertise. Sometimes I will throw a sticker on my racket with a date to remember how long the strings lasted before they snapped. As residue can be easily removed with rubbing alcohol any ways.
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I agree with this. I use stickers. I use the ones from the USRSA and they peel off easily without any residue. Many people told me they are glad it is there. If customers don't want them, they just peel off. no big deal. Some people complain about the most trivial stuff in life. Believe me there are more important things than a sticker or not.
 
T

Tamiya

Semi-Pro
Best Reread & comprehend the first post bud. :)

Shop put sticker over the factory barcode & the clear coat got wrecked.
= feckless, stupid place to sticker especially if one likes IDing each frame
via the barcode#. Also the sticker did not carry any stringing data.

Also (I'd assume) same shop strung it in poly mains natgut cross,
felt really weird... worked ok for volley but hit baseline balls real high.
Hmm... should've tried a full western or Hawaiian mebbe :)
 
MAXXply

MAXXply

Hall of Fame
At the end of the day, it's just an EXO3 Black - it's not like the sticker has obscured, completely ripped out or obliterated something like the "Made in Austria" designation on a PC600 or other Austrian-made HEADs. At any rate, OP said he received the racket like that from the original owner.

Strungout's owner can be a curmudgeon at the worst of times (tennis shop equivalent of Seinfeld's Soup Naht-zee) so I wouldn't be surprised if he told the OP to GTFO if he dared raise the issue. He's been in business a longtime so he wouldn't cry about losing one customer over a *relatively* petty issue.
 
J

jim e

Legend
Tamiya said:
Also (I'd assume) same shop strung it in poly mains natgut cross,
felt really weird... worked ok for volley but hit baseline balls real high.
Hmm... should've tried a full western or Hawaiian mebbe :)
Click to expand...

When you had this racquet strung did you ask for a different string set up, as if so then you have a legit complaint to have it strung the way you wanted.
If you purchased it this way, then you should have known what you were buying and there should be no issue .
 
T

Tamiya

Semi-Pro
MAXXply said:
At the end of the day, it's just an EXO3 Black - it's not like the sticker has obscured, completely ripped out or obliterated something like the "Made in Austria" designation on a PC600 or other Austrian-made HEADs. At any rate, OP said he received the racket like that from the original owner.

Strungout's owner can be a curmudgeon at the worst of times (tennis shop equivalent of Seinfeld's Soup Naht-zee) so I wouldn't be surprised if he told the OP to GTFO if he dared raise the issue. He's been in business a longtime so he wouldn't cry about losing one customer over a *relatively* petty issue.
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hah! my Austrian classics ain't going anywhere near StrungUp's fiefdom.
More like they've just snuck across the border in the dark of night
to Swiss freedom via the mountains lead by nanny Maria. :)

You make the joint sound worth of a visit next time I'm up north... Hehehe :twisted:

jim e said:
When you had this racquet strung did you ask for a different string set up, as if so then you have a legit complaint to have it strung the way you wanted.
If you purchased it this way, then you should have known what you were buying and there should be no issue .
Click to expand...

Nah, arrived with used stringbed ... Be worth less than weekold worn panties,
one would do more good complaining about the weather.

Only the natgut as cross, has come up in conversation with friends
& local proshops who've all said its a very rare uncommon choice.
 
COPEY

COPEY

Hall of Fame
Tamiya said:
Headsup to all ye professional stringers... don't do this! :evil:



whack your ID sticker over the mfg's hologram barcode



then when sticker is peeled off, clearcoat comes off with it GRRR!

Some ppl might think nothing of it, but methinks differently - even if
you're the best stringer in town i don't think i'll be coming back again.
Click to expand...


I submit that most people probably wouldn't care about that, which isn't to say that you don't have a right to or that you shouldn't. I string for a fair number of people, and I'd venture to say most of them aren't aware of a the barcode on their racquet or what it's used for.

But that's neither here nor there. It bugs you, you don't like it, so you certainly have a right to not have labels placed over the barcode on your racquet.

The fact that you'd willingly sacrifice a topnotch string job as opposed to having a civil conversation about where to place a label (which could mean not applying one at all) is a rather telling statement, however.
 
Last edited:
fortun8son

fortun8son

Hall of Fame
Many customers like string info on a label, others do not.
It is rather tacky (pun intended) to put a business sticker with no string info over the Holo.
 
Vlad_C

Vlad_C

Semi-Pro
Look, all you stringers out there should remember that A LOT of tennis players, whether recreational or pros, are serious OCD sufferers... (And I include myself in there, as a mild case!) Some people can be very particular about their stuff, they like it a certain way, and they see it as disrespectful when someone messes with their things without their permission.

You guys slap a sticker on somebody's racquet without a second thought, but some of your clients might view it as anything from a mild annoyance all the way to a justified cause to completely freak out.
Back in the days when I was taking my racquets to a shop, they used to put stickers on them every time. I always removed them right away, but it was a PITA anyway, as they were difficult to peel off cleanly and there was always some sticky residue left that could damage the paint over time.

So how about this: Instead of placing the sticker on the racquet, just give the customer the sticker separately, so that they can do whatever they want with it.
They can stick it on the racquet, they can keep it at home, or they can just throw it away.
It should be up to the customer.
After all, it's their racquet.
 
Overdrive

Overdrive

Legend
Vlad_C said:
Look, all you stringers out there should remember that A LOT of tennis players, whether recreational or pros, are serious OCD sufferers... (And I include myself in there, as a mild case!) Some people can be very particular about their stuff, they like it a certain way, and they see it as disrespectful when someone messes with their things without their permission.

You guys slap a sticker on somebody's racquet without a second thought, but some of your clients might view it as anything from a mild annoyance all the way to a justified cause to completely freak out.
Back in the days when I was taking my racquets to a shop, they used to put stickers on them every time. I always removed them right away, but it was a PITA anyway, as they were difficult to peel off cleanly and there was always some sticky residue left that could damage the paint over time.

So how about this: Instead of placing the sticker on the racquet, just give the customer the sticker separately, so that they can do whatever they want with it.
They can stick it on the racquet, they can keep it at home, or they can just throw it away.
It should be up to the customer.
After all, it's their racquet.
Click to expand...

Right on the money.
 
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