Hello fellow snowboarders,
It finally looks like we are getting snow in Whistler over the next couple of days. I have been checking the forecasts for weeks now and wasn't too optimistic that there would be enough snow for opening day like in the past year. I was worried, even though it's early, that it would be a repeat of 2003/2004. But it does look like the snow is on it's way due to the freezing level dropping.
Detailed Whistler Snow Forecast website
Westbeach is a Canadian board shop that started up in 1979 in Calgary and now has two main shops in Vancouver (West 4th & Burrard and in Gastown) and Whistler (Market Place, Village North).
http://www.westbeachtheshop.com/
I usually stroll in to Westbeach on a consistent basis to see what’s new and for their Volcom clothes section…I love Volcom jeans. Recently I purchased new snowboard boots, bindings and a board (that I returned due to cosmetic reasons). So without further adieu here is my detailed review of the Westbeach shops.
1) Shop setup / Visual Merch
All Westbeach stores are setup in the same fashion, clothing / shoes up front and gear in the back. The Whistler store has a more artistic flare because in their front windows they have some cool displays that are well thought out. As for the Vancouver store they only have two front windows and now displays. Both stores are descent sizes with the Vancouver one the bigger of the two making able to carry a lot of gear for the particular season.
Also both shops always have a couple of TVs in them playing the latest snowboarding, surfing or skateboarding movies which is always cool to have, it keeps me in the store that much longer.
2) Variety
Westbeach carries a large variety of gear, clothing and accessories, my favourite being the Volcom section. From a snowboarding perspective they stock Burton, Stepchild, Lib Tech, GNU and 32 boots. They also stock the lasted videos, but this year did seem to have all of them like they did in the past.
In the summer months Westbeach transforms they inventory into skateboarding and surfing gear but still keep the snowboarding products out as well.
3) Product Pricing
The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and Westbeach rarely has sales. Their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off)
4) Customer Service
I find Westbeach’s customer service hit and miss. Sometimes you get good service when you are browing in their stores but most of the time you are just ignored. This is very evident in the Whistler store, they’re to cool to help you out!
When I was buying all my gear for this season the guy helping me just did want to be there and it was evident in his attitude. Also they work on commission, so I would think that they would get more effort to help you make the right choice.
With respect to product knowledge I think the Westbeach staff does a good job, as most of their employees ride the gear they are sell. But since they do work on commission do your homework before hand because there is always the risk that they will try to push some product on you that you might not want.
One guy at the Vancouver shop, I think his name was Eric, is extremely helpful and doesn’t care about commission so I would suggest asking around to see if he’s there to help out.
5) Overall
Westbeach is descent board shop that can become a really good board shop if they customer service improves in both stores. Really they only reason I shop there is because of their large selection of Volcom clothes, other wise I think you can get better service else where when purchasing gear.
Ok, I know this is not the movie review you were looking for but I have yet to receive my new snowboarding videos from action sports videos. But fear not I will have a review guaranteed for next Monday. Just to let you know I did dispute the charges through my mastercard and got my money back for the videos that were never sent to me, so I'm just going to go to my local shop and pick them up this week. Check out my experience with ASV here: ActionSportsVideo Review
Now I know this is quite old, as the 2008 Surfer Awards were already handed out but I really think some of these tricks are amazing. So I just wanted to share them with you. The nominees were:
- Dane Reynolds / Dude Cruise (WINNER)
- Dion Agius / Behind The Black Curtain
- Dane Reynolds / Dude Cruise
- Pat Gudauskas / The Pursuit
- Clay Marzo / Just Add Water
More surfing videos on SurferMag.com
Dane Reynolds with his trick in Dude Cruise took took home the award for best trick of 2008....that was suck a sich trick!!!
Also the big winner of the night was no surprise, Kelly Slater for number 1 male surfer. Well deserved since he won his 9th world title this year.
More surfing videos on SurferMag.com
There is something going on in the snowboarding world that is very exciting for me.....a possible Un..Inc reunion.
Recently I read that Gigi left Burton to join Volcom in the quest to conquer the snowboarding world with their introduction to snowboard hardware manufacturing due out in 2009/2010. Also in the past of couple months Burton has let go of JP Solberg, DCP and Romain De Marchi, leaving the door wide open for an Un..Inc reunion on Volcom.
I also noticed on the net this website called, We Are Un..Inc , so something interesting is about to occur in the next couple of months.
Check out a couple of these articles and posts on other blogs to see how things are shaping up for the former Burton Un..Inc'ers
Gigi says Screw off Burton
Gigi Sign with Volcom
So fingers crossed that these guys can reunite on a team that would be amazing because together they bang out awesome video parts. I guess we can look forward to another Volcom snowboarding movie in 09/10 if this reunion occurs.
For my first shop review I wanted to write about one of my favourite shops that I frequent in Whistler, Evolution (http://www.evolutionwhistler.com).
Evolution is a locally owned shop that is located in the Whistler Village between the Village Square (Citta’s, Liquor Store/Grocery Store) and the Conference Center (Buffalo Bill’s Tapley’s). It’s quite a unique store in Whistler because it really fuses snowboard and mountain biking with fashion. The reason I say its quite unique is because most board shops, especially in Whistler, just sell gear with very little consideration on the fashion side of things. If I’m not describing it well here is the “about us” from the Evolution website. I guess you can say it’s like their mission statement:
The Evolution Story
Evolution established in 1995, is located in the heart of the Whistler Village in BC, Canada.
Evolution represents Whistler’s culture of Biking, Snow riding, Skateboarding, and Fashion.
In the winter we sell Snowboards and NarrowAssSnowboards (sold in pairs…) and stylin' related outerwear and accessories.
In the summer we rent and sell select quality bikes, parts and accessories and our excellent tech's service all types of bikes. Year round we stock a boutique selection of fashion from brands that often request to be in our store.
We offer opportunity to find clothes that are unique because we do not stock two of the same item
Evolution supports local artists, photographers, videographers and musicians with sales, and use of art, photos, DVD’s and CD’s.
Evolution is committed to quality service, products and style.
If you love bikes, snowboards, fashion or art: a visit to Evolution is a must when you are in Whistler.
So as you can see Evolution truly represents snowboarding culture and that why I really like this shop. So without further adieu here is my detailed review.
1) Shop setup / Visual Merch
Since Evolution is more a stylish shop the visual merch and shop setup are awesome. From outside to inside of the shop it feels lively due to all the art work colours that are displayed. Since the shop is pretty small it’s very easy to get around. Clothes and other accessories are at the front or entrance of the shop, while the snowboard and mountain biking gear is located in the back. Also Evolution carries a ton of videos and local music that are located just behind the counter.
Don’t be fooled about the size of the shop…it definitely packs a punch because it combines both substance and style. Evolution is one of the most visually pleasing shops in Whistler among all the large corporate stores….it’s really refreshing and inspiring to see an awesome locally run shop in Whistler.
2) Variety
Evolution sells a large selection of clothes and gear from many of the top brands. From a snowboarding perspective they stock Rome, Ride, Lib Tech, Rossi and 32 plus a ton out outerwear from Plant Earth, DC, Airblaster and more. Evo also stocks the lasted videos.
In the summer months this shop transforms into the best mountain bike shop in Whistler, carrying bikes from Specialized, Cove and Santa Cruz. If your ride needs some lovin’ bring into Evolution because they always have the best techs there to give your bike the treatment it deserves.
3) Product Pricing
The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find. But the good thing about Evolution is that they seem to have more sales than any shop in Whistler. So if you catch it at the right time you can pick up some gear for a good price. I have usually seen about 10% to 15% off at times, so always check back into the store just to make sure you’re not missing a good deal.
4) Customer Service
Ok this is where Evolution set itself apart from other board shops in Whistler and even in Vancouver for that matter, their customer service. From the moment you walk into the shop you are greeted with a friendly hello, usually from the shop owner Jenine. Once in the shop you are never really ignored or feel out of place because the staff is so friendly and always willing to help you out. The staff takes the time to chat with you even if you’re not buying anything which is cool to see.
The Evolution staff really makes all its customers feel at home in their shop and I think that stems from it being locally owned and operated. That’s why I really enjoy going into their shop, even if I’m not buying anything….their customer service is the best out of all the board shops in Whistler and Vancouver.
5) Overall
As you can tell Evolution is my favourite shop and I really urge anyone visiting Whistler looking to purchase some gear to head over to this shop and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Well I had to put off Movie Review Monday for this week because I have yet to receive my order from ActionSportsVideos.com (ASV). So I have decided to review ActionSportsVideo.com. I’m pretty steamed with regards to not receiving my ordered 2009 snowboard movies on time, so this review won’t be pretty.
1) Navigation / User Friendly Site
ASV is a pretty easy site to navigate through. All their videos are categorized by sport such as Surfing, Snowboarding, Skiing, etc. Once in the category of your choice the movies are generally sorted by release year so the newest videos are on the first page. They also offer a short synopsis of the movies, to let you know who’s in it and any other notable information. If you find the movies you want to buy it’s pretty easy to add them to your check out cart and complete the transaction.
So for user friendliness of their site I think it’s pretty simple and basic, which is want a buyer wants.
2) Pricing
ASV pricing of all their videos is decent. On a lot of the bigger flicks they offer a couple of bucks off but it's not that much different than their competitors. Also the shipping costs, unless you live in the US, are average. It works out to about $4 US per purchased video for Canadians, unless you buy over $250 worth of movies then it’s free.
3) Variety
The variety of videos is good at ASV. They carry all major titles from a broad spectrum of action sports from Snowboarding, Surfing and Skiing to Mountain Biking and Wakeboarding.
4) Customer Service
Ok now it seem like ASV is a good place to order movies from….well this is where it get bad because to me customer service is crucial.
I placed my order online with Action Sports Videos on Sept 5th and purchased 5 snowboard videos (Double Decade, Ready, Down with People, No Correct Way and That’s It That’s All). As to this day I have yet to receive them. Now I have e-mailed ASV over 10 times requesting they give me information as to when my order will be arriving but I have only gotten one response saying that there was a delay in distribution of the video to there warehouse. Also you are told on the website not to call their customer service phone numbers with questions about order status because they say to e-mail them in. So I did that and really got no solid answer from them that way. So I called their phone number to ask about my order status and I got attitude from the customer service rep saying that I should not be calling in to ask about order status….what bull shit.
So it’s been over a month from the date I ordered the videos and I haven’t received them yet, when there site clearly states that shipping to Canada takes 3 to 10 business days…..well it’s been 20+ days. Where are my videos??? Wait, contact customer service by e-mail so that they can ignore you….nice.
So since customer service is highly important to me when I’m purchasing a product I give ASV a failing grade. I would never purchase any thing from them again due to this lack of communication with their customers….nice way to run a business, fuck ups!!!
YOU FAIL....ACTION SPORTS VIDEOS
Over the next couple of posts I'll be reviewing some of the local board shops that I usually frequent in both Whistler and Vancouver in order to gear you up for the up coming winter season. I will be critiquing the shops based mainly on customer service, product selection / variety and price.
The following is a list of stores which I will be reviewing over the next couple of weeks:
- Westbeach Vancouver
- Westbeach Whistler
- Showcase Snowboards Whistler
- Evolution Whistler
- Comor Whistler
- Pacific Boarder Vancouver
- The Boardroom Vancouver
- The Circle Whistler
- Mountain Riders Whistler
Hopefully these reviews will help you make an informed decision on where you should make your next purchase for your snowboarding needs. So check back over the next 2 weeks for these reviews.....don't miss it.
Also don't forget about Movie Review Mondays where I review the 2009 snowboarding videos.
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