Ideal Tack Shop

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Sparkeyboy

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Morning! I'm doing a small study on local tack shops and what their customers really think of the service they offer and I would really appreciate your views:) It's no secret that the internet has taken over and now it seems there's little need for tack shops, Ebay provides nearly every 2nd hand item you could ever wish for.

So please tell me, what do you love about your local tack shop? What do you dislike? Is there something they do which makes them special or better than the rest?

Are there any products they don't stock which you wish they did, or products you are sick of seeing (because no one seriously buys the £90 dressage shirt, do they?:eek:

What turns you to online shopping, rather than making the visit to your tack shop? Or, what does the shop offer that you could never get with online shopping?

What entices you into the shop ... sales/offers, free magazines, local notice/advertisement board, 2nd hand items, canine/feline/poultry items?

Any positive and negative thoughts welcome, tell me your ideal tack shop!

Thanks in advance for any responses :)
 
I think the one thing a shop can offer over an online retailer is service and knowledge so anyone running a tack shop would do well to get qualified as "fitters" of as many items as possible - body protectors, hats, air jackets etc. After than it's about building a rapport with customers and going the extra mile to get what they need with special orders etc.

I don't have a decent tack shop near me, just a couple of chain countryside stores that stock horsey stuff, but the staff know little about it. I would gladly use one that has a decent range of products/ sizes /brands. This doesn't necessarily mean lots of stock, just a couple of each size/colour and good management to replace sold stock promptly. e.g. There are two shops about 20 miles away from me in different directions (so 40 from each other). I spent hours one day going to one, and then the other trying to buy a hat as they only stock one brand each. The first brand was the wrong shape so had to go to the 2nd shop which didn't have the size I needed. I ended up buying online (didn't want to do this originally as I wanted it to be fitted) as although they could order it for me, it was cheaper and easier to get it delivered to my house than doing another 40 mile round trip to collect it.
 
annagain said:
I think the one thing a shop can offer over an online retailer is service and knowledge so anyone running a tack shop would do well to get qualified as "fitters" of as many items as possible - body protectors, hats, air jackets etc. After than it's about building a rapport with customers and going the extra mile to get what they need with special orders etc.

I don't have a decent tack shop near me, just a couple of chain countryside stores that stock horsey stuff, but the staff know little about it. I would gladly use one that has a decent range of products/ sizes /brands. This doesn't necessarily mean lots of stock, just a couple of each size/colour and good management to replace sold stock promptly. e.g. There are two shops about 20 miles away from me in different directions (so 40 from each other). I spent hours one day going to one, and then the other trying to buy a hat as they only stock one brand each. The first brand was the wrong shape so had to go to the 2nd shop which didn't have the size I needed. I ended up buying online (didn't want to do this originally as I wanted it to be fitted) as although they could order it for me, it was cheaper and easier to get it delivered to my house than doing another 40 mile round trip to collect it.
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Thank you annagain, your comments are really helpful. It makes a lot of sense for a tack shop to be qualified to fit the products they sell. We used to have a local tack shop that had loads of 2nd hand saddles (great!) but none of the staff were qualified to fit, it would have been helpful if they were.

Thank you for your feedback.
 
There's quite a lot of tack shops around me, the closest is an independent one that sells general farm supplies but has a dedicated horsey shop. It seems to do really well, I think this is due to it being around for a long time (30+ years I believe) and it embraces social media to complement their physical shop presence.
However, I don't like it. The first time I went in was to have a look at their range of long boots. I walked in on a Saturday lunch time and there were 3/4 women (young to middle aged) chatting behind the desk, no hello or anything. I asked where the boots were and went upstairs to have a look. I found a pair I wanted to try went back downstairs to the gaggle of women and asked to try some on. They looked at me blankly, one rolled their eyes, and followed me back upstairs to help. I explained I needed some wide calf boots and this was met, to my horror, by a smirk. The pair I tried (Dublin river boots) fit and I bought them. The whole experience was awful, hated it. Won't be going back. If this is how they treat all their customers then I don't know how they do so well.
I buy anything I need through an online business that is run by a friend, she runs the business by herself, is friend and helpful. I much prefer small businesses to larger ones like the one I went to (it's well known in Cheshire, you may even know which one I mentioned if you are from here).
 
hate is how they always (well my local ones any way) are like a jumble sale & you have to rifle you way through, nothing in order and the worst is NO PRICES on things - its ok asking once but when you have to ask for every thing and then its V awkward if you can't afford or think its too expensive!
 
Thanks for the comments, toulouse1 this really annoys me as well! My local tack shop doesn't seem to bother putting prices on anything and it's a pain having to keep asking, I'm always reluctant to go in now because of it. LHIS that's awful, manners cost nothing. :confused:

I think that when tack shops sell second hand equipment, they think it's acceptable to just throw it into a box. But after 20mins of untangling reins and attempting to measure bits I find myself contemplating paying the extra £15 for the new reins that are hung up neatly :D

I also want to add, what other services would you like your tack shop to offer ... would it be helpful if they offered a rug washing/repair service, embroidery, feed, bedding?

Also, what opening times do you think are suitable for a tack shop? Being a full time worker and owning horses, I would appreciate a tack store that was open until late, around 7pm? So it wouldn't affect me if the shop didn't open until later. Are there any early birds out there who wouldn't agree with this?
 
My local independent feed merchant/tack shop seems to do everything (see list below). The only thing I don't buy from them is straw/hay. Prices are higher than online but I accept that. They have a loyalty card points scheme. A few times a year they do a 20% off everything weekend and if I have a major purchase I wait until then and also use my loyalty points. My only complaint is the shop, although large, is a big disorganised but maybe that's intentional as you have to wander around the whole shop to find what you want and will stumble across things you didn't know you needed. They are happy to order things in for you if they don't have the right size in stock and you're under no obligation to buy once it arrives. It's a family business and the staff are friendly and I've always found the customer service very good. Many of the staff have worked there for years which says alot in my view. They also have a big noticeboard for horses for sale, livery, services etc. They don't sell second hand (apart from saddles) and don't allow people to advertise items they sell. I'm on a large DIY yard and alot of people use their free delivery for orders over £30. They deliver to certain areas on specific days of the week. You phone up and order/pay. They are trusted to have access to our yard and they leave everyone's orders in the barn.

I tend to visit at the weekend and Sunday opening is very important to me. We have other tack shops in the area that don't open on a Sunday which I think is very short sighted for this type of business.

Feed (inc hay)
Bedding (inc straw)
Yard equipment (wheelbarrows etc)
Other pet foods/toys/equipment (chickens/dogs/cats/rabbits et al)
Hat/body protector fitting
Second hand and new saddles
Saddle fitting (on-site arena or they visit you)
Rug cleaning
Saddlery and rug repairs
Clipper sharpening
 
Our LTS is quite frankly a bit of a mess. Very offputting. Most things arent priced.They don't sell things youre likely to need, like poultice boots, and they don't stock much in XL size which is a bit daft given this is popular hunt territory and there are plenty of people with larger horses.
We have a well known country store which does most of the basics, but they have recently switched a lot of products to the Hy range and there's very little choice or quality. That or John Whitaker. I just want simple things like a decent selection of quality leather bridles in different sizes, that are not flash or grakle nosebands. And turnout rugs going up to the bigger sizes with options like half necks, and fillings less than 250g.
 
We have 4 local, independent tack shops. All very very different.

One is like going to a jumble sale, or A lading cave, which ever way you view things

One is upmarket things and known for selling quality at a price. Knowledgeable staff.

One is larger but not full. Sells value for money stuff

The other is animal feeds an tack shop in one. I'll family business with pretty limited new items, but also a huge second hand section that is well organised

Of course we have a small Robinsons, 2 countrywide stores
 
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