A very big feud is brewing between the Outdoor Industry and the state of Utah, if not much of the rest of the country. And rightfully so. Thanks to the state’s notoriously anti-public lands conservation attitude, Outdoor Retailer announced yesterday they were actively looking for a new home in 2018 and now Patagonia says they are pulling out of the show altogether while it remains in Utah.
This is the story of my recent frustrating customer service experience with a San Francisco based outdoor company. I decided to write about this not to name and shame the company, but to highlight the importance of customer service for the outdoor industry. In a time where we are trying to get more people outdoors, you can spend all the money and focus on getting a consumer to buy your product, but if you drop the ball on the back end, that customer is most likely not coming back and if a newcomer, may taint their initial overall outdoor experience.
Last month, members of the UK's Outdoor Industry Association attended a workshop on social media at Lancaster University as part of the E-business and Innovation curriculum. The members were apparently astounded at how fast internet and social media are evolving and the opportunities and challenges that presents for outdoor businesses.
