Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2018 - 32

IDEAS
"HAVING A HIKE LEADER
HELPS A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL
BETTER ABOUT GOING OUT
INTO THE MOUNTAINS."

Pepper Ernest
Each issue we speak to key employees who work behind the counters
and in the aisles at successful retailers in order to find out what it
takes to turn a great shop into a neighborhood institution.
by M.T. Elliott
PEPPER ERNEST HAD JUST RELOCATED TO
that have truly earned him praise from his
managers: He's deeply involved in the Get
Charlottesville from Florida in 2014 and
Hiking program, which uses the MeetUp web
was hiking chunks of the Appalachian Trail
platform to organize hikes for its customers.
when he saw a sign about the Great Outdoor
"We're helping people find a way to get outside
Provision Co. store opening. Having left beand have a lot of fun," Ernest says. "There are
hind careers in auto sales and construction, he
so many beautiful areas out our back door."
emailed the store manager. "I told him I was
Other Great Outdoor Provision Co.
either going to spend another month living in
locations have had success with Get Hiking,
a tent or come to work for him," he says.
and within 18 months, the Charlottesville
As a relative newcomer to the outdoor inprogram grew to more than 1,800 members.
dustry, Ernest says his time at Great Outdoor
The urban hikes follow flat trails along rivers
has opened his eyes to how well customers
and creeks and serve as a good
are taken care of from top to
base training. The mountain
bottom, by accepting returns
hikes can range from 6-mile
or fixing gear to ensure they
Pepper Ernest, 62
out-and-backs to difficult
leave happy. And he appreciShop: Great Outdoor
day hikes of 16 miles. Most
ates support coming from the
Provision Co.
members prefer somewhere
manufacturers as well. "It's
Location: Charlottesville,
in between, which often
definitely not something I saw Virginia
includes a pit stop at a brewery
in 20 years in the automobile
Title: "(Old) Hiker and Rep"
or winery on the way back.
business," he says.
Role: Sales representative;
A core group of members
It's Ernest's activities
Event coordinator
return
for the social aspect,
outside the shop, however,
Experience: Three years

32 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Winter 2018

WORDS OF WISDOM

Advice for new shop employees:

"Product knowledge is the key. If you
know the products you're representing,
then it's much easier to get people
enthusiastic about them."
Talking customers into trying on more
than one shoe:

"I've seen so many bad-looking feet
out on the Appalachian Trail-black
and blue toenails, no toenails, blisters galore. You can avoid that with
the right shoe. Your foot is going to
do a pretty good job of telling ya 'oh
yeah' or 'oh no.'"

Courtesy Pepper Ernest

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

too, and friendships have formed over the past
year. However, the majority of members are
those who wouldn't drive an hour to hike alone
and are attracted to the group outings for the
confidence factor. "Having a hike leader helps
a lot of people feel better about going out into
the mountains," Ernest says.
Getting new members hooked on hiking is
easy: Help them have fun. Ernest encourages
people to start with the shorter urban rambles,
and he leads the tougher mountain hikes from
the back so stragglers don't feel left behind.
There's an educational aspect, too: Members
share advice and stories with one another. And
they learn to navigate on their own. "I always
give everybody a small map to instill the idea
that you should hike with a map," Ernest says.
Ernest and his coworkers find themselves
drawn to the adventure plans of his
customers, living vicariously through them
as they prepare to tackle "firsts" and report
back. "Charlottesville is a terrific community,"
he says. "You see them on the front end of a
trip, and you generally see them again, and
they share their experience and show us their
photos. They are friends and family." O.R.

Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2018

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