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Stringing unusual racquets

Q: I realize that I am not going to be able to string every racquet that my customers bring me in twenty minutes or less, but I feel as though I am spending an inordinate amount of time on racquets that do not deserve it. I am referring to racquets that are either really old, or that were originally sold pre-strung. Either way, they are not in the Stringer’s Digest, so I have to call USRSA for the stringing instructions, which sometimes even you guys don’t have. This means the tech has to call the manufacturer and call me back (usually the manufacturer doesn’t know, either), or I have to describe the racquet to him in detail so he can figure out what pattern might work. It can take longer to get the information than it does to string the racquet, and the racquet’s still not worth it. Any suggestions?

A: If the customer is adamant about playing with that particular racquet, you might be able to save some time by going on-line, and checking the stringing instructions in the members-only section of RacquetTECH.com. If you are lucky, though, the customer will just want something to play with. We all know that racquet technology has come a long way in the last few years. You can really use this to your advantage with customers such as this, by pointing out that just about any pre-strung racquet will play better than what they have, and it is often less expensive to buy a whole new racquet than to restring an old one of questionable value.

From the February 2004 issue
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