It seems to be more and more frequent occurance, clients whom you know are beginners or someone who is obviously lacking in strength and power in their game, come to you asking for 27/28/29/30lbs. not sure what they are thinking but i am guessing it is an ego thing. or the wrong conception that higher tension means more power. you know that once you are done with the racket, they will continue to hit like they did before, not too well, and even more so, you know that they will be able to get more repulsion from the string if they had chosen a lower tension. not to say a better longevity for the string and the racket. do you say a word to them? or just let it be?
I'd advise against it - my reputation would be more important than the inevitable repeat business. I think a stringer should be more than just some chimp who puts the string in the racket. There's also the issue of covering your arse if the racket breaks.
I also advise against, but what I usually do is let them try an extra racquet I use as a demo that's strung inbetween 28-30 lbs and people usually realise what they're getting into and want none of it lol
The trick -- when trying to give advice in any facet of life -- is to do it without coming across as patronizing. (I give advice all day long and still have not perfected that art) But speak the truth you must. If your advice gives customers better results then they will respect you and recommend you to others. If you string a beginner's racket at 35lb against your better judgement, then he's only going to bad-mouth your 'lousy stringing job' when he plays horribly.
If you are confident that the racquet can take the high tension, then do it - the customer wants it and what is the harm for you? OK, so the customer might think you are a bad stringer if he can't play with it but hey, if you really are doing a good job, then the majority of people will come back. Of course, warn them about the lack of playability but if it doesn't harm their health or their racquet, it's OK.
OT - I believe most stringers have a little black book where they keep a record of their customers, the customers' racquets, strings and tension and when last strung and how. If someone came to me for the first time that I suspected (or knew) was a noob, I'd say, "sure, 30 lbs, what string do you normally play with at that tension?" That would generally give the game away and then I'd ask if he/she were a competitive or level A/B or University player etc, "because I'm sure you must be pretty darn good if you can handle those tensions without any fear of injury." So far, it's just conversation, no advice and the customer's response will set the tone for any further transaction. Chances are, the person would come down to earth and start asking me some questions. If he chooses to leave, that leaves me with more time to trawl here! Or I could just give them the link to this thread...
It's a difficult one. As those who ask for higher tension than their ability are either doing it from their egos or is simply taking advice from a friend. If it's an ego thing, then telling them that they should choose a lower tension because you think they are cr@p won't go down well. But on the other hand you'd want them to get the best out of it. So for me, it depends on the person. But if I knew them I usually say something along the lines of "Have you used this tension before? It's quite a high tension and you might find yourself losing power".... that usually prompts them to ask what tension I would recommend, to which I would say "it's really down to your preference and ability, but I would say somewhere between X and Y lb would be a good start"
Sweet spot . I would usually explain to newcomers to badminton about the 'sweet spot' on their string-bed; Telling them that if higher tension is strung, the smaller the 'sweet spot' they will get. They would usually question me about the 'sweet spot'. I would tell them : "It is the place on a string-bed where it is most effective to hit a shuttlecock". When they know that they are unable to hit a shuttlecock accurately with a smaller 'sweet spot', they would usually ask for lower tension to be strung (so that they have a bigger 'sweet spot' to hit with). .
I usually suggest from the health (risk of injury), playability and durability perspectives. If the player insist, then at least I've done the best on my part. Most time, the player will listen, and agree to lower the tension in a reasonable degree.
If I detect ego and testosterone rather than ability, I usually ask them why they want it so high and try to explain to them the theories behind string tension. As my strings are done around 28-30lbs, I would offer them a little hit with my rackets just to help feel and appreciate what they are asking for..... that being said, after all that if they still insist on the high tension, I am always happy to keep the customer happy and do as he wants....
i do have a book of all the rackets i've strung, but only as a reminder for my older friends of their string tensions cos they might forget but i would warn them of the high tension, 100% of the time they just want to know/feel what it's like to string it at 28-29lbs. maybe because the group i string for are at an age closer to retirement and are just playing for fun
wow, hearing from all of you stringers, i think i'm the only stringer who's playing at a low tension of 24lbs. my ego tells me to string my next personal racket at 30, yes! jk
The good thing about having a machine in your living room is that you can try these crazy tensions and a) there's no delay in re-stringing, b) it's cheap
you are not alone....my tension hovers from 24-26lbs depending on the type of string i use. I've tried higher tension and it wasn't for me. That's the joy of having ur own machine. experimentation
As a customer I would never go for a stringing job if the stringer stings lower than asked for. My stringer has a simple method. He strings at the asked tension. Then some customers come due breakage a few days later to him and are angry about the breakage. He advice them, that this is pretty normal, so most customers of him ask for a tension between 20 und 24 lbs because of durability. The guys who can handle tension between 26 and 31 lbs are just a few and come for stringing jobs every 2-4 weeks and know to deal with too high tension.
I would use the analogy of "working out". You don't start with higher weights if you aren't sure if you can handle it. You start low and slowly work your way up! Typically I ask for the tension they used before and then up it by 2 lbs if they are looking for something tighter. Anything tighter than that and I recommend against it as it may cause some shoulder, forearm, and/or wrist pains.
