Archive for the ‘Grayson’s Blog’ Category
I spend 35.5 hours a week at work and I’d like to admit that First Serve Tennis is not just my job. First Serve Tennis is my foundation, a part of my structure, and will propel me into the future with hope; this place is practically my second home. First Serve Tennis not only gives tennis players a great place to purchase their tennis needs, it touches the local tennis community in beautiful ways by sponsoring tournaments, making donations to charitable events, and doing our part in promoting tennis.
I believe so much in this store that I am doing everything I can to be a better employee, and right now I am committing to stringing any racquet that enters these doors as efficiently as I can. Most of the time, we can string racquets within an hour after entering our doors; where else in San Antonio can someone have this done? However, as good as this service may be, I am going to personally take this a step further. If someone comes to First Serve Tennis and I, Grayson Throckmorton, have the ability to string their tennis racquet while they wait, I will string it right away if they have time to wait for it. Not only will I string it within 15 minutes, it will be the same quality as if they came back the next day.
I am doing this to further accommodate our customers, to reach higher as an employee, and to minimize the emissions our beautiful Earth chokes on every single day.
GLO(sɹǝɥʇo)BAL CHA(buıʌɹǝs)NGE
Oakley is a company that thrives on innovation, pushes the limits, and gives consumers good reasons to buy their products.
All Oakley sunglasses are loaded with Oakley HDO® (High Definition Optics) lenses. This technology allows one to view the world through a lens that has as little distortion as possible. 
These lenses revolutionize sports sunglasses, and make it near impossible for other companies to compete. Of the few players on the ATP Tour that play with sunglasses, almost all of them use Oakley eyewear. Other professionals like Lance Armstrong (cyclist), Shaun White (snowboarder/skateboarder), and Ryan Sheckler (skateboarder), all use Oakley sunglasses because they realize to perform the best, they must use the best eyewear in the industry.
Oakley’s HDO® lenses are only one reason to own a pair of Oakley’s. Oakley lenses are also made to repel water, making them Hydrophobic® (another patent from Oakley). 
These lenses are amazing for water sports or even a day at the pool, lake, river, or beach. Oakley lenses are also equipped with UV protection by using another Oakley patent called Plutonite® . Competing sunglass companies also make UV protection, but UV rays are not the only form of harmful rays from the sun. Plutonite® is designed to not only block UV rays, but other damaging rays like UVC, UVB, and UVA’s.
In comparison, it is obvious that Oakley’s technologies make for an easier decision in selecting eyewear. The pictures located below this paragraph from left to right, show the visibility of the naked eye, an Oakley lense, and an Adidas lense. With this kind of examination, one can see why professionals would choose Oakley over any other brand.
At First Serve Tennis, we only sell Oakley sunglasses and the reasons are obvious; they manufacture the finest sunglasses in the industry. I am pleased to say that we have many frames to choose from, however, we do not carry every style Oakley has to offer as we are not the Oakley Store. I personally select the styles we carry here at First Serve Tennis in efforts to meet our customer’s needs. If there is a certain frame you would like to have that we do not carry, we would be more than willing to order it for you.
Since I have been working retail for almost 3 years at First Serve Tennis, the brand/type of tennis racquet I decide to purchase for myself is not something I take loosely. I receive feedback from customers daily, and while I string tennis racquets, replace bumper-guards, and even grip them, I get to really examine every angle of these racquets.
When a customer walks into First Serve Tennis searching for “the best” current tennis racquet, it would be almost a lie to tell them any one brand based off of the performance of the racquet. This is because almost every racquet manufacturer makes a pretty solid tennis racquet. At First Serve Tennis, we currently have 7 racquets from 5 different companies that are 27” in length, 100 square-inches in head size, and weigh 300 grams (Wilson BLX Pro.Open, Prince EXO3 White & Black, Head YouTek IG Extreme MP, Tecnifibre T.Flash 300, Babolat Aero Drive GT and Pure Drive GT). All of these racquets are awesome, but if one expects to purchase the correct racquet, they must take a look into the brand’s heritage, customer service, racquet warranties, feedback, market share, and the effectiveness of the brand’s technology.
I can say that after playing tennis half my lifetime, working 3 years and counting at the most legitimate tennis store in San Antonio, Wilson is by far the most reputable brand in the tennis industry. Wilson has unbelievable heritage, professional customer service, a one-year manufacturer’s warranty, excellent feedback from consumers, and the highest market share in our industry.
Not only does Wilson have great heritage, professional customer service, great feedback, etc.; they also have a well-rounded current technology called BLX. BLX is created from a natural volcanic rock called Basalt. Basalt decreases the amount of vibration that actually reaches your hand, thus giving the player using a BLX racquet cleaner feedback and better feel. I currently use the Wilson BLX 6.1 95 16X18, and I am 100% satisfied. I will play with no other brand than Wilson for the rest of my life. I believe so much in this brand that I am getting a marketing degree in hopes to work for Wilson after college.
BLX, more feel.
