When you call Flylow’s customer service line, you don’t get some far-away person who doesn’t understand outdoor gear. You get Abigail Blackburn, who knows seemingly everything.
The most common question Abigail Blackburn gets is: “What which one should I get?” As the head of customer experience for Flylow, it’s her job to answer the phone and emails that come in from customers needing help. “On a daily basis, I get calls from people who need help choosing between one jacket and another, or which pair of bibs would be right for them,” she says. Of course, she can’t just answer that question without posing a few inquiries of her own. She’ll ask the customer about what kind of skiing they do, what they’re looking for in their gear, whether they run hot or cold, if they need breathability or insulation. Once she’s gotten a better idea of who she’s talking to, she can help guide the person to the right product for them.
Customers call in with other needs, too. They want to know about sizing and measurements. (“I have wide calves, will those pants fit?”) Or about care and warranties (“Help! My zipper broke.”) Occasionally, they ask her to take a picture of a jacket color in daylight so they can see how it actually looks outside. Often, the same people will call back over and over again, and each time, Blackburn will say, “Oh, yes, I remember you from the last time we spoke.” Maybe it’s because we’re all so used to customer service that isn’t really service-oriented at all or long wait times to speak to an automated system or help desks staffed by people who don’t have a clue, but most people are surprised at the level of personal attention and outdoor expertise they get when they reach Flylow’s customer service desk.
“We’re not just an e-commerce machine. We’re building relationships, instead of tickets. We want to give people personal interaction and connect on a human level,” Blackburn says. There’s one customer, named Michael, who brings cookies and beer to the warehouse crew in Denver in exchange for a sneak peek at gear that’s coming out next season.
Blackburn joined Flylow in 2018 to run customer service out of our Denver warehouse and office. An avid climber and skier, she doesn’t own a car and gets around town on her purple gravel bike, which she commutes to work on year-round and also uses to ride the trails and dirt roads outside the city. Sometimes, when people come into the office in Denver, they expect to see a room full of people. “People often say: ‘This is it? I assumed you were a bigger team,’” Blackburn says with a laugh. “It’s never more than three or four people in the office.”
When it comes to warranties, Blackburn is a pro at repairs. Most of the issues come from tiny moving parts: a zipper or buckle that’s busted from getting yanked on or a snag in a fabric from a tree branch, ski edge, or car door. The idea is to keep people in the gear they already own for as long as possible. “The majority of the people who are contacting us are bummed that something went wrong and they’re hopeful that we can fix it. People are into keeping the gear they have,” she says. She’ll offer up pointers on field repair that people can do themselves, like NoSo patches or Tenacious Tape, or if needed, she’ll have the gear sent out to one of several outdoor gear repair shops Flylow works closely with.
“You’re juggling a lot of things at once. You need to keep a clear head,” she says. “It may feel chaotic around me, but if I can stay calm, everyone else can feel that calm energy.”
In 2024, Blackburn helped open Flylow’s first warehouse store, called the Warming Hut. It’s a welcoming place where people can come in and check out inventory that can’t be sold at normal retail shops, like lightly used samples from sales reps or photo shoots or past seasons’ inventory, all sold at a discount. The space is also being used as a community gathering place, for ski movies or local nonprofits that need a shared venue.
“People can come in and ask questions about the gear, they can try stuff on,” Blackburn says. “It’s this idea of putting faces and humans to the brand. Once people meet us, they realize we’re just as obsessed with skiing and biking and getting outside as they are.”
This story appears in the new coffee table book, "Homegrown: Celebrating Flylow's independent culture and grassroots vibe since 2005," which is on sale now.