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Also keep in mind they aren't SUPPOSED to be communicating with the end customer. That's what retailers are for. So you should expect fairly terse answers.

Hey if a retail skate fits you, then have at it.

And that's totally fine. Rob went out of his way for me when I first got my VH back in the day, too (granted there was no LHS middle-man at that point). But expecting long detailed messages from their customer service is probably a bit of a stretch. Just use a bit of common sense, like it appears you are in your case. Some others aren't so much.

Once again though, your retailer should be doing all this. When I was in the shop I had one pair get sent back. I took down every detail of what the issues were and was lucky enough that the size of the skate allowed me to try it on to feel first hand what he was feeling to get a better idea. Obviously this wont always be the case. From there I contacted True, explaining the issues, sent them pictures and discussed what the options were in terms of adjustments/having them remade. This info was directly translated to the customer and his dad (JR player from east coast, dad wasnt in town but was paying) and then discussed what we were trying, a rough timeline and an overall idea of where we were in the process. When I spoke with True I received a name to ask for that would be able to give me updates. I had updates for the customer about every 2 days until completion. Anybody that is doing this on their own without a shops help, you're either doing it wrong or your shop isnt doing their part. Of course True doesn't want to deal with each customer on an individual basis. Our relationship and business was steady enough with them that they could update me with everything we had on order on a weekly basis so I could update our customers. Sorry for the vent. People on here seem extremely misconstrued on the process of getting these made and I think are not holding their LHS responsible for their poor customer service and or inexperience/laziness in the process.

On top of this, many people when they think of custom, they expect the product to be perfect on first delivery. It happens all the time with all types of custom products. Custom products, a vast majority of the time, come with imperfections that ultimately need tweaks/modifications. Very fine point. Even then, True personally called me a few times to resolve my minor issues; in response to my e-mails. True's customer service in my experience is top-notch. Only other major hockey manufacturer that has come close to their level of service, in my experience, is CCM.

I had to have my first pair of skates remade because of the liner (LHS fault). True responded to my email in 24 hours. It took 2 weeks to have new skates made and they came back flawless via 2 day shipping. I also needed some small parts like an additional red footbed liner, and toe inserts ( i like my toes crammed in there), they responded within 24 hours and they paid to have the parts I needed shipped 2 days fedex to California. I agree with IPv, saying they are "known for poor communication" is complete "nonsense". Here is my worry about True.... We are ALL amateurs here. They are catering to an audience of novices. I don't care if you played juniors or been playing 100 years, we are not pro's or have ever been in the NHL. With that said, I believe we are all chasing what we *THINK* a custom pro-skate feels like but we really don't have the slightest clue as we were never pro's. I get they can make mistakes but lets be honest here and give them the credit they deserve, they make an incredible product backed by a hell of a warranty. My worry is our nit-picky requests are mostly unwarranted and could ultimately strain their positive operation which hurts their business. Ok, boo on me, but I should let you know I am a damn star on my beer league team so I know best (kidding of course)!

Nonsense.

I think we're referring to different people.

Howdy, Let's review. * A customer gets his skates. The skate for _his shorter foot_ isn't long enough. * Skates are sent back to be remade. * True contacts customer to say "Hey, we're going to have to increase the holder length". * Customer (understandably) responds with "what? how come?", because nothing he's asked for would seem to indicate that the holder size would need to be increased. None of that is "expects long detailed messages". At this point what I know about custom True skates is that of the two local guys I know that have bought them, one seems in love and the other is on his 3rd go-around of shipping them back to be fixed. In terms of online experiences, the issues people are raising don't seem to be in the category of "fine tune the fit, like you'd expect" and are more in the category of "The skate was so jacked up that it needed to be completely remade". If I were True, I would be concerned with my image. There is absolutely no question that I would explore options other than True at this point, whereas a year or so ago that wasn't the case. YMMV. Mark

But isn't this an example of positive customer service from True? They could just respond, "Sorry, but talk to your LHS where you were fitted. Not our fault you live XXX hours away from them." But they don't do that, and will still talk directly to the customer in many instances to help. I know some other major hockey manufacturers who have told me "Sorry. Can't help you on that. You need to talk to where you bought it from."

Does the consumer grade machine come with the optical alignment tool, or do you need to buy that as well? Aha, just checked the manual, and it does.

I received a few one sentence replies but thats really all I needed or expected. Not that you are expecting a novel, but think about the amount of skates that are being made globally by these guys. I wrote what the issues were with my first skates in number format (listed like 4 things) and they fixed all of them. I kept it short and wasn't surprised they did either. Also, I never called, just emailed. Regarding the holder size, trust their judgement, why would a professional skate maker not just throw on what you already had if it wasnt correct? Side note, most people have different sized feet? It could be that one big foot throws you into the next size? My right side is a little shorter than my left so I put one of the pads there and it was great. Just remember they are hockey skates and not ballet slippers (not trying to be a jerk). As for the instep, I have flat feet and know what you mean. I got used to it and like that they keep me from pronating. Tweak the insoles and try some different ones and you will be good.

I honestly don't know why whoever owns Cooper (Bauer?) or other glove manufacturers don't offer a black diamond type pattern for one of their gloves. It may not outsell basic black or team colors but it would do well with older players. Don't need to come up with a new gloves, just a fabric pattern.

Season has 1 more game and the playoffs yet. I am not looking to get money back. I was hoping there was something we could do to help prevent this from happening in the future to other kids. My son will be fine as we have talked about it and he said he won’t let a bad coach keep him from playing. I have contacted USA hockey about the situation and the adm regional manager is supposed to contact me tomorrow.

Hello my son is the best friend of the boy mentioned by jmiro. My son was kept on the first team mentioned and it was a total nightmare. He was the youngest on the team and was bullied from the get go even though I was assured this wouldn’t be the case. He put up with hazing and also most recently being benched for being too rough, despite only having 3 minor penalties in 13 games. He through hard work drew 7 power play chances for his team despite playing minimal minutes. He was never allowed to play on the PP or the PK so this was very disappointing to him. His last game that he played ended with him quitting the team in tears because he was benched for a convienent coaching reason. He hated going to practice and games where in the beginning he loved it. Oh how I wish we had do overs in life. Is there any recourse now, we emailed the coach, hockey directo, and president of travel organization and haven’t even received a response. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Seem to be known for lack of communication as well as quality control. If you are calling and they are remaking it the process is usually quick and the do try to do the remakes ASAP! Take this from me as it is positively TRUE, I don’t know why there would be a hold up unkess the data is wrong.