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DarkStar50

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Everything posted by DarkStar50

  1. There is no rule. However, the online shop is in competition with the LHS. The LHS would not buy the item at the same cost from the online shop that he would get buying direct from the vendor. The LHS would pay more for the same item from the online shop. So, the LHS will make no profit on the sale. The LHS would probably lose money after shipping costs, too. You have a good idea in theory that unfortunately doesn't work in the real world.
  2. M/I has been out of stock on a lot of visors for months. They have no visors for the Combo Deluxe for ages. Part of the problem probably lies with the new logo of product as well as production problems. If the vendor does not have the product to ship to retailers, unless you are an NHL team, you are SOL. I agree with the courtesy call to the customer. If I take a request for product, the customer will hear from me either way: either good news that the item is in stock and on the way or bad news that the vendor won't have product until a given date that customer service has provided for me. this is simply known as good business and service!
  3. Listening is never part of the equation for the customer. They will always hear only what they want to hear. Sometimes that is why we scream, after they have left. BTW, I do know that many MSHers listen but the majority of customers just don't bother no matter how many times we tell them.
  4. At my last shop we used to have a golden retriever named Molson. He was a really cool dog.
  5. Stop by the shop with your OPS and defence18 and I will test the flex of your OPS in the shop on the floor, not the rink which is 20' outside the door. Just busting your balls.........
  6. When I mention nobody ever bothered to flex wood sticks I am talking about before shafts and OPS were in the marketplace. Most stick buyers back in the day went with weight and balance off the stick rack when choosing a woodie. I know the flex fixation is here to stay. As long as customers don't abuse the product, it is not a big problem. Flex the shaft, the stick, learn about the feel. Just don't be an idiot and abuse the privilege. BTW, the dumbasses tend to distinguish themselves from the customers ready to purchase or those that ask questions and learn something before purchasing.
  7. Nobody ever bothered to flex wood sticks like they do with OPS. So, please explain the fascination with flexing OPS and exactly what are you learning that you probably did not already know? Why flex OPS if you have no intention of buying it? Brett Hull has yet to walk in and buy a OPS in the shop, or anyone else who could skate on his line............
  8. You won't believe this but it happened in the shop to one of the guys last week: A customer came into the shop with her son. She was complaining that her son's feet were hurting very badly with the new hockey skates he had on. Brian looked down at his feet and told her it might be more comfortable if the right skate was on the right foot and the left skate was on the left foot! He had the skates on the wrong feet! She wanted to know how she could tell which was the right or left! I won't mention which country she was from but we get people from all over the world here. At least she did not ask for "skating shoes." I usually get that request once every weekend.
  9. Small complaint: Customers who bring their skates in for sharpening tied together in a knot that I can't undo unless I use needle nose pliers. The only reason I bring this one up is it happened 20 minutes ago. I left the skates tied together in a knot, sharpened them, and handed them back to the guy. I'll let him and his kid figure out the problem they created for themselves.
  10. I have been doing this a long time. What is a "professionalism guarantee?" I have never heard of the concept. BTW, I like your dog........woof
  11. Yeah, maybe but once I do that and he is out in the hallway bragging about the combo deal he got from me to the other hockey dads, then all hell breaks loose and I'm screwed. That is a great point you make. I never thought of it.
  12. Hockey Dad is in the shop last night while his son tries out for a local youth team. He is checking out shin pads so I help him with the different styles, differences, pros and cons, etc. He tell me his pads are ancient and he's ready for something new, but not just yet. That should have set off the alarms and whistles but I ignored it. After a while he mentions he definitely needs shoulder pads, too. Ok, here are the shoulder pads.... While in front of the SPs he mentions that you know that internet deal where you get the SGs, SPs, and EPs and you get a really great price won't help him now since he just bought elbow pads. Oh, now I feel your pain! Needless, to say, I went back to getting some other important things done since I knew where he stood as far purchasing from the pro shop. I don't think he even realized how badly he blew it when he used the words "internet deal." Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me............
  13. I can't wait to hear the complaints when the skates hit retail and "they don't fit my big fat Fred Flinstone feet!!! WHAAAA!!!! WHAAAAAAAAA!!" Half of you guys are setting yourselves up for a major letdown if these skates don't fit you perfectly.
  14. Ask the shop guys to explain the differences between flex #s, what you need based on your build, position you play, etc. Most knowledgeable shop guys love to talk about product.
  15. That's not necessarily a stupid question. To someone who doesn't follow all the latest gear (or who isn't an experienced hockey player), the answer is really not obvious. I don't find the question stupid or annoying. I find it to be funny. I also like the ? because then its the perfect lead-in to showing a customer how much you do or don't know about the product on the wall. Once I begin to explain the differences then I also know how serious the customer is about buying skates.
  16. I don't blame you for taking your $ to the other LHS. If I was their boss, I would rip those two guys a new one. If they sat on their butts again, I'd be sure to tell them don't let the door hit them in the butt on their way out after I let them go for good. Just think how many other customers they didn't bother to help, also. Oh excuse me, it should not have been a bother to help the customers. That was Joe Useless Employee's job: to help customers, not sit around and bs.
  17. We get customers from around the world. Yesterday I was asked if we have "skating shoes?" That wasn't the first time I have been asked for "skating shoes." A phone call shopper yesterday asked for the grey Bauer Vapor stick. I was confused until he said you know the goalie stick. Oh ok, I have the VAPOR GOAL STICK! Its all in the details. Customer staring at glove wall with over 70 choices and colors: Do you have any other colors? Customer staring at skate wall: Why is this skate $150 and this one $450? What makes it so expensive?
  18. I was just thinking about my favorite skate, the Daoust 301 National, circa 1981. Then I thought, wait a minute, what if I could get that boot with a few 2006 custom specs added. Here is my "Custom" skate: the Daoust 301 National boot, leather and ballistic nylon upper, with the heavy duty white cotton felt tongue, as they came out of the box. The boot would be traditional brown leather with black ballistic nylon, as they were back in the day. I would take out the leather inner sole. They always rotted out from sweat and then your rivets had nothing to sink into. I would replace that inner sole with the inner sole from a 2005 Vapor XX. No problems with those. They don't rot out and they would be lighter than the stock leather inner sole. I would replace the old plastic outer sole with the outer sole from the 2005 8090. That would also be light and get a lower profile for the boot to the ice. I would install Tuuk 2000 Clear holders(with plenty of back-up stock for repairs) in size 260. That was always my favorite Tuuk size, not the 254 I skate on now. My steel would be stainless. If that Daoust factory were still around, I would place this order today! What do you want if you could build your skate with technology mixed from all the vendors?
  19. I guess my customers are different, they know me, I know them, and I don't mind if they drop their skates on the counter and run into the stick room. I'm in NYC metro area. Customers are rude and stupid to salesguys as the norm. The nice customers catch us off guard. It is also easy to tell on weekends when teams come in from out of the area. The parents are usually a lot friendlier. I'm not kidding.
  20. Yeah, but just being polite is common courtesy. However, I think courtesy in public places went out the window a long time ago. Whenever I am buying something I treat the employee like I would like to be treated because I know what its like on a daily basis "to serve the public."
  21. And here is the next generation of OPS headaches: The OPS Goalie sticks. A hockey mom stopped in a few nights ago with a OPS goalie stick that was 26 days old. They were in Quebec at the Peewee tourney when the stick took a shot high up on the paddle on the edge. The paddle has a 2" seam split. I have seen this before in any other goalie stick. With the OPS goalie stick she wanted to return it and I said OK, I'm not stopping you. Send it to the vendor. She still had this look like this should not have happened to the OPS goalie stick but I was telling her that this problem did not effect the integrity of the stick. It wasn't broken in the shaft or the blade, just a crack on the paddle. I mentioned that a OPS will get a ding in the blade and it is still usable. Anyway, it wasn't the answer she was looking for. I didn't say don't return it, I just wasn't going to guarantee the stick as defective. I'm looking forward to this headache getting larger as the OPS goalie stick gets more popular. A goalie friend bought one as well. He is old school and couldn't believe he spent the $$ on the OPS goalie stick. During warmups whenever one of the guys with a cannon for a shot would wind up, he put the stick behind his legs!! :lol:
  22. As a dealer I always say a smile doesn't cost me anything. Being nice goes a long way to getting return customers.
  23. At Ice House we sharpen while you wait 80% of the time. Its just that with 4 rinks under 1 roof we can get backed up quickly on a Saturday or Sunday. "What do you mean its 45 minutes to wait?" "Do you see all these skates? They were here before you." Another peeve- the coach who thinks he gets a discount because he is a coach. Sorry Charlie, no discount. Our travel coaches get paid and then they want a discount?! Fuhgeddaboudit!! This happened tonight so it reminded me to add this to the thread. The coach said "But you did it the last time." "Yeah and I caught s*&^t, too." I didn't really but hey,like I said, he gets paid to coach!!
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