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DarkStar50

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Everything posted by DarkStar50

  1. DarkStar50
    JR, makes sense and I liked the new fit better.
  2. DarkStar50
    I skated in the Supreme MX3 at BauerWorld in October. There is a touch less volume in the skate I was using. I have been in the same size since forever and this was noticeable as I did not have on my usual skate sock. The skate felt awesome on ice.
  3. DarkStar50
    "In fact, the most common feedback we hear is that the skate wraps like nothing else, which also means it is harder to get your foot into." In fact, if you have ever seen a true speed skate boot, the fact that getting your foot into the boot is hard would not surprise you.
  4. DarkStar50
    Customer: Do you have Dirtbags? Oh, you mean Gritbags? True story,
  5. DarkStar50
    As I said earlier, if you liked MLX, then you will love Mako. Think speedskate boot with a hockey application. The marriage has been consumated!
  6. DarkStar50
    According to the catalog and the presentation of the skate I was at, size 4 and up is being offered.
  7. DarkStar50
    No, this holder has been designed specifically for the Mako skate. The Razor Bladz will continue on all other models.
  8. DarkStar50
    I saw the skate this week. If you are an MLX guy, you will not be disappointed, The skate is taken to the next level in every aspect. Baking a skate for 16 minutes is only the beginning of what speed skates are baked for. Therefore, the technology crossover is obvious regarding bake time. After a boot was heated for the presentation, it was as soft and pliable as a sneaker. The ability to shape the boot then is what makes the fit so customized like nothing else.
  9. DarkStar50
    50 + pairs of old gloves from the 50s, 60s, 70s. I call it "collecting."
  10. DarkStar50
    I think after devoting 30+ years in this business of selling skates, I know whether or not my shop is losing business selling skates. We are not losing business. We are actually more efficient now as we can help the people who are ready to buy skates, equipment, sticks, tape, or just sharpen skates rather than spend 30 minutes to an hour on a tire kicker that spends zero dollars. If you want information for free, go to a library. The experienced skate fitter has knowledge that is worth money in his ability to fit you properly. But then after all the small shops are gone because of this threatening $20 fitting fee, the customers can spend the rest of their time hoping that those skates from the Internet fit correctly, are comfortable, come with straight not bowed blades, and can be sharpened correctly at the little old saw shop down on the corner.
  11. DarkStar50
    If we do not have the proper size in stock, we do not charge a fitting fee. Just the thought of parting with $20 has kept the tire kickers away. The tire kickers just want to get sized for high end skates. The people just getting started in hockey with their first pair of skates are in the ready to purchase mode. The fitting fee is not aimed at them and usually never even mentioned. Once again, experience in selling skates at retail gives me an idea with first impressions with a customer if they are ready to purchase or not. The fitting fee is not a hard rule. It just acts as a deterrent for the showroom shoppers. They want to treat it like a game of getting one over on the pro shop so we have just leveled the playing field a bit. Every situation is different and the smart salesman adjusts accordingly.
  12. DarkStar50
    Fitting fee will stop that, pardon me, bullshit every time. Just putting the sign up as a deterrent is enough to stop the tire kickers. Customers that are ready to buy skates are ready to buy skates. Just mentioning you have a $20 fitting fee is enough to stop the showroom shoppers. They are so cheap they won't even part with $20. Raganblink, try a fitting fee sign for one month and if it hurts your skate sales take it down. I'll bet it won't. People who are not going to buy from you already have their mind made up before they walk in to the shop that they are not purchasing skates at your shop. Stop wasting 30 minutes of valuable time where you could be helping people ready to spend money in your shop.
  13. DarkStar50
    The only way to maybe get a late last minute sharpening is to offer the sharpener a generous tip immediately. Notice I said maybe. The guys that start whining don't stand a chance of getting a late sharpening.
  14. DarkStar50
    You didn't have to...........
  15. DarkStar50
    "learn how in a week or so". Haha. Sorry but there is an old saying in the shop for customers like that: I have already forgotten what you have yet to learn. And yes the experience that JR and I have is worth something because we took the time to gain it. If the customer is not willing to understand that then he really has a lot to learn. Try asking your car mechanic to fix your engine for free. BTW, any experienced custom skate fitter will tell you he is still learning something with every fitting because every fitting is unique. The fitter that thinks he knows it all knows nothing.
  16. DarkStar50
    This is one of my favorite threads. It is amazing how many times the train runs off the tracks when guys try to get "fitted" for custom skates. One of the first questions the skater should ask the fitter is for how many years and how many times have they done custom skate fittings for. The guy taking the measurements and info should ask a lot of questions but so should the buyer.
  17. DarkStar50
    Well this takes balls: Our Pro Shop is inside the rink with all glass windows and doors. I just came back from checking out the end of a game when I saw an 8" x 11" print out on the front door of the Pro Shop. It was a print out of a page from Hockey Giant for an RBK 10K wheel bag. The person that posted the sign had ordered the bag from HG, received the wrong color, and put a "For Sale" sign on the front door to try and unload the bag!! I'm tempted to call them and make them an offer they can't refuse.
  18. DarkStar50
    This morning's "Moment of the Day!" : Do you have street hockey balls? Do you have the round ones?"
  19. DarkStar50
    + 1 with JR. The holder size has to be specified on the order form. Didn't the skate fitter show you the form with the options?
  20. DarkStar50
    I told her to go buy a lottery ticket. Today was her lucky day!
  21. DarkStar50
    I just had a customer pick up skates they left for sharpening on Sept. 20, 2010. We had the date on our claim check.
  22. DarkStar50
    That's it in a nutshell.
  23. DarkStar50
    The more you do custom fittings, the better you get at doing them since you learn something from each fitting. Really, experience is everything in a custom skate fitter.
  24. DarkStar50
    Busy holiday week for public session. The "Meat Wagon" aka EMS truck, has been at the rink everyday, sometimes twice. Of course, 90% of the parents don't think to bring any kind of helmet along for their kid. Over heard the other day from 2 moms thinking about buying a Bauer combo for $65, "buy it and just return it after you're done." I let her know that I heard her and it wasn't allowed. The old "Board of Health won't let you return a used helmet" froze in her tracks physically and mentally. Stupid is as stupid does.
  25. DarkStar50
    Clean up the locker room and then you get your car keys back. Our rink has been doing it for years.
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