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VakarLajos

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Posts posted by VakarLajos

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Ok, I've followed this thread for a while and I don't remember seeing this one yet, and now that I actually own a pro shop, I finally get to put in one of my own :-)

    So last night, guy drops his skates for sharpening before the high school game (his game is after) and leaves to watch the HS game. Nice guy, agrees if any HS players need work, they have priority, friendly patter and whatnot. So I do up the blades, and as I'm giving them the final look-over before putting them back on the counter, I notice a missing rivet. Yeah, I shoulda looked first, but I didn't. Anyway, closer look shows 5 out of 8 on the front post of one holder are either busted or missing, including all 4 on the inside, another one busted on the rear post of that skate and two more busted on the front post of the other skate.

    Fortunately, HS game was a double-header (tourney of some kind) and he popped in between games to pick up his skates. He's pulling out the wallet and I say "Hold on a second - before you pay and run, we gotta talk." He says, with a chummy laugh, "Oh, about the rivets, yeah I know about that." And the money is still coming out of the wallet to pay me for the sharpen.

    I try to tell him the skates are seriously messed up and must be fixed before being used. Told him it would be $8 ($1 a rivet, probably too cheap, but it's what the shops around here seem to charge). He's hemming and hawing about it, telling me he's getting new skates and he only needs to get one or two more games out of these. I said "Sir, you're not going to get one or two more STOPS out of that skate, let alone games." He laughed and said yeah, it'll probably bust. And I said "Yes, and it will take your ankle along with it."

    So finally he agrees to let me replace the rivets, but he starts telling me which ones, only do this one, ok that one too, etc, etc. I finally had enough and said "Look man, at a buck a rivet, I don't make any money on this kind of work - I'm only trying to keep you from breaking your leg and missing the rest of your season. I'll do whatever you want with them." With that, after confirming again that I can have them done before his game, he finally turns me loose to make my hot dog and chips money for the night. Whoohoo.

    It nearly took me longer to convince the guy to do the job than it did to actually do it. And it's not like he was hurting for the lousy 8 bucks either, just a moron. Anyway, happy ending, other than a bitch of a rivet job (fucking plastic piece of crap skates, brand not to be mentioned), just ridiculous that with me standing there showing him that I could nearly rip the holder off by hand, he was actually going to go out and play a game on them. Idiot.

    Congrats on the shop, Rach!

    It's always amazing how some people don't realize how important it is to have your holder connected to your boot. Whoda thunk it, right?! lol Sadder when it's their kid. I've taken a hit to make sure a 10 yr old isn't rupturing a tendon because his parents were too cheap to spend $10 to re-rivet the skate. Sad.

  2. Posted · Report reply

    That's a great question. A lot of LHS hire kids and pay them minimum wage. I have had a LHS mess up my skates. If there where standards in the skate sharpening industry, or who was allowed to sharpen skates then that may be a bad question. There are doctors that go to school for eight years and are bad doctors.

    Not sure I understand your logic. So, despite there being standards in the medical industry, there are still bad doctors. Would you call the doctor and ask office if he's a good doctor? Or ask a lawyer if he's any good?

    Unfortunately, very few people are going to answer that question honestly if they think they are a bad sharpener. The question is sometimes is only useful as a warning to the employee that "Hey, heads up, I might be a difficult customer". A lot of times, it's just curiosity, but sometimes it's more.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I remember once in NY when a guy kept coming in 5 minutes before closing and getting pissed because we wouldn't sharpen his skates. Each time we informed him we stopped sharpening 15 minutes before closing. "But this happens every week!"....Yes....so, come earlier?

    ponder

    - i have no problem with a guy coming in and browsing, even shooting the crap and asking a few questions. It's when people are intentionally deceptive in their motives that is a problem. If I've answered somebody's questions for 20 minutes when they say they are looking to buy and then they comeback and go, "Well, I found it online for $10 less", then I get annoyed. If somebody says, "Hey just wasting time, but I was wondering what the hell 'Dagger Taper' means" then, I'm fine with that.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    When people get pissed off because we're closed for Inventory (a whole 2 days out of the year), it's stuff like this I point to.

    Sometimes, people check their stock with their POS system and it tells them they are in stock. In reality, they are sold out, but a tagging/receiving error screws up the count.

  10. Posted · Edited by VakarLajos · Report reply

    "I was coming in to check out some sticks. I was going to get something but your selection sucks"

    "Well, I we can always order something that you don't see on our shelves."

    "Yeah, but you're prices are so high"

    ......So you're annoyed that we don't have a stick that you had no intention of buying. Brilliant.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Big Sign that says "PLEASE DO NOT FLEX STICKS" is what the shop used to have, however some people claimed it was 'rude' so we put another sign: "HAPPY TO LET YOU FLEX A STICK WITH VALID RECEIPT"

    But some people claim they need to see how it flexes before they buy it, so we will often show them ourselves or if they look to be serious buyers try it themselves under supervision.

    Apparently some people think that flexing sticks is necessary in their purchase, I guess whatever makes them kings of the hill

    I feel bad for the guys who actually know how to flex a stick to check the accuracy of the rating. Unfortunately those guys are few and far between. The ones who usually think it's "rude" are the ones who believe you need to put the entirety of your weight into your lower hand. Then they get pissed off and buy from HockeyMonkey because somehow you can flex the stick you're looking at on your MacBook.

    My old shop has signs that say "Do Not Flex or Play With Sticks - Thank You".

  13. Posted · Report reply

    DS50 is right. Being able to use merchandise, see it, touch it, examine it, is a service in itself. Doing that when you have no intention of buying it in the store isn't the worst thing in the world IMO, but I'd rather pay the extra bit of money and have things done correctly than save and get something wrong.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    We had a customer come in about a week ago who got really upset because we could not provide him with a Total One in an unopened box.

    "You should always have one of every skate that is unopened!"

    He then accused us of trying to sell him a used skate saying that the skates we showed him were already sharpened. Factory coating still on it.

    Sometimes you can't win.

  19. Posted · Edited by VakarLajos · Report reply

    I don't own a shop, and have never worked in one, but what irritates me is when people go to the local shop to check out items, and then buy them online to save a few bucks and tax (if even that), but then, they complain if the shop closes, or starts carrying less things.

    I really like my LHS, so I often do my research online, and then go into the shop and look to buy it there first, if they don't have it in stock, I see if they can order it, and if all that fails, I will buy it online. My LHS's prices usually are the same as you can find at places like icewarehouse anyway, plus with buying skates for the same price I got a skate bake free, and 5 free sharpenings, so a better deal anyway.

    God bless you, man.

    Tipping your sharpener is always appreciated, but not something that's expected.

    And no, ma'am. I don't know if this will fit your child because I have no idea what he looks like. I've seen 10 year olds that are 3.5 feet tall and some that are 5 feet tall. What does this say about you as a parent? And do you really need to ask why you cannot return a jock strap?

    Our shop has an open doorway whenever we are open. I really wish we had a door that people needed to open in order to get in. Maybe this would turn on the switch in their brain that tells them they are entering a place of business and not a charity. I've had people ask if we have up to and including full sets of goalie equipment they can use for a skate. We've had to start asking for collateral on screwdrivers because so many have walked.

    DarkStar, any insight on that?

  21. Posted · Edited by VakarLajos · Report reply

    Maybe 1/20 times does that phrase ever enter my head as a person that is just sitting next to a customer being fitted by an employee.

    I don't think it's the customers' responsibility, but the employee. As a customer, go ahead and buy a skate 3 sizes too big. makes my job as your opponent a whole lot easier. But as an employee, I should do my job correctly.

    believe me, there's a reason I put quotation marks around that passage and not a thought bubble.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    "with all due respect, that does look like a lot of room in the back of the skate. You want the skate to hug your foot so you have more control over it. With that much room in the back your heel can slip up and your foot will move within the skate before your foot comes into contact with the skate causing a delay in energy transfer. I'd recommend trying on a smaller size."

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Dude, if you play adult league you're one step below pro. you're fucking amazing and have scouts watching you. All 3 people in the stands are secretly scouts for your favorite nhl team and they always coem to watch you even though there are other people on your team and league that are better than you... they're there for you.... amirite? :P

    She might just look like a really bored girlfriend reading Twilight, but she's got Ken Holland on speed dial.

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