VakarLajos

lol that's my line to my employees once they leave. Albeit a bit more agitated because they've also tried to convince me that they don't pay taxes because their from Europe. I had two things yesterday that I thought were worth mentioning (might have been mentioned before on this thread). A woman comes in and picks up skates for her daughter that were stretched and baked. She starts to pay, then walks away before signing the receipt. That in itself is aggravating. She goes to the back of the store with her daughter and toddler. I'm in the middle of something and the other worker is helping another customer at the counter. After a minute or two she calls for somebody to come back and help her. I go back and she says she wants to make sure the stretching is adequate, but her infant is being fussy and she needs help putting the skates on the daughter. I say, "sure, no problem". I lean over to tie the girl's skates. I turn my head to remind the woman to sign the receipt and lo-and-behold, she's breasfeeding. I'm pretty much in shock here as that was the last thing I expected. After about 10 seconds she finished and left. I had to remind her again as she left to sign the receipt. Second, a guy came in and kept asking for different models in different sizes for his mother. They were all women's figure skates so I figured he was buying them for someone who was not there. Then I see his mother trying them on. After the third pair I asked him, "Sir, would you like me to measure her?" No, it's not necessary, just bring me pairs between 7 and 10.

lol that's my line to my employees once they leave. Albeit a bit more agitated because they've also tried to convince me that they don't pay taxes because their from Europe.

+1 there. It makes fitting a little bit trickier. We don't bake skates after 30 min before closing. I've gotten a stretch of families from out of town who have visited the store with 32 hours or less before they head back and are flipping out when we can't get something from a manufacturer by the time their flight leaves. One family was in NY for 3 weeks and left it until five hours before they flew back to Sweden to come into my shop.

I've forgotten my wallet too. I've also given a cashier one bill then realized it would be easier to pay with a smaller (or larger) bill. I wasn't trying to pull a fast one, but both are types of scams. Not everybody who forgets their wallet is trying to pull a scam, but some are and you've gotta be careful. I definitely empathize with JR and DS50. I get this a lot: Drops the skates off, says they are going out to get their wallet, shows up in their equipment. "Can I get you after the game, we're on in five minutes" Some of them are good for it, I know them and will get them sooner or later, but random guys, no way. I know myself and know I'll most likely legitimately forget in those situations so I'd always rather pay upfront. The guy at my bodega and I always have the same argument when I don't have enough money for stuff in the morning. He wants me to take it and pay later I'd rather not take what I can't pay for. The outcome is split 50/50

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Some, probably. Some probably not.

Lol. We've got quite a few of those here. I had a guy talk loudly on his cell phone about purchasing his apartment for something like $3million while we outfitted his kid. Once we got to the register and he saw the prices he wanted to know if we had anything cheaper than the $5.99 Shock Doctor mouth guards. He then proceeded to try and get us to bring the prices down on a pair of old Vapor XXs that we were selling for about $75. All this after requesting a high quality skate. You meet some good people, you meet some people who aren't as nice. It's usually interesting though.

Let me know when the Avalanche play the Cyclones for this one. lol We had a figure skating tournament here two weekends ago and there was a group of about 15-20 from Ecuador at the rink every morning for the whole week before hand. They were very nice people and all, but they could come in 2 or 3 at a time looking at stuff in 20 minute increments. First they asked for custom skates. I informed them the model they requested has a 6-8 week turnaround, 3-4 if you put a rush on it. They said they were leaving that Sunday and could we get it by then? Ok, they are from Ecuador, traveled a long way. No harm in asking. Then, do we sell soccer equipment? No, this is a hockey and figure skating shop. Do you sell things with the Statue of Liberty on it? Ranger jerseys. No, like postcards? No, this is a hockey and figure skating shop. Do you sell ointment for back pain? No.....Mind you all this was after figuring out what they wanted through splintered English. I wanted to sit them down and agree to close the shop to the public and give them 1 or 2 hours to go at it in there. Ask me anything for 2 whole hours. It's yours, but then you can't come back till next year's tournament. By the time they left I was surprised they hadn't asked me for certain livestock. They were very nice people, but the questions were growing increasingly odd. Maybe it was the mom's and dad's and siblings' way of passing time....If so, that was ****in brilliant.

We order delivery basically every day from the shop. Same delivery guy from the same place 3 or 4 times a week. We usually give $2 on a $12-$15 tab. I was a delivery boy for 3 years and a $2 tip on any delivery was fine by me, especially college aged kids. We gave him $14 on a $12.10 tab. He stood there with his hands out and said, "I come very far". 6 blocks.

One of our customers came in yesterday and asked me when we would be getting new sticks. I told him when we were expecting the deliveries. Me: NikeBauer should ship April 15th, that's when we'l be getting the new items. Customer: What about the Vapor XXXX grip? Me: April 15th is the ship date. Customer: Why isn't it out now? Me: It's a new product, it will ship April 15th. Customer: That's stupid. Why isn't it out now? It's in the NHL!! Me: Pro's get things six-mo-.......April 15th. I started to explain, but it just wasn't worth it. Not with this particular customer. I've worked in retail and in jobs where much of your salary is based on tips (restaurants, camps) and I agree, customers are the same across the board. It has given me much patience with how I handle myself as a consumer. I was also raised that you tip 20%. More if it's exceptional service, 15% if it's crappy, and in VERY VERY rare circumstances do you not tip at all. Going to Europe still makes me feel weird not tipping.

A guy came in with and asked us to fix his helmet. The shell was cracked, nothing I can do. He asked if he could trade it in for a 5500.

Update: Helmet : Bauer 5000 Elbow: Bauer 2000 NEW Pants: Nike Bauer Vapor XXX. Switched from the One90 girdle. Love these pants. Best I've ever worn Shin pads: Hespeler ?? Skates: Bauer Vapor XXX Socks: Easton Synergy or Nike Bauer Vapor Jock: Itech combo NEW Under: Nike Bauer Vapor XXV grip top. NEW Sticks: Vapor XX Int. 106 - great feel, lots of whip. I'm goin Kessel style on the flex. Fury Sidewinder 87 flex Marleau - boxy. A bit stiff for me. It was my demo from the rep. Good stick though. Chips a lot, but only superficially. Structurally intact. NEW gloves: Vapor XXX

Word of mouth travels fast. Doing a botch job can ruin a shop's reputation. I would think it would be better to give them the fifth degree- "I want my skates sharp" "How sharp?" "Like they use in the NHL!" "OK... just like guys in the NHL?" "Uhhh, whatever, just make them sharp" Customer leaves on 5' radius, 1" hollow. That would be good. LOL. If he complains tell him, "hey man, Paul Coffey skated like that in the NHL!"

Sounds like a lot of sharpenings on its way. You better hope that ass-hat manager of yours doesn't chase away all the good help!! :D When we've had tournaments we've been pretty dead. We find that most kids have come with their skates already sharpened, so there aren't too many to do. Maybe 1 or 2 before a game, unlike our men's league games where there's usually 5-6 per game. Basically, we're dead during the game which is followed by all the parents and kids coming in and looking at things until the next game starts. We've done t-shirts and hats and they haven't sold either. Hope you guys have better luck.

I am saving those dates. I might have to cross the Hudson for that.

I always feel bad for the kids when their parents have no idea about their skates. Asking for the wrong hollow can completely mess their kid up on the ice. I skate at 1/2" and can't imagine going into a big game on with 3/8" out of the blue. DarkStar, what tournament are you guys hosting? Last year we had the NY State Pee-wee finals. Some real good kids in that one.

If only we carried them. We have the youth helmets for $40. lol

LOL. I had a guy come in last summer, literally RAN into the store. Customer: I need new equipment. I want to play goalie, I'm playing in a tournament. Money is no object. Me: Ok, well these are the leg pads we have. Customer: THAT'S HOW MUCH LEG PADS COST?!?!?! Me: It's a pretty pricey piece of equipment. Customer: Are there any for, like, $50? Me: Sorry, there might be, but none that we carry. Customer: DO you think I need them? Me: If you are going to play goalie, in a tournament, I would say goalie pads are a necessity. Customer: Ok, I have to think about this. Me: (Under my breath as I walk away) Apparently money was a HUGE object.

Show, don't tell. Very effective technique be your endeavors take you into writing, film, or posting on MSH

So other than the way they speak, what else do you have against Asians? Just curious. Who said I had anything against them, including the way they speak? It was just an observation, one that is obvious to anyone who has been in my shop during the weekend. The part I thought was amusing was that she was apeing what she had seen someone do, without any knowledge of how/what she was doing. Before anyone comments that I noted she had "checked" her edges in front of me, I would like to point out that I have no problem at anyone checking thier edges in front of me, provided they know what they are looking for. I know I turn out a quality hollow, and encourage people to check them. No matter who you are, how good a sharpener you are, or how long you have been doing it, sometimes people make mistakes. Except for me of course.... Instead of looking at her like she crapped her pants you could have explained to her what she should be looking for so if somebody does ever mess up her skates she'll know. It's also amazing to have customers come in for sharpenings and point out to them that they've been skating on one edge for 3 months. "No wonder i couldn't turn right!"

In my shop I am the 20 something guy that knows his stuff. SOrry to hear about your skates man. Oh, how I love hearing from customers how the idiots have ruined a skate. If it were up to me there would be a mandatory 12 week course before you got to sharpen a customer's skate.

I find that a lot of our customers know what they are looking for in a sharpening. Some don't, but it's their prerogative to check what they've paid for. My biggest gripe lately is parents/nannies that are positive they know how the equipment should fit. I played the game for 16 years and do this as a career, but yeah a size 7 is fine for your 5 year old. After he breaks his ankle four times and can finally get back on the ice when he's 15 it will fit him and you'll have saved $50!! I've spent my entire adult life as either a player, coach, or in the industry, but yeah, get the junior large elbow pad for a kid who needs a youth small because you like red! After all, priorities in hockey go as follows: 1. Fashion (especially for equipment that is not seen on the ice) 2. Price. 3. Safety. Wednesdays are always busy, with two large hockey programs running on both rinks. Due to scheduling conflicts we've been shorthanded and running around like madmen from 3-5:30. This one nanny, EVERY Wed without fail comes in, skips the entire line and will ask me to fit her kid for some piece of equipment. I'm not sure where her accent is from, but apparently they don't have manners in that part of the world. Doing my best to keep a smile, but after a few years of this the patience is wearing thin. I'm working till 10 so I'm sure I'll be back with more.

The reason many LHS are struggling is because of on-line shops. LHS charge more BECAUSE you can try things on and compare products right there with the help of people who (hopefully) know what they are talking about. It's easier for a company to charge well below the list price when you rent a hangar in the middle of nowhere for $4k a month as opposed to a 700 sq. foot loft in Manhattan for $35k/month (I'm not exaggerating). Next time see if he will work out a payment plan with you. Moving on. Here are my favorite phone conversations 1. Me: Thank you for calling, Dan speaking Customer: Are you open? 2. Me: Thank you for calling, Dan speaking. Customer: Do you have my size? 3. Me: Thank you for calling, Dan speaking. Customer: I have a question for you. I am going to ask you the question then maybe you can answer it if you have the answer. I am 32 years old, medium build, my hair is dirty blonde, short. I like musical comedies and the works of Keats. In tenth grade my mother ran off with my tennis instructor. Once I witnessed a bank robbery from a cafe across Madison Avenue, the robber was the son of a local politician who- Me: Ma'am, is there a specific item I can help you with? Customer: When is there open skating? Me: This is the pro-shop, here is the number for the main office.

Skates: Bauer XXX Stick: Easton Z-Bubble shaft with a Bauer One40 blade, Gagne curve (sometimes a SWD Spezza). Getting custom blades made. 4.5 lie, with a Spezza curve. Gloves: Bauer XXX Helmet: Bauer 5000 combo Girdle: One90 with Tackla shell Shin pads: Cheap-o Hespellers. Need an up-grade Jock: Itech short-combo Elbows: Bauer 3000