The Things Customers Do

[hehatemefrisbee 0]

My pet peeves, some have been mentioned:

-Not putting things back where they were, I.E. Sticks, gloves, blades, skates, etc.

-Distracting me while sharpening, I.E. trying to talk to me over the noise of the wheel/exaust

-when im at my desk and people walk in with a pair of skates and jsut hand them to me, or stand there with them, without saying a word. I just stand there and wait for them to tell me what they want

-When someone says "Hey guy, you got time to put an edge on these bad boys?" Dude, cant you just ask to get them sharpened? and my name isnt guy

-The yuppie dad that has NO idea about hockey equipment, and lets his little shithead of a kid destroy the shop, and then when his kid damages something, freaks out that it was a $200 Stealth

-Open Skating sharpenings, no need to explain

-When two full teams decide they need their skates sharpened, and i'm on my own

-the entire discount thing. Dude we arent running a charity. We're here to make money

-LOL, the mom who says that the music in the store is "too funky"

-The kids at the rink that think they should get free sharpenings because they work there, or go to school on campus.

I could go on, but this is pretty long already.

[donkey87 0]

I like the people who will pay $200 for a stick, but don't want to pay more than $30 for a helmet. Which is more important: your head or having a stick that is 10 grams lighter then any other stick?

[All Torhs Team 0]

LOL, the mom who says that the music in the store is "too funky"

haha, what do you guys play in your shop? Usually I hear some ACDC and metallica and that stuff. thats about it.

[hehatemefrisbee 0]

I think at that time we had the radio on, maybe 101.1 the wrif. Its a rock station.

But i've played like random mixes and had people diggin it before. Just the way she said it was "too funky" mad me laugh my ass off. Damn yuppie moms.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

I am surprised that nobody has listed the all-time dumbest question - when you are standing next to the sharpener and they walk in and ask "Do you sharpen skates?"

My response is - "Yeah, we have this machine here. I just watched the video and yours are the first ones I'm about to do."

[Chadd 916]

I am surprised that nobody has listed the all-time dumbest question - when you are standing next to the sharpener and they walk in and ask "Do you sharpen skates?"

My response is - "Yeah, we have this machine here. I just watched the video and yours are the first ones I'm about to do."

Dear god I hate those people. Then you have the ones who ask if you're any good. As if anyone who was really bad would realize it or admit it.

[KYHockey3 0]

Never try one size and buy it. Always try on skates until they're too small and go back up a half size. I know guys that have been playing 10 years who were never in the right skate size.

i tried on many different skates the previous day, when he told me a smaller size then what i was wearing i just was like ??

so i left

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

He probably was correct. You can always make a skate bigger.

[KYHockey3 0]

He probably was correct. You can always make a skate bigger.

i dont understand tho,

i was wearing a 5.5 and they were too small, like toes to the end.

he told me size 5, i tried them on and they were too small

plus, if he didnt have such an attitude, i may of been able to ask questions and stuff

[chippa13 1844]

3. saying they found the exact same thing cheaper online.if you did then why bother coming into the store

I don't think this is a horrible thing. Basically, the guy is giving you the chance to match the price and make the sale, something that some shops will actually advertise that they do.

[PH_Hockey2 4]

I am surprised that nobody has listed the all-time dumbest question - when you are standing next to the sharpener and they walk in and ask "Do you sharpen skates?"

My response is - "Yeah, we have this machine here. I just watched the video and yours are the first ones I'm about to do."

I get that all the time. I also got people calling and asking "are you guys open for skate sharping today." Sometimes I just feel like saying nope never again. ;)

[Chadd 916]

There's no way for us to what the right size is for you, I'm just throwing it out there because I've seen it way too many times.

[technophile 0]

but do you guys dislike skate sharpenings?

Everytime we ask a guy to sharpen our skates he does this huge sigh and a expression on his face like it takes hours of labor. Whenever I want my skates sharpened I will come extra early before my game so Im like 1 1/2 hour before the game starts that way he has plenty of time to do my skates.

Is that just around here?

I can't speak for the guys who actually work at LHS, but from what I've heard they like to do it on their own schedule, so they can take several pairs and just do them all at once rather than firing up the sharpener 5 times a day for one pair each time.

I always drop my skates off a couple of days before I need them, but then I only skate 1-2 times a week; if I were skating every day obviously I couldn't do that.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I am surprised that nobody has listed the all-time dumbest question - when you are standing next to the sharpener and they walk in and ask "Do you sharpen skates?"

What if the person doesn't know what a sharpener looks like ? I've seen several setups that look completely different and I'm sure there are many more. It's not dumb if you don't know what a sharpener looks like, or maybe didn't notice it.

As for the discount issue, I don't understand the hostility. Yes, you run a business. Would you think twice about asking for a better deal on a house/automobile/appliance/stereo equipment/computer ? I know I wouldn't. The guy at my LHS, who knows me now by name, would often tell me without my asking that they can do better than a marked price, and it is often substantial, so I KNOW they have some room to move on some product. What's wrong with asking if that is the case ? I'm not giving them a hard time, they can always just say that's the best they can do for me, it's up to them - what's so bad about that ?

As for stick flexing, anecdotally it seems evident from all the posts talking about how a 75 in this Easton stick is different than a 75 in that Easton stick, that a 75 is not always a 75. And what do you do if you are used to an 85 in your Easton but are now looking at another manufacturer that doesn't use the Easton scale ? A lot of stores I've seen actually put down mats for customers to flex their sticks on, and I've seen the sales guys flexing sticks while showing them to the customer, so why get mad at a customer for doing it ? If you don't want people to flex sticks, put up big signs saying not to do so. Maybe some stores do, but I have never seen them.

Edited March 6, 2006 by NuggyBuggy

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

I would understand if your machine is tucked away in the back, but a big red or black machine that weighs 800 lb is kinda hard to miss.

[Chadd 916]

I would understand if your machine is tucked away in the back, but a big red or black machine that weighs 800 lb is kinda hard to miss.

Especially when it's four feet from the register and eight feet from the door.

[KYHockey3 0]

I would understand if your machine is tucked away in the back, but a big red or black machine that weighs 800 lb is kinda hard to miss.

hhaha

oh sir,i didnt hear the loud noise and sparks coming from the machine!

i mean hello "BIG RED TRUCK"

[QandA 0]

I love when people come in and say "I'll take size 8 skates," and a usuall process is to have them fitted, so I fit them, well you measure a size 5.5 in skates. Well give me a size 7, so I bring it and they say it fits fine. I warn them if it's too big it'll cause blisters and so forth, but they insist so I sell it.

[hockeyherb 1]

As for stick flexing, anecdotally it seems evident from all the posts talking about how a 75 in this Easton stick is different than a 75 in that Easton stick, that a 75 is not always a 75. And what do you do if you are used to an 85 in your Easton but are now looking at another manufacturer that doesn't use the Easton scale ? A lot of stores I've seen actually put down mats for customers to flex their sticks on, and I've seen the sales guys flexing sticks while showing them to the customer, so why get mad at a customer for doing it ? If you don't want people to flex sticks, put up big signs saying not to do so. Maybe some stores do, but I have never seen them.

Thanks for posting what I was also thinking. I guess stores that don't like people flexing sticks should lock up all of their sticks behind glass - that will stop those pesky customers!

What would you expect customers to do when they're about to lay out $150 on an OPS, or any other stick for that matter? When you're going to lay down that kind of dough there are only so many ways you can touch and interact with a stick as you're thinking about the feel of it in your hands, the weight, etc. Flexing doesn't sound all that stupid to me.

I bought a new stick a couple weeks ago and flexed all kinds of sticks before I knew which one felt good for me. I'm sure my LHS wasn't too sad when I walked out with a $100 stick and I just came in to get some numbers ironed onto my jersey.

Now if a guy was taking practice windups or shooting rolls of tape around the store - ok, that's stupid! B) (Unless you have a demo stick area where they're supposed to shoot things, then that's ok too.)

Maybe the LHS workers can tell us how they'd try out a new stick they've never touched before to decide if they'd buy it.

[hehatemefrisbee 0]

As for stick flexing, anecdotally it seems evident from all the posts talking about how a 75 in this Easton stick is different than a 75 in that Easton stick, that a 75 is not always a 75.  And what do you do if you are used to an 85 in your Easton but are now looking at another manufacturer that doesn't use the Easton scale ?  A lot of stores I've seen actually put down mats for customers to flex their sticks on, and I've seen the sales guys flexing sticks while showing them to the customer, so why get mad at a customer for doing it ? If you don't want people to flex sticks, put up big signs saying not to do so.  Maybe some stores do, but I have never seen them.

Thanks for posting what I was also thinking. I guess stores that don't like people flexing sticks should lock up all of their sticks behind glass - that will stop those pesky customers!

What would you expect customers to do when they're about to lay out $150 on an OPS, or any other stick for that matter? When you're going to lay down that kind of dough there are only so many ways you can touch and interact with a stick as you're thinking about the feel of it in your hands, the weight, etc. Flexing doesn't sound all that stupid to me.

I bought a new stick a couple weeks ago and flexed all kinds of sticks before I knew which one felt good for me. I'm sure my LHS wasn't too sad when I walked out with a $100 stick and I just came in to get some numbers ironed onto my jersey.

Now if a guy was taking practice windups or shooting rolls of tape around the store - ok, that's stupid! B) (Unless you have a demo stick area where they're supposed to shoot things, then that's ok too.)

Maybe the LHS workers can tell us how they'd try out a new stick they've never touched before to decide if they'd buy it.

Id be annoyed if you bought a stick or not. Flexing the sticks proves nothing. It just makes you look like a retard. And also puts unneccasary stress on ALL THE OTHER sticks that you DIDNT buy. And wow, you bought a $100 stick. Way to go. Thats a way to make a store's day!

[All Torhs Team 0]

when i purchase a stick i will sit there with about three sticks im deciding on for about 30-45 min before i spend. I wont flex hardly. maybe once. Pretty much just want to hold it and put the blade on the ground so i can feel balance and grip and that stuff. I agree that flexing proves no point at all except when your picking the stick you want and cant decide between 85-100.

[Chadd 916]

It's one thing to see what it takes to start loading a stick, it's another to see how far you can make it bend or to hold it for a minute. Sticks were not designed to handle either of those things.

[shnuggs 0]

As for stick flexing, anecdotally it seems evident from all the posts talking about how a 75 in this Easton stick is different than a 75 in that Easton stick, that a 75 is not always a 75.  And what do you do if you are used to an 85 in your Easton but are now looking at another manufacturer that doesn't use the Easton scale ?  A lot of stores I've seen actually put down mats for customers to flex their sticks on, and I've seen the sales guys flexing sticks while showing them to the customer, so why get mad at a customer for doing it ? If you don't want people to flex sticks, put up big signs saying not to do so.  Maybe some stores do, but I have never seen them.

Thanks for posting what I was also thinking. I guess stores that don't like people flexing sticks should lock up all of their sticks behind glass - that will stop those pesky customers!

What would you expect customers to do when they're about to lay out $150 on an OPS, or any other stick for that matter? When you're going to lay down that kind of dough there are only so many ways you can touch and interact with a stick as you're thinking about the feel of it in your hands, the weight, etc. Flexing doesn't sound all that stupid to me.

I bought a new stick a couple weeks ago and flexed all kinds of sticks before I knew which one felt good for me. I'm sure my LHS wasn't too sad when I walked out with a $100 stick and I just came in to get some numbers ironed onto my jersey.

Now if a guy was taking practice windups or shooting rolls of tape around the store - ok, that's stupid! B) (Unless you have a demo stick area where they're supposed to shoot things, then that's ok too.)

Maybe the LHS workers can tell us how they'd try out a new stick they've never touched before to decide if they'd buy it.

Id be annoyed if you bought a stick or not. Flexing the sticks proves nothing. It just makes you look like a retard. And also puts unneccasary stress on ALL THE OTHER sticks that you DIDNT buy. And wow, you bought a $100 stick. Way to go. Thats a way to make a store's day!

Wow -and i thought only the big online stores were unappreciative.

[steve66 45]

On the "are you open for skate sharpening today" question it could just be common courtesy some of the time. Sure you prefer them to ask if you are doing sharpenings that day, rather than asking/demanding for them to be done.

I know from experience around here that the guys won't sharpen everyday, so I do have to ask cos it could be any day of the week depending when he gets enough to be bothered. Usually once a week at most.

[forbs02 20]

One of my biggest peeves is how we live in a "disposable" society. I get a lot of customers who come in wanting an entire item replaced instead of just getting a repair. The most recent is a lady who bought her son Vapor triple x's (its vapor 30!) and there are three stitches coming loose at the top of the tendon guard. "I'm worried the plastic in there might fall out and cut his leg". Instead of just putting some tape over the 3 missed stitches, she'd rather have her son break in a new pair of skates b/c of a cosmetic issue. Its always little stuff like that, no one ever wants to try to repair something or get it fixed. They just want something new. The other peeve is the condecension I receive b/c I'm a girl. I've been doing this long enough to know what I'm talking about but most guys can't get past the long hair. It has its upsides though. Its pretty humerous when mom's come and ask me to size their 15yr old sons in jock shorts. Those kids get so red! :D