The Things Customers Do

[DarkStar50 679]

I had a guy I have known for a long time ask me today in the shop what size girdle he should buy online. He wasn't sure what size he needed. I told him I didn't know either since I don't carry the brand of girdle he found online. I told him to order two sizes and return the one that doesn't fit. That idea sounded foreign to him. Oh well.......

[-brady2 0]

As a customer, i hate when i go to practice 2 hours early to get my skates sharpened, and say hey can you get them done by 7:30, see he has around 6 or so pairs on the rack, knowing he has enough time. Then insists that because he has more time he should just do them last, so he sharpens around 15 pairs that come in later before mine, and then gets mad at me for making him have it due by a set time, and it's misleading.

[Ngo_35 1]

brady next time dont give such a long leeway time for the guy. Thats no excuse since you made the effort to come in early.

Anyways new story:

Customer comes into the shop and he's a good guy, easy to talk to, and i've seen him a few times. Brings up his skates and says, "I went to another rink and they just beeped my skates up! take a look!" I look it at it and low and behold it was the worse hack job i've seen in my sharpening career. Blade was grinded down 5 - 8mm lower than the other skate and near the heal a chunk was missing! A CHUNK!

So anyways I take my time fixing the blade and it comes out better than expected. I do the other skate and then done and done. Customer comes in looks at the skate and is ecstatic cause now I've eliminated another excuse for him on the ice haha. So we're talking and as a joke I say,

"Dont cheat on me again with another sharpener, you see what happens?"

Which he replies,

"I know im sorry! I didnt even know the guy too! I just needed them sharpened!"

Then it was all good laughs he goes out to conquer the beer league world and the day continues.

Moral of the story: Dont cheat on your sharpener, and control your urge for one sharpen stands cause you'll never know what your gonna get.

[jimmy 194]

Actually, I encourage my customers to "cheat" on me, at least once a season. This way, they are "reminded" exactly why the come to me. ;)

[Remman 0]

I'll never cheat on my shapener again. I did once due to being very desparate, and I paid the price by falling on almost every sharp turn during a game. I took them later to my regular sharpener and he asked what the hell happened to the blades...

[ag12 0]

Beacon Sporting Goods (LHS Quincy, MA)

Phone call to Beacon Sports...

Me: Do you carry any hockey shafts in a 110 flex?

Beacon: What? Do you mean a two piece?

Me: Yes

Beacon: I don't know....

Me: Would you mind checking...

Beacon: I don't really want to go next door and check...*click*

I would say that was my worst encounter ever with customer service, what a total ass that guy was. And to think that I was going to purchase something additionally through their Ebay site. I'll take my dollars else where. Sometimes it's the things LHS store owners or employees do or fail to do in this case.....

[Jarick 5]

Yeah I'm glad I read through these threads before shopping for sticks.

I'll only do a quick flex test, how easy is it to load a quick wrister, not the full body press. I've had guys do that with my sticks, are they trying to break them on purpose?

[BluXington 0]

I admit I will give a stick a quick flex, but only a quick like 40% weight flex, and only if I am buying a stick that day.

One shop near me actually has a puck pad and a net set up though and they encourage you to test out the sticks.

[sogaduch 0]

Ive had a couple beautys in the past two weeks.

One was a customer came in and purchased a vapor XXXX stick in cash and when he took it home and gave it to his son it wasnt the correct curve. So he came in and when we came in we had just closed off our AM till and put the deposit into the bag and sent it too the bank. So he came in and was yelling at me cause he wanted his money back but I told him in a calm manner that we dont have the sufficent funds for cash but I can refund it onto your credit or debit car. Needless to say he agreed to get it refunded on his credit card but vowed never to come back to my store again all because we didnt have enough cash to give him.

Second one just happened today where a customer was looking at some Pro Return Warrior sticks and he asked if these were available in a 50 flex. LOL

[TBLfan 25]

hahaha...

None of the shops around me will give you anythingbut an in-store credit unless they REALLY like you.

[Slapsht25 0]

Ive had a couple beautys in the past two weeks.

One was a customer came in and purchased a vapor XXXX stick in cash and when he took it home and gave it to his son it wasnt the correct curve. So he came in and when we came in we had just closed off our AM till and put the deposit into the bag and sent it too the bank. So he came in and was yelling at me cause he wanted his money back but I told him in a calm manner that we dont have the sufficent funds for cash but I can refund it onto your credit or debit car. Needless to say he agreed to get it refunded on his credit card but vowed never to come back to my store again all because we didnt have enough cash to give him.

Second one just happened today where a customer was looking at some Pro Return Warrior sticks and he asked if these were available in a 50 flex. LOL

The question is do you have a 65 flex pro return warrior?

[LkptTiger 1]

I like the people who come into the shop, ogle the stick rack, eventually find the R8s (in the Afinogenov pattern), yell "Oh, Max Afinogenov's sticks!" and pretty much lay eggs right on our floor. There have been a few times when I've chimed in and said "Yeah, 'cause Max sometimes switches it up and shoots right-handed and uses a variety of retail flexes."

I get a kick out of people who try to take blades off the racks and shove them into a shaft - then try to play all cool when I approach them and ask "Do you need help with anything?" Most of the time I'm pretty chill, but there have been a few times when I've let people have it.

I HATE it when parents try to buy kids skates that are two and three full sizes too big so the kid can wear 'em a few years and they'll save a few bucks. I typically just tell people something along the lines of "I'm not comfortable putting your child in a skate that doesn't fit him properly," but there have been people who have been so vehement that I've refused to deal with them at all - at that point I usually just tell them "If you're just looking for someone to take your money and ignore the fact that you're buying the wrong skates, go to Great Skate. That's not how we do business here."

People who feel the need to touch absolutely EVERYTHING in the store get on my nerves, too. It's bad enough when we get little kids practically doing hot-laps around the shop, poking every stick and glove and skate he passes - but then we get adults who do the same thing.

People who piss and moan about the $1 charge to cut sticks not purchased in our store, or the $1 fee to install stick blades they bought at another shop are something else, too. "A dollar? Are you fucking kidding?" No, I'm not fucking kidding, douchebag.

People who crowd into the store to watch the hockey or football game we've got playing on the TV: Seriously? There are three more, much larger televisions in the lobby with chairs and tables and the works - why the Hell do you want to stand in the middle of a cramped pro-shop with your necks jerked-up in an awkward position to watch the same game that's playing out there? Move your asses - customers have to be able to get through. As pissed as I get when they're standing in the middle of the shop watching the game, I'm even more pissed when we have to turn the game off so they'll leave.

Edited November 30, 2007 by LkptTiger

[Ti-girl 0]

I stick around the shop if the end of a period is on or something, but they have chairs and stuff set up.

I did get proposed to in my LHS the other day. Went in, asked questions, talked shop with the boys and one of them goes "You married?"

"No."

"Dear lord, why not. Will you marry me? You're the ONLY girl that comes in and can talk hockey with us..."

I started laughing and he looks and goes "I'll get you a pair of one90's and a Kronik if you do..."

The whole shop was laughing by that point.

[Oberon 0]

A pair of one90s and a Kronik is not bad for a dowry these days - you may want to reconsider. Plus, you would most likely get free sharpening for the life of the marriage.

[Rustpot 1]

Lkpt-

When I go and the store has new products I like to go and give them the once over. While my skates are getting sharpened I'll wander the store, pick up a stick and feel the shaft shape, get a feel for the balance, refresh my mind on the different curves for each company. I'll also go try on some gloves, see if the newer models they got in fit or check new palm materials. I'm also very careful to never allow the sticks or gloves to ever touch anything while in my hands, and put them back as gingerly as I can. I even told the owner that they missed taping over a screw on a new stick rack they just built and a brand new XXXX had some deep scratches in it.

Is this what you're talking about when you talk about people doing laps and touching everything? If I didn't do that I would have no idea what the shop has, nor would I know if anything they have is what I like. Found I really love NBH 4-rolls and I'll be buying them as my next pair (first time they've had them in the store).

[Nutella 0]

Hockey Zone here thought it was strange that I said, "Could you please sharpen these skates for me?"

[LkptTiger 1]

Lkpt-

When I go and the store has new products I like to go and give them the once over. While my skates are getting sharpened I'll wander the store, pick up a stick and feel the shaft shape, get a feel for the balance, refresh my mind on the different curves for each company. I'll also go try on some gloves, see if the newer models they got in fit or check new palm materials. I'm also very careful to never allow the sticks or gloves to ever touch anything while in my hands, and put them back as gingerly as I can. I even told the owner that they missed taping over a screw on a new stick rack they just built and a brand new XXXX had some deep scratches in it.

Is this what you're talking about when you talk about people doing laps and touching everything? If I didn't do that I would have no idea what the shop has, nor would I know if anything they have is what I like. Found I really love NBH 4-rolls and I'll be buying them as my next pair (first time they've had them in the store).

That's fine, dude. It's the people who have to walk around and compulsively touch anything that catches their sight that bother me - the one's who obviously have no interest in a piece of equipment beyond "Wow, that's a big number on the price tag, there." There are adults that come into the store that display the same level of maturity and discipline as the kids who come in and drag their jacket zippers along the shafts of the sticks on the racks. When people come into the shop simply to touch shit, it bothers me - especially since it ends-up in the wrong place 75% of the time.

[ktang 34]

A pair of one90s and a Kronik is not bad for a dowry these days - you may want to reconsider. Plus, you would most likely get free sharpening for the life of the marriage.

Yes, but only if the one90s fit her foot type...

[chippa13 1844]

Lkpt-

When I go and the store has new products I like to go and give them the once over. While my skates are getting sharpened I'll wander the store, pick up a stick and feel the shaft shape, get a feel for the balance, refresh my mind on the different curves for each company. I'll also go try on some gloves, see if the newer models they got in fit or check new palm materials. I'm also very careful to never allow the sticks or gloves to ever touch anything while in my hands, and put them back as gingerly as I can. I even told the owner that they missed taping over a screw on a new stick rack they just built and a brand new XXXX had some deep scratches in it.

Is this what you're talking about when you talk about people doing laps and touching everything? If I didn't do that I would have no idea what the shop has, nor would I know if anything they have is what I like. Found I really love NBH 4-rolls and I'll be buying them as my next pair (first time they've had them in the store).

That's fine, dude. It's the people who have to walk around and compulsively touch anything that catches their sight that bother me - the one's who obviously have no interest in a piece of equipment beyond "Wow, that's a big number on the price tag, there." There are adults that come into the store that display the same level of maturity and discipline as the kids who come in and drag their jacket zippers along the shafts of the sticks on the racks. When people come into the shop simply to touch shit, it bothers me - especially since it ends-up in the wrong place 75% of the time.

I think there's a prescription that can help you with that.

[LkptTiger 1]

Don't joke - one of the guys I work with really is a nut bag. I've seen him after a day or two without his meds, and, while it's sorta funny, it's kinda scary at the same time.

[barrett 0]

A pair of one90s and a Kronik is not bad for a dowry these days - you may want to reconsider. Plus, you would most likely get free sharpening for the life of the marriage.

Yes, but only if the one90s fit her foot type...

Better off holding up until they get the one 95's in!

[chippa13 1844]

A few years back there was a girl I worked with who was out for a few days. When she came back I went with my standard joke, "What was up, bad reaction to the meds?" Her answer, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

[DarkStar50 679]

I'm getting a kick out of the "oh shit" reaction I get when I tell customers that Sher-wood is closing their wood stick factory. "That's right, you pretty much have to buy composite sticks in the future." It's like you can hear their wallets moan. BTW, it's not my fault..........

[Luckystrike 0]

I'm getting a kick out of the "oh shit" reaction I get when I tell customers that Sher-wood is closing their wood stick factory. "That's right, you pretty much have to buy composite sticks in the future." It's like you can hear their wallets moan. BTW, it's not my fault..........

I know how they feel. I hate composite sticks, they're too light and I think think they wear out faster than wood. I don't take alot of slap shots either so that helps. I bought an easton stealth 300 and it lasted all of about 4 games before the tip of the blade was so chewed up you could almost pull it into 2 pieces. I went back to zcarbons immediately and have used the same stick since the summer for a 1/3 of the cost.

long live the wood! err fiberglass/wood...or whatever the hell it is....

[Chadd 916]

I'm getting a kick out of the "oh shit" reaction I get when I tell customers that Sher-wood is closing their wood stick factory. "That's right, you pretty much have to buy composite sticks in the future." It's like you can hear their wallets moan. BTW, it's not my fault..........

I know how they feel. I hate composite sticks, they're too light and I think think they wear out faster than wood. I don't take alot of slap shots either so that helps. I bought an easton stealth 300 and it lasted all of about 4 games before the tip of the blade was so chewed up you could almost pull it into 2 pieces. I went back to zcarbons immediately and have used the same stick since the summer for a 1/3 of the cost.

long live the wood! err fiberglass/wood...or whatever the hell it is....

I was going through those z-carbon woodies every three games or so and that was before they changed them. After they changed them I couldn't even get through a game. Last night I finally broke my other old R2 XN10. A douchebag from the other team collapsed on it and did everything he could to break it. It cracked but didn't split in two. Good thing I have a few more in the closet.