The Things Customers Do

[cougarscaptain87 12]

do you guys mind if a customer walks into the store to get his skates sharpened and clearly only that, but while he's waiting looks around, picks up a couple sticks, tries one a pair of gloves and what not (but makes sure to put everything back properly)? i got yelled at once for touching stuff that i wasn't going to buy.

that is just ridiculous that they yelled at you for touching something. we like it when customers look around while we sharpen skates becuase its an oppurtuinity to sell something. the only time i have yelled at someone in my store was when i sharpened their skates at 1/2'' like they requested and they complained about how it LOOKED like there wasnt going to be enough bite. i said that he should skate on them becasue 1/2'' is the same every where and if thats what he is used to then it will feel the same, if he feels there isnt enough bite i will re do it for free. the guy throws a temper tantrum and blatently makes a mess on his way to the cash register, he picks up sevral ops and places them in the wrong spot, he took skates off out wall and put them on the ground knocked gloves off the wall. when he met me at the cash register i kindly asked him to clean up his un necessary mess and he lost it and walked out without paying for the skate sharpening. i wonder if hes gonna come back if there isnt enough bite.....

[DarkStar50 679]

do you guys mind if a customer walks into the store to get his skates sharpened and clearly only that, but while he's waiting looks around, picks up a couple sticks, tries one a pair of gloves and what not (but makes sure to put everything back properly)? i got yelled at once for touching stuff that i wasn't going to buy.

that is just ridiculous that they yelled at you for touching something. we like it when customers look around while we sharpen skates becuase its an oppurtuinity to sell something. the only time i have yelled at someone in my store was when i sharpened their skates at 1/2'' like they requested and they complained about how it LOOKED like there wasnt going to be enough bite. i said that he should skate on them becasue 1/2'' is the same every where and if thats what he is used to then it will feel the same, if he feels there isnt enough bite i will re do it for free. the guy throws a temper tantrum and blatently makes a mess on his way to the cash register, he picks up sevral ops and places them in the wrong spot, he took skates off out wall and put them on the ground knocked gloves off the wall. when he met me at the cash register i kindly asked him to clean up his un necessary mess and he lost it and walked out without paying for the skate sharpening. i wonder if hes gonna come back if there isnt enough bite.....

Wow! I would really call someone like that out and no way I let him trash my shop. Sorry to say that scene would be ugly in my shop because he would have more than one person to deal with. Besides my crew, jeez, I think my customers would join in to bitch slap a guy like that.

[beaver5 1]

wow what a temper that guy has

[jimmy 194]

Flexing a stick proves nothing, I just laugh at them. 85 flex is 85 flex regardless of the stick.

About the only thing I get ad at is when they shoplift. Someone scamed a Oakly visor the other day. And you wonder why are prices are higher than internet sites.

[DarkStar50 679]

Ever have someone steal a cup out of a compression short or mesh short? I have. I know its your nuts but show me some balls and spend the cash.

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

I've had people steal the short and leave the cup.

Here's a good one if your store is at a rink -

"The vending machine took my money."

"Can you get them to bring out the nets?"

"Can you get me the bucket of pucks?"

Other gems -

"$X for a sharpening? Back in Canada it was $2."

Then take your happy ass to Canada and get them done there!

[UMWhockey 0]

Have you ever had a customer come in and try something on and actually tell you that they are gonna buy the item online, they just wanted to check the fit?

had one in the shop today..... told me up front, so i told them it was $30 to get fitted if not buying at the shop.... and they paid the $30, which was more than the difference between the internet and my shop :lol:

[analog999 0]

i kindly asked him to clean up his un necessary mess and he lost it and walked out without paying for the skate sharpening. i wonder if hes gonna come back if there isnt enough bite.....

I would have called the cops! He'd be sorry when the police tracked him down, even if they just gave him a warning.

[sogaduch 0]

1. i gotta say when they tell you what there coach says they should be doing and there coach is some guy who played select hockey growing up.

2. taking a roll of black tape and with a 200CAD stick shooting it against the wall marking the wall and the floor possibly

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

4.saying they know the owner bob when the owners name isnt bob

5. those damn wheelie shoes when kids are wheeling around and they fall the parents get mad cause they fell.well if there kids werent lazy slobs who couldnt bear to walk 5 feet to the skate wall it wouldnt of happened.

thats just too list a few

[jbyun04 7]

i hate it when:

1. i just arranged the glove wall and people mix and match 2 different gloves and stick it where they shouldn't

2. ask if they can get a discount i.e "oh yah buddy, and the hookups too"

WTF GUY?

3. when kids start pulling on the store dog's tail and chase him to the back and try to go upstairs

4. when people ask if theres a composite stick for under $100 CDN. I point out Vapor V, VI, Velocity, Powetech and they say they want something better. Not for under $100 you aint.

5. people who come in and ask if we sell pool sticks and cases. Wtf? THE HOCKEY SHOP SOURCE FOR SPORTS.

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

You have a dog in the store!?

[Fletch 219]

lol...

[DarkStar50 679]

You have a dog in the store!?

At my old shop Kevin was the manager. He had his golden retreiver in the shop all the time. The dog's name was Molson. This was a long, long time ago.

Edited March 6, 2006 by DarkStar50

[Patrick67 1]

do you guys mind if a customer walks into the store to get his skates sharpened and clearly only that, but while he's waiting looks around, picks up a couple sticks, tries one a pair of gloves and what not (but makes sure to put everything back properly)? i got yelled at once for touching stuff that i wasn't going to buy.

I know a local hockeyshop, and the ppl they know and are comfortable, who are trying out stuff they have no problem with...

Hey they might buy it next time they are in the shop.

And if it's someone they don't know... it's still the same thing... (unless the person is "rearrangering" the LHS by himself)

Jimmy: Did you catch the guy who shoplifted a Oakley visor, or just notice one was missing?

[HkyVictor 0]

"ya panimayu ruski"

What's that mean?

And DarkStar... where is your shop?

[logan 0]

My three worst peeves:

1. Customers who can't control their kids

2. Customers who dont understand sharpening wait times

3. Customers who take forever to decide how to get their sticks cut.

===============================

1. About 3 months ago we had a customer come in with three kids. The boys were running around with sticks, shooting around an orange ball. I told them to stop. They did...for a while, and continued when I had to go sharpen some skates. Their little sister then started chasing them around and knocked some products off our racks. She then manage to give herself a nice gash on the forehead from running into one of the pegs where we hand our neckguards. The dad then comes up to me and bitches that the store is dangerously laid out and that pegs should not be hanging out like that. I told him they're only dangerous if you dont open your eyes and run into them trying to impale yourself. He demanded immediate first-aid for the girl, and at the same time he threatened to sue. We grudgingly treated her cut and were pissed that they messed up our products, made us waste time treating bratty kids, and also made our other customers wait as well.

===========

2. Customer: can you do my skates while I wait?

Me: Yes, the lineup is about 20 minutes.

Customer: 20 minutes? I cant wait that long!

[Pauses, thinks, thinks some more, as I wait patiently to get back to sharpening the previous pair]

Me: So, do you want your skates sharpened?

Customer: My game starts in half an hour [Pauses to think some more]

Me: Do you want them sharpened or not?

Customer: Okay, I'm gonna go to another place.

[by now we've killed a good minute or two of my time, meanwhile the nearest place to sharpen is a 5-10 minute drive, where he probalbly will also have to wait. He then walks off and browses through some of the OPS for 5 minutes before leaving the store.]

=================

3. Customer: Can you cut this stick for me?

Me: Yes, where would you like it cut. [i hand them a marker]

Customer: I dont know, where should I cut it?

Me: It's personal preference, but anywhere between the bottom of your chin and your nose

Customer: Ok, I can't figure it out without my skates on, can I go try on a pair?

Me: [Reluctantly send him off to another person at the skate area]

Customer: Ok I want it here. [Pauses] Oh wait, I have my old stick in my car.

I'll go get it and line it up with the new one.

[When he comes back the new marking is nowhere near the lenght of the old stick].

Its not a friggin science!!! If you cant' decide, go home and cut your own damn stick!

[capes921 0]

ahh all things i love reading about the day after i apply at my own LHS lol

[Chadd 916]

Logan's stick cutting one reminded me of this. The PIAS in town is just around the corner from the shop and kids would buy their Easton Typhoons or Octanes and then bring them over to us to cut because PIAS wouldn't do it. I got tired of a few customers who I only saw when bringing in the suff they got at PIAS so I could put in blades or cut sticks. If the place where you buy it won't service you, don't expect someone else to do it for free.

[jjalb29 0]

Up the road from our store is a 5 sheet complex...so on tourny weekends, which is pretty much every weekend we are like daycare, they come in by the teamful and the parents sit in the skate area while there kids are playing a 5 on 5 game(all with easton stealths and an orange ball) and the parents think nothing of it.

I said we need to start charging admission into the store to cover the damages occurred while they are running around.

another funny one....I was at one of my local watering holes this weekend, which happens to be inside a hotel and there was a squirt team staying there. All the parents are in the bar ripping shots and pounding beers. This particular evening there was an incident at the pool and all of a sudden there's this mom freaking out, "Where's my kids, whats going on, where's my kids"...well lady but down the bottle and figure out the situation.

I know it may be hypocritical cause Me and all my friends have taken a hotel by hostage for the weekend during tournaments. But WOW some people

Moral of the story: stupid people shouldn't breed

[jbyun04 7]

You have a dog in the store!?

yeah

i think this is like our 3rd or 4th lab

[All Torhs Team 0]

Besides my crew, jeez, I think my customers would join in to bitch slap a guy like that.

Darkstar you have a crew? Like guys that help run your store? Around here nobody has a crew to run theyre store because they are lucky to get one person in an hour.

Heres something from the customers point of veiw.

And I respect all the lhs

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?

[KYHockey3 0]

those stories are crazy, i allways try to respect hockey stores when i go to them. we odnt have any around here, so when i go i just browse forever!

-skate sizings--

i wore a size 5.5 v-12's/ i went to the store to get new v-12's . he measured my foot sloppily and said "you need a 4.5" i was like NO WAY, i am currently wearing a 5.5 v-12 and my toes touch the end. i was like what ever, so i left.

the next day i came backa nd tried on a pair of 6's in v-12's and they fit great, perfect width, length and everything. so i went to the counter to check out. bought them and as i was walking away the guy said under his breath " they wont fit".

he was soooooo rude and it really made me mad, i doubt i will ever buy a pair of skates from that shop again.

[Chadd 916]

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.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Some horror stories here, but as far as the kid thing goes. I was out at my LHS yesterday, and there was a mother in, talking about figure skates for her daughter.

I was looking around because my skates were being sharpened, and I was buying new gloves, but her son was running around with a hangar he took pants off, and was hitting the seats and running it along the stick rack like it was a railing. The mother was completely oblivious to it.

I thought it was rude, but the 2 guys working there were complete professionals, and were nice to her, and just asked the kid in a friendly way could they have it back so they could hang up the pants, and he gave it over.

I would have wanted to smack the little muppet, they are more patient than me

[PH_Hockey2 4]

1. Customers who can't control their kids

2. Customers who dont understand sharpening wait times

Thats some things that also get to me too, At the shop there is this one dad that comes in with his hyper ass son all the time. This kid always goes and messes up the youth sticks and the small goalie pads. I also don't like it when a customer wants me to rush through thier skates. I can tell they want me to hurry up because they just stand there and when I get done putting the quick square on the skate they pull the money out, and get pissed that I have to make an adjustment.

Edited March 6, 2006 by PH_Hockey2