Feeback on these stores around Toronto/GTA

[diehardfan 0]

Those who have been to Pro Hockey Life (Vaughan) and The Hockey Experts around the GTA, I would like to know how their service is? I know they have a huge selection but is the service there to go along with it?

I need a new pair of skates, so I would like knowledgeable staff to help me with a good fit skate unlike SportCheck and National Sports.

Thanks

[bubber27 0]

I was not impressed with Hockey Life's staff. Too many young kids working there, no knowledge.

I had LS2's mounted on my 7000's at the Hockey Experts in Mississauga, top notch service. They had problems with getting steel from NBH, so they called me every second day to update me. Fantastic service, i'd go back again in a heartbeat. Plus, their guys are really knowledgable, which is what you're looking for.

IMO, Hockey Experts would be the better spot. But.....

If you're looking for skates, two other really good spots in the GTA would be Sports Unlimited in Brampton, and Just Hockey in Toronto. Don't limit yourself to the two brand new big box stores. Take a look at what they have, they have really good people working in those stores.

And remember, Hockey Experts is owned by The Forzani Group, which owns Sportchek and National Sports.....

Phil

[Cove 38]

I find National Sports to be pretty good (if your dealing with oldtrainerguy.)

[duch 0]

I second Sports Unlimited and Just Hockey. You might also try Dukes in Etobicoke on Bloor St. They specialize in goalie equipment but their staff is very knowledgable about new player skates and equipment as well. Sports Unlimited and Dukes, carry all the major brands including Graf.

[diehardfan 0]

Wow, I am surprised. I thought it would be the other way around cause Hockey Life is just one big store so its easier to train people, where as Hockey Experts has few stores and is own by the Forzani Group. Interesting.

Actually, I did go check out Just Hockey on Steeles. I found their selection kinda slim. Maybe I need to goto the Don Mills one as it is bigger. Just that their prices are kinda high. But, I guess the service justifies it.

I was not impressed with Hockey Life's staff. Too many young kids working there, no knowledge.

I had LS2's mounted on my 7000's at the Hockey Experts in Mississauga, top notch service. They had problems with getting steel from NBH, so they called me every second day to update me. Fantastic service, i'd go back again in a heartbeat. Plus, their guys are really knowledgable, which is what you're looking for.

IMO, Hockey Experts would be the better spot. But.....

If you're looking for skates, two other really good spots in the GTA would be Sports Unlimited in Brampton, and Just Hockey in Toronto. Don't limit yourself to the two brand new big box stores. Take a look at what they have, they have really good people working in those stores.

And remember, Hockey Experts is owned by The Forzani Group, which owns Sportchek and National Sports.....

Phil

[Cove 38]

There is a small store called major hockey on Dufferin Street near Finch Ave. Its got a HUGE selection of goalie stuff, and a good selection of everything else. Lots of used skates too.

[Dubious 0]

gotta add another thumbs up for hockey experts in mississauga. been there a few times now and the staff really do know their stuff, not to mention pretty friendly and not pushy.

as for national sports to be honest i think its getting worse and worse in terms of service. before it wasnt as bad, but now that they have this non comission sales based system its ridiculous. you got cashiers trying to sell helmets, clothing selling skates, etc just to make a sale so you dont get fired.

[diehardfan 0]

anyone been to the Kennedy Commons (Kennedy/401) one as this is the closest one to me, how is the service there?

Thanks to all those who replied so far.

[Chadd 916]

There is quite a bit of info on the various shops in the Toronto area.

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...lite=%2Btoronto

[shnuggs 0]

Majer Hockey, and Just hockey on Steeles -- both top notch places.

[LkptTiger 1]

I was not impressed with Hockey Life's staff. Too many young kids working there, no knowledge.

Age has little bearing on knowledge - either you know the shit, or you don't. I work at a shop which is practically run by kids my age, there are a few guys in the 20-25 range, the manager is 38 and the rest of us are below the age of 20. If you look at some of the threads touching upon the shops in the Buffalo area, you'd see that my co-workers and I are regarded as being one of the most knowledgeable and helpful staffs around here.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

gotta add another thumbs up for hockey experts in mississauga. been there a few times now and the staff really do know their stuff, not to mention pretty friendly and not pushy.

as for national sports to be honest i think its getting worse and worse in terms of service. before it wasnt as bad, but now that they have this non comission sales based system its ridiculous. you got cashiers trying to sell helmets, clothing selling skates, etc just to make a sale so you dont get fired.

Well seeing as we have been getting less complaints since switching to the new system I believe your assesment is incorrect for the most part.

A cashier that is making sure you have everything you need can only be helpful.

As for getting fired for not selling??? Thats aganst the law and doesnt happen. Make sure you have your facts correct.

If you actually work there and just are upset with the new methods dont bring it on a public forum speak to the manager directly!

[bubber27 0]

I was not impressed with Hockey Life's staff. Too many young kids working there, no knowledge.

Age has little bearing on knowledge - either you know the shit, or you don't. I work at a shop which is practically run by kids my age, there are a few guys in the 20-25 range, the manager is 38 and the rest of us are below the age of 20. If you look at some of the threads touching upon the shops in the Buffalo area, you'd see that my co-workers and I are regarded as being one of the most knowledgeable and helpful staffs around here.

And I totally agree with you.

I've been in other shops where they are younger people working within the GTA, and the staff at those shops are incredibly knowledgable. And by younger i'm talking 20-25. Very impressive, since i'm only 27 myself, and really enjoy going into a shop and talking shop with the employees. Very refreshing.

But when i was at Hockey Life, the staff there came off being very uninformed, and only there to make a buck. And I kinda expected that being that Hockey Life is in such a huge shopping mall.

I bet a bunch of people on this board will agree with me within the GTA, that shops like Sports Unlimited, Hockey Experts, Just Hockey, Majer Hockey, Ward & Patch, Toronto Hockey Repair, Duke's Sports, it don't matter if they person serving you is 18 or 75, they know their shit. And that's why I'd rather go to a place like that.

Phil

[diehardfan 0]

yeh, I agree that age is not a good indicator of how knowledgeable the staffs are. Its how they present themselves and able to answer questions in hockey prospective and not as a sale.

When I was at Just Hockey on Steels, the guy sharpening the skates was a young guy. People were asking him question about hockey equipment and he knew his stuff. What impressed me the most was, one kid asked him about an expensive skate and said that I looked wicked. He replied back by saying, who cares how it looks, how it feel and fit is what matters. Attitude like that is what I look for in a good service rep.

Is the selection at Just Hockey Don Mills much greater than the on Steels for skates?

Thanks

[flashgordon 0]

Just Hockey on Don Mills should have full line of Graf, Easton, Rbk, CCM, NikeBauer etc...

yeh, I agree that age is not a good indicator of how knowledgeable the staffs are. Its how they present themselves and able to answer questions in hockey prospective and not as a sale.

When I was at Just Hockey on Steels, the guy sharpening the skates was a young guy. People were asking him question about hockey equipment and he knew his stuff. What impressed me the most was, one kid asked him about an expensive skate and said that I looked wicked. He replied back by saying, who cares how it looks, how it feel and fit is what matters. Attitude like that is what I look for in a good service rep.

Is the selection at Just Hockey Don Mills much greater than the on Steels for skates?

Thanks

[hyprlte 0]

yeh, I agree that age is not a good indicator of how knowledgeable the staffs are. Its how they present themselves and able to answer questions in hockey prospective and not as a sale.

When I was at Just Hockey on Steels, the guy sharpening the skates was a young guy. People were asking him question about hockey equipment and he knew his stuff. What impressed me the most was, one kid asked him about an expensive skate and said that I looked wicked. He replied back by saying, who cares how it looks, how it feel and fit is what matters. Attitude like that is what I look for in a good service rep.

Is the selection at Just Hockey Don Mills much greater than the on Steels for skates?

Thanks

yes they do.. Don mills is about double steeles size

[Zamboni 6]

Oldtrainerguy-I was in National's Oshawa location twice in past 10 days and was very happy with the service. Picked up a tennis racket for my daughter, closest guy went to get another sales person who knew more about tennis.

We of course ended up at hockey equipment, good atmosphere without the pressure. Young guys there kidded my son as he was wearing a rival team jacket, very relaxed and helpful-hope sales are good so whatever commision policy is being used stays.

[The Fresh Young MikeyD 0]

I've been to just bout every shop mentioned in this thread at least a couple of times and I was really disappointed by Pro Hockey Life. It's kind of nice, in a kitschy-way, that the place is decorated to look like a rink and has TVs playing hockey programing, but I feel that there's a lot of wasted space that could be holding more product. In fact I'd say Hockey Experts carries just about everything Pro Hockey Life does just in smaller quantities and it's displayed in tighter sections so I find it easier to find/try what I'm looking for.

I happened to be looking for a tapered wood blade when I was in Pro Hockey Life. When I found the selection of replacements blades I searched through it on my own because I knew what I wanted and the selection seemed manageable enough to look through. After about ten minutes of searching (I had trouble navigating around the people gawking at testers on the shooting range area) I approached a salesperson who seemed to be half-reorganising / half-playing with the OPS. I told him what I was looking for and asked if I had been looking at all replacement blades they stocked. He said that was all they had and so I left for another store.

It's an obscure item that doesn't have a high turnover so I understand why it might not be carried even in a store that big. But the salesperson didn't seem all that interested in even looking into the possibility of ordering some. I didn't really talk to him very long so I can't comment on his product knowledge but given that he didn't offer to find someone else or take the initiative to look into whether it would be possible to get me what I wanted, doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the staff there.

As has been mentioned in the thread the smaller LHS (Duke's, Just Hockey, Sports Unlimited, etc.) seem to have staff that want you to be completely satisfied and will often take the extra step to do it, like looking into ordering something, staying open a little after closing time, etc. So given that skates are a big purchase I'd start with an LHS mentioned here that is close/ convenient to you. Duke's is closest to my work; the staff is knowledgeable and have always treated me well so it's my default. But it has it's limitations for instance, it only carries one Easton skate model. So it would probably be wise to call the store you're going to if you're looking for a particular model. Also as has been mentioned Just Hockey (the Don Mills location) probably has the most complete selection of skates outside of the Foranzi-owned stores and stores not named Pro Hockey Life. Although I can't speak from experience, from what I've observed the staff are very competent when it comes to fitting skates.

[sn1per 0]

Must say that I was quite disappointed with Hockey Pro Life. The place is huge but when I went there, it took a good 30min for any staff to even acknowledge my presence. When I went to ask some questions about some elbows, the staff was clueless. Scarily enough, the staff told me the big difference between a One90 elbow and a Supreme 50 elbow was the brand...about 5 seconds later, they caught themselves realizing that they were the same brand...Skates was even worse. The guy told me the One90 skate was better than the S15. Basically told me that the reason I'm paying $800 for the S15s was because it was a composite boot...How about the 800C? Is that not a composite boot as well? Long story short, wasn't impressed with the general staff. Almost Crappy Tire level of service...If I was going to go drop $700 on a pair of skates, I definitely wouldn't go there.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I went to the Hockey Experts in Vaughan (? near the Colossus theater) when shopping for shoulder pads and elbow pads. I got the distinct feeling they worked on commission. I wanted to try on senior smalls in both, but all they had in the elbows were junior larges ... I felt they were too small for me and left a lot of space unprotected on my forearm. I wanted to know when the senior smalls were coming in, but the salesperson kept saying he thought people shouldn't have elbow pads protecting their forearms and should wear slashguards instead, and could we please ring up these elbow and shoulder pads now ?

I would have bought the shoulder pads from the guy, but I felt like he was pushing me into buying an elbow pad I wasn't comfortable buying without at least trying on a larger size. Whenever I see this kind of high pressure sales tactics I assume the guy is working on commission, and any advice becomes immediately suspect. Maybe they don't work on commission, but his pressure tactics lost him a sale on the shoulder pads.

Now maybe this guy was just a bad salesperson, but I for one am pretty leery of going back into that store.

[ramensandwich 1]

just hockey on don mills is great and easy to get too for a visitor to the gta. i got a helmet there on vacation and the staff were very helpful considering it was a snowy sunday evening

[aarondevera 0]

I went to the Hockey Experts in Vaughan (? near the Colossus theater) when shopping for shoulder pads and elbow pads. I got the distinct feeling they worked on commission. I wanted to try on senior smalls in both, but all they had in the elbows were junior larges ... I felt they were too small for me and left a lot of space unprotected on my forearm. I wanted to know when the senior smalls were coming in, but the salesperson kept saying he thought people shouldn't have elbow pads protecting their forearms and should wear slashguards instead, and could we please ring up these elbow and shoulder pads now ?

I would have bought the shoulder pads from the guy, but I felt like he was pushing me into buying an elbow pad I wasn't comfortable buying without at least trying on a larger size. Whenever I see this kind of high pressure sales tactics I assume the guy is working on commission, and any advice becomes immediately suspect. Maybe they don't work on commission, but his pressure tactics lost him a sale on the shoulder pads.

Now maybe this guy was just a bad salesperson, but I for one am pretty leery of going back into that store.

The Hockey Experts staff works on a non-comission based system. Since it's their first year as a banner store of the Forzani Group, head office isn't nearly as concerned with individuals' sales numbers as opposed to the store as a whole.

I DO work as a Pro Shop tech over at Hockey Experts in Mississauga, so I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably a little biased. However, having worked as a Tech as Sport Chek for four years prior to my employment at Hockey Ex, I'll definitely say that Hockey Ex is run in a MUCH different way than Forzani's other flagship store (SC, National). Since the store specifies ONLY in hockey, it is a prerequisite of every prospective employee to have a background in hockey, IN ADDITION to going through hours of product knowledge training and product testing.

The Vaughan store has undergone drastic employee changes over the past month, since many of its original staff have since moved to the new location in Scarborough. But don't think for one minute that that the Hockey Experts staff in general are not knowledgeable in the product, or how to fit equipment properly... if some of the new, younger guys are a little rusty, be sure to ALWAYS get a second opinion from another staff member. 99% of the staff know their stuff :)

Hopefully you guys don't take this as a plug for Hockey Experts, since I've definitely done my fair share of equipment shopping at Just Hockey, Majer and Duke's, so I'll stand by those guys any day of the week, and would definitely refer customers to those shops if Hockey Ex can't help 'em out. There are some really knowledgeable guys at those shops, no doubt.

BUT, I'd definitely recommend any hockey player to give Hockey Ex a shot, if you haven't already. And don't be deterred by our corporate ownership either. Our guys know the sport inside and out, and would definitely be able to answer any and all questions people might have.

Cheers!

[LeafsLegacy 0]

I went to the Hockey Experts in Vaughan (? near the Colossus theater) when shopping for shoulder pads and elbow pads. I got the distinct feeling they worked on commission. I wanted to try on senior smalls in both, but all they had in the elbows were junior larges ... I felt they were too small for me and left a lot of space unprotected on my forearm. I wanted to know when the senior smalls were coming in, but the salesperson kept saying he thought people shouldn't have elbow pads protecting their forearms and should wear slashguards instead, and could we please ring up these elbow and shoulder pads now ?

I would have bought the shoulder pads from the guy, but I felt like he was pushing me into buying an elbow pad I wasn't comfortable buying without at least trying on a larger size. Whenever I see this kind of high pressure sales tactics I assume the guy is working on commission, and any advice becomes immediately suspect. Maybe they don't work on commission, but his pressure tactics lost him a sale on the shoulder pads.

Now maybe this guy was just a bad salesperson, but I for one am pretty leery of going back into that store.

The Hockey Experts staff works on a non-comission based system. Since it's their first year as a banner store of the Forzani Group, head office isn't nearly as concerned with individuals' sales numbers as opposed to the store as a whole.

I DO work as a Pro Shop tech over at Hockey Experts in Mississauga, so I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably a little biased. However, having worked as a Tech as Sport Chek for four years prior to my employment at Hockey Ex, I'll definitely say that Hockey Ex is run in a MUCH different way than Forzani's other flagship store (SC, National). Since the store specifies ONLY in hockey, it is a prerequisite of every prospective employee to have a background in hockey, IN ADDITION to going through hours of product knowledge training and product testing.

The Vaughan store has undergone drastic employee changes over the past month, since many of its original staff have since moved to the new location in Scarborough. But don't think for one minute that that the Hockey Experts staff in general are not knowledgeable in the product, or how to fit equipment properly... if some of the new, younger guys are a little rusty, be sure to ALWAYS get a second opinion from another staff member. 99% of the staff know their stuff :)

Hopefully you guys don't take this as a plug for Hockey Experts, since I've definitely done my fair share of equipment shopping at Just Hockey, Majer and Duke's, so I'll stand by those guys any day of the week, and would definitely refer customers to those shops if Hockey Ex can't help 'em out. There are some really knowledgeable guys at those shops, no doubt.

BUT, I'd definitely recommend any hockey player to give Hockey Ex a shot, if you haven't already. And don't be deterred by our corporate ownership either. Our guys know the sport inside and out, and would definitely be able to answer any and all questions people might have.

Cheers!

Agreed. I shop there all the time. They have knowledgeable staff. I haven't met one that were bad. I've also been to Pro Hockey Life. They aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

[breaking100 0]

I think it depends on who you get at Hockey Life. I got fitted for a pair of Bauer XII's that were about a size and half too big (i'm a noob). I took them back cause I thought they might be a little big and a different guy took one look (the old hand down the back of skate with the foot in to) and fitted me right, even got a Tech to punch out some spots in the XVI's for me.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I would have bought the shoulder pads from the guy, but I felt like he was pushing me into buying an elbow pad I wasn't comfortable buying without at least trying on a larger size.

I forgot this little anecdote. There was a moment where I told him I thought the EPs were too small as they left a lot of my forearm unprotected, and the velcro straps barely met their targets.

The salesperson took the pad and proceeded to look inside it. He never said so, but it was obvious that he looking at the sizing guide that is printed inside the pad. Then he got quiet, handed the pads back to me and then after a moment continued to try to convince me that they were the right size - even though said sizing guide describes a person far, far smaller than myself. I guess he figured I didn't know what was printed inside the pad. That was about the time I started looking for the exit door.

I don't doubt that this guy knows how to play hockey. But either he didn't know what he was selling, or he is unscrupulous, or both. It sounds like the other people at Hockey Experts are pretty good, but one bad experience has me soured on the store.