Skate Fitters. What do you do?

[strosedefence34 179]

I think something we are missing here is a way to tell if we have a good experience or a bad experience with a skate fitting. The last time I got fitted for some skates I felt like I was doing most of the work and the sales rep was sitting there on his phone. Maybe he took into account that I knew what I was doing since I told him the level of hockey I used to play at.

What are some of the things to look for that an employee would do to ensure a proper fit? I just think having some of the people who do this for a living maybe go over their routine a little could help some of the newer skaters out.

[jsykes 35]

It depends a lot on how much help the customer needs or wants.

For child who is new, we try to figure out the level of play and what the child needs in terms of support as well as find out if there is a price range the parents need to stay within. Measure their foot, figure if they need wide or not. I will generally ask them if there is a skate that they like or want to try and we may start with that one. I'll then figure out if the size and length is right. We'll have the child walk around a bit and then will try to ask them questions that are simple which will help us figure out what he/she is feeling and whether or not its fitting them right. I'll gauge the answers, facial expressions, how quick they are to answer questions and figure if we should try something else. I will often have them try something else, then they're generally better on saying whether one feels better than the other or not and we'll go from there.

For an adult, they may require almost as much attention, especially if new. However, many adults know what they want or dont want that much help. But I'll always try to ask them questions and get them to at least tell me they're fitting them right or not. But you can only give as much help and input as they want to accept and many dont want help.