I didn't realize the Mike C had moved Skaters Paradise to MD, because I stopped patronizing them several years ago. The last few times I and other local adult skaters went to his shop, he was very aggressively pushing Jacksons (over-aggressive, in my opinion). Mike may know something about skates, but the young guys he had working in his shop clearly weren't up to par. Once, we drove all the way up to Alexandria from NC, only to find out that Mike was on vacation, even though we'd specifically asked if he was going to be there that weekend and had requested appointments for a fitting with him. The last time I did business with them, they'd pushed me into the high end Jacksons, which didn't fit worth a darn and were actually warped and had 2 different heel heights. They ground down the heel and tried to do a few things, but wouldn't give me my money back. I decided I'd had enough at that point.

My gut feeling was that he'd been a victim of his own success. The huge increase in business had resulted in the addition of staff who weren't experienced or knowledgeable enough and decreased customer service.

I hope they've gotten things better in hand with the new location.

I just want to add some positive words about the skate shop at the Gardens. The shop has been under new ownership for several years. It is definitely more into hockey, but it is trying to build up its figure skating service. If you deal with David, I think you will be satisfied. He is very attentive to customer needs, sharpens skates wonderfully, and has fitted and adjusted our boots exceptionally well. Just don't deal with one of the guys who are focused on hockey - they could care less about figure skaters.

My 2 cents.

Since Wings of Steel closed, I have been dealing solely with the Pro Shop at Ashburn. Tim does a good job with sharpening skates, in my experience.

Things have been a little bit disorganized the last couple weeks with the prep for the renovation and now the actual renovation forcing them to move into the party room(s) at Ashburn. So it's basically almost impossible to get skates sharpened on the spot. I don't know how long the renovation will last, either.

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And they seem to be off to a great start (now where is that sarcasm smiley?). I don't live in the area, but after reading MSF's report of his troubles with them (did you actually read it all?) I would not go near them with a 10 foot pole.

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Actually, in the new location (inside a rink), it's just him and his wife. The others that worked for him in Alexandria are in other places (no idea where). This is sort of a phase-into-retirement type of thing for Mike - he's only there a few days a week, and not as many hours.

Mike mounted the blades on my current Klingbeils, and did all the work on my former SP-Teris (which I'd bought from him). He's always done a good job on everything, but Waldorf is quite a trip for me. I'm pretty confident about Chuck at Blades of Bowie, so I think the next time I need blades mounted, I'll have him do it. For problems with my skates, I've dealt with Klingbeil directly since I ordered directly (got fitting in person).

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Paul, who used to work with Mike in Alexandria, lives not 3 miles from where Skaters Paradise used to be. He sharpens skates at his home every Sat., and he is my main sharpener.

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Well... I did read the post, but I also go see David a couple of times a month for sharpening and advice. I have always been treated extremely competently and with plenty of good will.

And JP, who used to do my skates at Skater's Paradise is in Iraq, at least as far as Mike C's wife told me the last time I was there. I hope JP comes home safe and I also hope that he wants to do sharpenings when he does--of all of the people who have sharpened my skates, I liked his sharpenings the best. The person I go to now was trained by someone who was trained by Mike C.

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Completely unacceptable. But complaining to BBB won't do squat either. Your best option is to drag their name through the mud on the internet, and if you have free time and a hundred bucks, sue them in the small claims court. Since these people live in some kind of fantasy world where they're always right, they probably won't even show up for the trial. Then you can take your default judgment against them and harass them with a letter demanding payment once in a while. They'll never pay up, but it'll annoy the crap out of the owner.

Climacus! you have foiled my plans!

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Oh, yes--JP was the best! I would always request him over the others. Whatever he did with respect to sharpening really worked for me. And he used to skate at my main rink, Mt. Vernon, that is across the street from where Skater's used to be.

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"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
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JP was my favorite too there. He's in Iraq now? Hope he's okay. I'm surprised though, since I eem to remember he had a really bad back.

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