Al's Skate Shop Reviews 63

I want to share my experience with returning items from this store, as it may be useful for other online shoppers.
I purchased footless tights (leggings style). The items were not worn and were only briefly handled to check the material. They were returned within the return period.
Part of the order was accepted for return, however the remaining items were refused due to the packaging being opened. The store treated the resealable plastic packaging as a “hygiene seal”, even though there was no tamper-evident seal and the items had not been used.
As a result, the return was only partially accepted, which was disappointing given that this was an online purchase.
Other retailers selling similar products appear to interpret hygiene and return rules differently, as they do accept returns in comparable situations.
I would suggest that anyone ordering similar items online checks the return policy very carefully, especially regarding hygiene-related exclusions on opened packaging.

I ordered a pair of skates all was fine, until a few days later when i get a call from gary at als skate shop.
Sorry the skates are on a container ship from canada and have been delayed.
I explained i needed the skates from a birthday present, only for lovely gary to start shouting at me saying how was he supposed to know i needed them. Not a very nice man to deal with
At this point i asked for a refund.
And the phone was put down.
I then got another call about ten minutes later saying we now have the skate, would you like to re order over the phone, as we have issued your refund.
I declined.
I would definitely stay away from this shop and especially gary.
There are plenty of other shops who are more professional and not as rude as gary to buy skates from.

Bought new figure skate boots and had existing blades attached which needed customised positioning due to pronation . The service was excellent, caring, helpful, and professional. Massive thanks to Molly, Ange and MJ ….. you were all amazing , thank you.

I went to Al's at Deeside Leisure Centre last week and it was definitely worth the 45 minute drive to get there as they have a good range of ice-skating related clothing, boots and sundry items for leisure, figure and sports skating and we were able get what we went for, new ice skates for my granddaughter, with ease.
We were helped by the friendly and knowledgeable owner who quite obviously has a lot of experience in the skating world and offered plenty of information and advice with no pressure or upselling.
Very satisfactory retail experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Al’s to anyone.

Very disappointed using this shop for the first time to having been told that item out of stock couple days after. Don’t like to be that person but was super excited and then to find out after I paid it’s out of stock.

2nd order of skates, went down to the shop. Warm and welcoming...very knowledgeable and outstanding service. Excellent!!

Visited store today and was served by a very knowledgeable, helpful girl called Millie? What a lovely shop with very friendly helpful staff. Came away with a pair of perfectly fitting boots for my daughter.

Many many thanks. Will def be back.

I wouldn’t risk ordering from these unless you don’t mind defective/damaged items. Paid nearly £200 on a pair of skates that came with the material peeling all around the front. I sent an email over a month ago that was ignored so I rang them and the excuse was “we wasn’t open on the day you emailed” fair enough but like everyone else you respond when you are open? Whoever I spoke to on the phone today has a bad attitude telling me “when she goes ice skating she will get the boots scuffed anyway so what’s the problem” erm it’s not the point!? You don’t pay nearly £200 for skates to arrive with the material all peeling off! What a disgusting attitude to have. Then he tried blaming the peeling material on skate guards that my daughter didn’t even put on the skates, calling me a liar. It’s just excuses after excuses! So as the company ain’t sorting this out I have no choice but to do a chargeback with my bank and report this company to ombudsman and trading standards.

Fantastic customer service. Taking the time to make sure skates fit properly. Wouldn’t go anywhere else in future.

I’ve been speaking to Pete via WhatsApp and he’s been really supportive and helpful. Great recommendations. Pete’s gone out of his way to help me with new pads for my son! I’m sure we will make many more purchase’s now. Thank you for going above and beyond with help.

Excellent fitting service!
My daughter has been having issues with her skates for the last few months, and was suffering with lace bite. She was recommended by a friend to try Al’s. We saw Gary, and the knowledge and fitting experience he has is amazing! Turns out, she has been wearing the wrong type of skates for years. I think a lot of skaters/coaches go with one of the main manufacturers, rather than actually looking at what is best for your shape foot. She has ended up with a totally different brand, and so far so good, back on the ice and no pain! Thank you so much Gary, definitely worth at least five stars!!

We travelled a few hours to purchase new upgrade skates for my daughter. Finding the shop was easy, it’s just off the dual carriageway roundabout at the end of the M55, and there was free parking outside.
The shop is well stocked. The staff were so friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. There was no pushy sales talk and they didn’t try to upsell a more expensive boot. They took time to make sure that the boots fitted, and then we added blades that was suitable for my daughters level. The blades were fitted and the boots were head moulded and sharpened (for free) before we left the shop.
Thank you Al’s for your excellent service. We will definitely be back and would certainly recommend you.

absolutely amazing consumer service! with me and my dad being new to ice skating, we don’t know much about skates but with the love young woman ( i can’t think of her name) helped us and we an absolute legend she was fantastic making us laugh, helping us with what boot would be perfect, speaking to us about the after care of the skates just over lovely. as was the rest of the crew me and my dad wanted to go for something to eat but as we don’t live around blackpool we asked if they knew anywhere and they probably recommended us about 5 different places! definitely ur go to place and will 100% be going back, charlotte x

Went to AL’s skate shop today to get my daughter fitted for new figure skates. Alison and Pete were really helpful and very knowledgeable about getting the correct size boots. Definitely recommend, great customer service.

My experience with boot fitting at Al's skate shop was really great. Despite the shop being busy they spent a lot of time making sure that we got the right fit and my server was very knowledgeable and friendly. However, if you want a temporary mount to your blade it seems like you have to ask for it - I was given a permanent mount (all of the screws put in) and am now dealing with some blade alignment issues due to pronation, which are going to be much more difficult to sort out. Would still recommend their service, but I thought it was worth mentioning this issue if you like to be able to move your blade after your first skate. (Reply) Jackson Elite 5300

I called up to check stock on Jackson Debuts and the woman (sorry I didn't get her name) was so helpful! I traveled up from near Birmingham since I'd heard good thinks about the store, but when I arrived the overall experience was excellent! I managed to get my boots and blades, and they mounted, sharpened and heat molded them for me. It was a long drive but definitely worth it!

After purchasing some new hockey skates I was struggling with blisters and pain on my inner arch. After visiting Al's Skate shop in Blackpool, Peter recommended having them "pocket punched" in the specific area to due to a protruding bone. Only took 10 minutes and this has immediately solved the issue! No pain or blisters anymore. Peter is very knowledgeable and gave me lots of information about the bone structure in my feet along with recommendations of arch supports/insoles due to having a high arch. I never even knew I had this.
10/10 for amazing customer service and knowledge/information specifically tailored to my needs. Thanks Al's Skate shop

I travelled from Solihull to Blackpool to buy some new ice skates from Als as my preview boots weren’t supportive enough for the level of skating I was now doing. Gary was extremely helpful and fitted me with a different brand of skates that were much better suited to my foot shape. He was very thorough with his fitting and made sure they were perfect; he also explained how to properly lace and take care of my new boots which is something no other skate shops have done before. He heat moulded them and let them set around my feet for a more comfortable fit and then also explained the differences between which blades I could pick and then fitted and sharpened them. The heat moulding and the sharpening were both taken off the overall cost which was brilliant. Overall, fantastic service and very good advice given unlike any other shop I had ever been to; would definitely recommend.

Bought my first set of skates from them. Great communication throughout and gave me some good advice. Happy with my new skates would use again.

Gary and Alison were both so helpful and told me everything that I needed to know about taking care of my skates. They helped make sure the boots were the right fit and gave me lots of useful advice. Highly recommend.