Buckman's Ski and Snowboard Shop - Ardmore — Attraction in Lower Merion Township

This story started out as a complete disaster, but I've never been a witness (let alone a recipient) to a better and more satisfying turnaround.

A Saturday before we were supposed to go on a skiing trip, we walked into the Ardmore Buckman's shop and had a very helpful associate pick out my skis, binding, boots and poles. The boots had to be delivered from the KOP shop and fitted, and the skis weren't ready to be picked up either, so we scheduled it for the upcoming Thursday. We were leaving the next day (Friday), so this was a tight call, but we were assured everything will be fine. I have to mention at this point that the Saturday was extremely busy, with customers having to wait for a long time and even leaving because it took too long to get help. Every staff member in the store took care of their customer to their best ability and spent as much time as they needed with each of them individually, making every effort to 'jump' to a new person waiting to be helped.

When we came back on Thursday, nothing that was supposed to be done was ready for our trip. The skis I ordered weren't even in the store, let alone having the binding installed. Boots I wanted couldn't be fitted that day either.

Instead of walking away and never coming back, we got lucky and met Brian (I'm sorry if I got the name wrong). He gave us a rental set of skis, boots and poles for free, discounted the binding, installed it for free and was thoroughly awesome the entire time.

I don't care what happened inside their team and whatever miscommunication caused the total failure of the first attempted purchase. What I care about is the problem solving ability and authority with which decisions were made that led to a spectacular customer experience and therefore a great impression of the business and the way it's run.

Needless to say, we'll be back and recommend to anyone that they get their share of the goodness Buckman's has in...

Please take your business elsewhere. I arrived on 12/30 at 8:30 (they closed at 9) after driving 30 minutes. I was prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on new snowboard boots, as I wanted to try them on in person before purchasing. Upon arriving, an employee rudely accosted me and asked why I was at the store: I inquired that I wanted to purchase snowboard boots. He replied “we can’t help you with that” in an extremely rude manner. I seriously thought he was making a joke, as he was completely insincere and inconsiderate. Anyone who has ever learned a single thing about business would tell you this is a MAJOR red flag, I seriously hope this was not the owner of the establishment(embarrassing!)Very weird behavior and they must not want anyone’s business. Makes zero sense why a store would skip out on a several hundred dollar transaction (way overpriced to other stores). I immediately left, and I will be visiting another local establishment to give them my business. This store should not be in business: they are more focused on giving poor rentals to naïve buyers than making a large sale to a potential repeat customer. Please stay away from this shop. You can find MUCH cheaper equipment online or in other storesfor purchase/rental, and for an even greater deal take a look at Facebook marketplace or craigslist for lightly used. Please stay far away from this place, and explore other options. They will be out of business soon enough(trust me) judging by the other reviews and my own experience tonight. I usually do not leave reviews but this was SUCH an atrocious and infuriating experience that it had to be...

I was new to snowboarding and just wanted to be fully informed to have a good season. Whoever helped me assured me that I should go a full size down on my snowboarding boots because I want it tight and responsive. I’m normally an 8.5 so I got a 7.5. Trying it in store felt very snug but they said that would be normal and it’ll stretch out. Here we are in the season and I can’t even do a full day of riding because it hurts my feet so bad that I need to leave my friends on the slopes and go to the lodge to take off my boot. Also, I purchase an expensive burton boa boot. Big waste of money there and since it’s a small size it’ll be tough to resell. I understand that having a snug fit can be beneficial but after talking to others it sounds like they mainly size their boot around their shoe size or even a half size up. Everyone’s foot is different and I wish I was told this when trying them on because coming in as a newbie I had no idea what I was doing. Now I can’t even have fun riding with my friends because my foot is in such pain and currently on the hunt for a new pair of boots. I wish they had some type of exchange program for a case like this but since this was last season I doubt it. Biggest takeaway is trust but verify when getting opinions from others. Only you know how your foot feels so go...