Skateworks — Local services in Los Altos

Customer service is NON-EXISTENT....

I walked in to Skate Works a couple of weeks ago for the first time. As I entered, I noticed that there was a family and then an additional solo customer inside of the store. This store is fairly small, so navigating it with 8 people scattered throughout it was a bit tough. I was not greeted by the older male behind the counter, nor by the female who looked directly at me as I walked through the door.

The purpose of my visit was to see if they had a certain deck in stock. I was browsing the shoes to the right of the store and didn't see much variation - same old vans that they carry at every other place. I then took a peek at their clothing which was again, low in stock of variation and adult M or L sizes.

After I browsed the clothing section, I was at the shop for at least 10 minutes at that point; still no acknowledgement or greeting from either employee. The older male behind the counter was still chatting it up with a customer about a board. After 15 minutes, the customer leaves from the counter and then proceeds to look at another item which leaves the older male employee completely free. I purposefully walked to the deck section within a foot of the older male employee to try and provoke him to greet or even acknowledge me - nothing happened - he ended up moving things from the counter that were directly in front of me and proceeded to ignore me. Even after that, I took another loop around the store to give them a chance to provide some sort of customer service. Of course, they continued to go about their business and ignore me, so at that point I decided even if they did have the deck I was looking for, I wasn't going to support a business that doesn't care for their customers.

There was no excuse to not receive any help at all. I walked out of Skate Works empty handed and with their name crossed off my reliable skate shop list.

I highly suggest you go to a different skate shop! NC Board shop in Los Gatos or Atlas in San Mateo are way better...

Went into Skate Works to check it out, with an eye on picking up my first board. I was in the "snowboard and surf experience", borrowed a skateboard from friends a few times, and now thinking it would a fun hobby to take up. Jason was just plain awesome - he helped me understand the different types of boards, how the various parts relate to the feel and function, all at a level that was exactly the info I needed as a beginner. He was super positive, had me try a few boards to see what felt good, and put no pressure on me to buy anything.

When other customers came in he'd answer their questions too, and I saw a parent + 8 year old daughter, both completely new to skate boards, get awesome customer service in the form of some info on intro lessons, local parks, ways to try it out before buying too much equipment, etc. Again, super positive, relaxed, no pressure. Then Jason would swing by and check in with me, and give a suggestion or two based on how I was liking the feel of different boards.

I'll admit that in the end I did buy - grabbed a Arbor Mission longboard that had the feel and purpose (cruising) that I was looking for. Jason adjusted the truck tension to make it a bit more forgiving to my yet unrefined balance (and showed me how to adjust it). Been carving around for two days and having...

This is a great place for anyone looking to buy a board. I've only been riding a longboard for a couple months now, but I was able to find one that's really suited for me and high quality. I used to ride a cheap Kryptonics board from Target, but now I'm so much happier with the one I custom-made at Skateworks. The turning radius is literally twice as tight, and I feel incredibly balanced on my new board. I can go at full speed for as long as I want without feeling any worry that I'll lose my balance.

The owner was super friendly and cool, even though I went in just before closing time to scope out the place. He answered all my questions about board lengths, decks, prices, and let me ride a couple before putting the deck I liked on hold in the back. I returned a couple days later, and custom-made my board. They recommended a set of trucks and higher quality bearings to me, and even my friend admits the higher quality bearings are a better choice, since he has to switch out his cheap ones every couple months so it ends up costing more for him.

All in all, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase, and I won't ever let my new board out of my...