Great Skate — Local services in Saint Peters

Updated Review 11/18/22 I decided to give Great Skate another try and booked another birthday party for my nieces' 19th birthday. I must say Great Skate did not disappoint! We had a great time. I have to send a special shout out to our amazing party host, Bella. She was such a pleasure to work with. We booked on a Friday night, and the atmosphere was fun and welcoming. There were a lot of kids there whose parents drop them off, but the amazing manager talked with me before the party and said to let her know if we had any issues with unruly kids. We had no issues. Great experience overall this time Great Skate. Thank you. We look to book again with you really soon.

Old Review (4 years ago) Booked a birthday party for my niece here and did not have the most enjoyable experience. We were so looking forward to attending Great Skates from the reviews, but I'm sorry to say our experience wasn't the best. The first thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the fact that I am African American, and the vibe that I received from Great Skates is that African Americans are people that they particularly do not care for and would rather not entertain. Again, this is just the vibe I received. The next thing that irritated me was that we had a party scheduled for 2:45pm-4:45pm and was not told that after 4:45pm we would have to leave the entire skating rink due to a private party event. This was never mentioned at the time of booking and would have been nice to know. Maybe I would have made different birthday party arrangements. Due to the private party event we were rushed out of the skaing rink. Our party coordinator assigned to our table started to throw our party belongings around to clean the table as to say to us you really need to get out. One of my party guest went to ask for socks for skating and was rudely talked to by one of the staff saying you know we are about to close in 7 minutes. Overall just very disappointed with the service and do not plan to ever patronize Great Skates again, which is probably what they want anyway. I did do a follow-up call to show my concern and was just given a blown-off apology. I'm not really sure if it was sincere. I would just recommend that the skating rink overall take on a new attitude. People pay good money to you all for a good time. The least you can do is be courteous and show decent customer service. Thanks for your time. African Americans book this party at...

Some staff lack training, and the more experienced staff lack empathy. We bought a special at the concessions for a school fundraiser night that included hot dog and small soda or pizza and small soda. We bought 6 of them for our whole family. They gave us a buzzer and told us to sit and come back when it is ready. We went to pick up the order and they wouldn't give the drinks, just the food. A different person, more experienced, was behind the counter at this time, and she said she wasn't the person who placed the order and said we recieve the drinks after you order and pay, so she couldn't verify they didn't give them before like they were supposed to. She also wouldn't go and find the other person who had been there. I stayed in line at the counter and said I wasn't moving until she figured it out since I paid for 6 drinks, and hadn't received them. A line was beginning to form, so she agreed to give the drinks. I don't think I will return unless it is a school event, and we will make sure to eat beforehand so we do not overwhelm the staff.

Other than this one issue, the rest of the experience was good, or okay, considering how busy it was. The front window lady was very nice. Since this was an isolated staff issue, I will leave my rating...

If I could describe this place in one word, that word would be horrible. My son was recently skating here and he sweats a lot. When he took a step outside to cool down (he was outside for no more than 5 minutes) he wasn't allowed back inside unless he payed to get back in again. He asked why he was not allowed back in and the owner raised his voice at him and said it was because he believed that my son was outside doing drugs and causing trouble. He then asked my son who gave him permission to go outside to which he calmly replied, I don't need permission to walk outside and sit on the bench, do I? To this the owner yelled at him "You know what? I don't like your smart ass attitude! Now you can call your parents and get the hell out of my rink!" After that my son called me, crying, and telling me that someone was telling him he had to leave. After this experience I was very dissapointed. Not only are the owners rude, but they also allow kids to be bullied and pushed over in the skating rink. I have seen some kids get thrown to the ground as the staff skate by them and the staff just look at them and skate by! If there was any rating less than one star, I would rate this place as...