Bill's Wheels Skateshop — Local services in Santa Cruz

Bills is an awesome shop however, I bought a really nice hoodie there and when I got home I realized that the graphics were off centered by a lot. I took the hoodie back and a staff member told me this was art. He then said I could exchange it so I looked for another. While I was looking for another he loudly told a coworker how he couldn't believe someone had brought the hoodie back just because the graphic wasn't centered. I found another hoodie that was the same price although I didn;t like the color or graphic as much, it was also cool. I noticed this one also was off but not by as much. Next day I decided I wasn't happy with the purchase and I didn't like anything else regarding a trade so I asked for my money back. The owner said they had a no cash back policy and showed me the signs. I told him I understood but in this case he should make an exception because the hoodie was flawed. He told me this was a one off hoodie (as though it was special) but to me the hoodie was something a quality control person would reject. He wouldn't give me my money back. I gave him 3 chances. I then went home and contacted the company directly and they sent me the hoodie I had originally bought free of charge. Bills is a really cool shop but check carefully what you're buying there because although they offer trades, they won't give you your money back if something is wrong with the product (when I was looking for other trade-in possibilities, I noticed defects on other clothing there). I also didn't appreciate them trying to convince me the hoodie was special and one of a kind after receiving a perfectly centered graphic on a perfect hoodie from the manufacturer along with the...

As a beginner looking for my first board I was nervous going into a store with experienced skaters shopping around . I wasn’t sure if their staff was going to be helpful or friendly. The first store I shopped at was in downtown Santa Cruz, they had a smaller selection and nobody to help educate me on which board would be best for me. After looking online for another shop I came across Bill’s Wheels. I took another trip to Santa Cruz to check it out .

Needless to say I was not disappointed. When I walked in I immediately noticed the selection of boards displayed, as well as the clothing and accessories. They had everything you would need, shoes, clothes, tools, wheels, trucks, boards of every kind from top brands.

I was greeted within 3 min of looking at a board and the guy didn’t mind answering all of my questions. I was looking for a long board , mainly for commuting purposes. He not only showed me some good boards but also what the differences were between them and what to avoid. I love when a rep doesn’t just tell me what to get but educates me on the reason why. To top things off, the owner Bill was there and he was actually assisting customers. He was so friendly and helpful, and listened to my short story on how this is my first board, and my first time in California.

I definitely recommend this place to anyone new or experienced looking for a board or any service. They were also putting boards together for people and repair ones...

Brought my family in on Black Friday (on vacation from Northwest). I had been following Bill’s shop on Instagram for about a year knowing we were going to be in the area over Thanksgiving. We had big plans to buy three completes and some SC clothing and were more stoked to find out they had a sale on the SC label this day. I can’t tell you what a letdown the entire experience was from the start. Place had maybe 8 customers and four employees working. I had to track someone down to try on shoes and he left so when they didn’t fit I said “forget jt” - lets look at clothing and save boards for last. They were out of a lot of sizes but my wife noticed a sign that said “Don’t see your size? Just ask!” So, she took two sweatshirts up to the owner Bill who just got off the phone and asked him if he had these in other sizes and he practically yelled, “What you see is what we have!” So, we left, drove to back to San Jose and dropped $750 at a shop there. If you read Bills website he used to have multiple stores and puts a lot of blame on the economy. However, its clear he should also think about providing a customer centric attitude and treat people like he would want to be treated. I support all local shops, just...