The Hockey Lodge is the place where you can get official Minnesota Wild merchandise, from travel…read moretumblers, to hockey jerseys. This store is located inside Xcel Energy Center.
There used to be another store at Southdale Center in Edina. I loved that smaller store, but it closed down during this pandemic.
I have been a 4ever Wild member since I became a season ticket holder (a handful of tickets each hockey season) since 2019. When you have your rewards barcode scanned at this store, you get 15% off all merchandise.
It comes in handy for more expensive purchases. I managed to get my first Wild jersey specifically crafted for the Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2022. Saving 15% off the original price helped immensely on this one purchase alone. I'm happy that I get it across the board.
On the whole, staff are friendly. During my last visit, an older woman, Sue, working at the store called me sir, which was not only incorrect, but odd, insulting, and rude to me. She stopped me because I was carrying a bottled Diet Coke. You can't bring drinks into the store, which I found out from this woman. I wasn't thrilled about leaving my $6 bottle (yep, it's pricy) bottle of pop outside the door, but I eventually did.
She was indeed a highly rude individual, apologizing for calling me a guy just to brush me off while rolling her eyes in the process.
The most ridiculous question uttered from her:
"How can I tell [that I am a woman]?" she asked me.
"How about not using a pronoun or noun that specifically identifies gender if you don't know?" I replied.
It makes perfect sense to me. It didn't seem to register in her head.
I frankly don't think that I am built like a guy, unless being a tall Chinese woman is weird to her and makes me a guy. I also think that she needs her eyes checked and requires sensitivity training.
Here was my constructive feedback for her and staff at The Hockey Lodge. Yes, I wrote to this store and copied my Wild representative, who also forwarded it to The Hockey Lodge management and apologized:
- Drop the pronouns or be more mindful using them. Incorrectly deeming me a male rubbed me the wrong way. It added a sour note to what was an excellent two years as a Wild season ticket holder. Just ask customers to not bring a beverage into the store. Why use sir or madam, especially when you have a difficult time judging?
- Apologize without the eye roll and mean it. The customer wants to feel welcomed at this store and Xcel Energy Center, especially this one who travels from Toronto (yes, Canada) to attend her Wild games.
- Be more sensitive as a staff member. She did not put herself in my shoes. I am a Chinese Canadian woman who was labelled a male by a white woman. If you can't identify a person's gender, don't guess. You are likely going to ruin a person's day and perhaps even confidence because of your poor judgment.
Other than this one woman staffer who needs help, I enjoy coming to this store. I bought a Wild t-shirt last night. The store doesn't have a change room, so I tried it on over my long-sleeved shirt that I was wearing. It fit. I bought it with a 15% discount.
The store only accepts credit and debit cards. If you have money loaded on your mobile account, you can use it here, too. I have used it in the past and getting my barcode scanned is seamless.
Four stars is how I rate the quality of the store's merchandise and my complete experience minus the rude woman episode. I have a few items in my small collection. I also have a Kaprizov t-shirt and a Winter Classic patch. I simply get items that I like and use. It also helps that they fit in my luggage or backpack.
I deducted a star for the horrible woman that I had the displeasure dealing with. Here's hoping that she gets the help that she needs badly.
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