I went to Ray's Rackets in Surprise because I had heard good things about their demo program for pickleball paddles and I'm in the market to upgrade my current pickleball paddle. I also had a very pleasant conversation with one of their employees who had set-up a mobile shop at a recent pickleball tournament at Surprise Park. She wasn't super knowledgeable about the current paddle I had (seemed more of a tennis player), but said that if ai came into the store there were some pickleball experts that could assist me and she also mentioned the demo program. I went to the store this morning and got there a couple minutes before they opened. When they unlocked the doors I went in. Nobody greeted my wofe and I as we entered. One employee was busy stringing a tennis racket for a guy who needed one ASAP as he was playing in a tournament in Surprise. I entered the store at 10:00 am. I stood in front of the pickleball paddles the entire time. Not one employee asked if I needed any assistance (I did by the way). I wanted some advice on good upgrades to my current paddle (Vatic Prism Pro Flash). I had done some online research and had come with 4 different paddles in mind (ranging from $150-$230). They had 3 of the 4 paddles in stock. Even if no employees were knowledgeable about pickleball paddles, if ai had been helped by ANYONE I likely would have demo'd at least one if the 3 that they sold and if I liked it would have come back and bought it. Since I didn't get any assistance, I guess I'll just go with the internet recommendations and purchase one of those paddles without ever trying it from an online retailer. I also believe ai was patient. I entered the store at 10:00 and it was 10:25 when I finally told my wife that we could leave. I think standing in front of paddles for 25 minutes was plenty of time for someone in the store to decide I might need some assistance. Poor experience, not sure if I would give them a 2nd try ever again, but I might because the lady at the pickleball tournament (who had limited pickleball paddle knowledgeable) was very friendly and helpful as much as she could be. I drove 20 minutes to stand in the store for 25 minutes and not receive even a "hello" and then drove back home another 20 minutes. I could order a racket off Amazon in less than 3 minutes. You exist because you can provide a service that online retailers cannot, you should remind your employees of that. I literally stood there long enough listening to the conversation of the guy string the tennis racket for the tournament player to know that the guy playing in the tournament was from Omaha, Nebraska and apparently "Ray" from Ray's Rackets knows the owner of the shop this guy purchased his tennis racket from. At least the tournament player seemed to get some good customer service. read more