Avanta Boot Labs Slam Karen Chen For Boot Problems

@Debbie S SP Teri and Harlick both do wider boots in customs. I know SP Teri does split width, and I'm pretty suck Harlick does as well. In fact, when I was shopping around for my first pair of skates I was told to go to Harlick because SP Teri ran too narrow! I was surprised when I heard the opposite a couple years later.
 
Willin said:
@Debbie S SP Teri and Harlick both do wider boots in customs. I know SP Teri does split width, and I'm pretty suck Harlick does as well. In fact, when I was shopping around for my first pair of skates I was told to go to Harlick because SP Teri ran too narrow! I was surprised when I heard the opposite a couple years later.
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I wore SP Teri specifically because they fit my wide feet much better than other brands I’d tried (Riedell, GAM, Risport). Interesting how we all hear different things about boots :lol:

Boots can be a fickle things, especially when the skater’s foot has underlying issues. That said, I’ve found Karen’s continued talk about boot problems to be somewhat cringeworthy. But in no way was Avanta justified in their conduct. Absolutely inappropriate and shocking that this post has not been deleted yet.
 
This thread is pure gold.

Seems to me that Karen Chen makes a lot of excuses for her poor competitions.

As for Avanta, I wonder if they had a non-disparagement agreement in their contract with her. They obviously think she’s disparaging the company with her negative posts about her boot problems.

Weird situation all around.
 
@honey Yeah, I ultimately settled on SP Teri. They've been great at creating custom boots that suit my needs. I've also had really good luck with getting skates cheaper than quoted from them.

As for this situation, I have a similar opinion. Karen's talk about boot problems rubs me the wrong way because it always seems like an excuse, but Avanta wayyyy overreacted - especially because she didn't namecheck them or blame them for her problems.
 
Rafter said:
Seems to me that Karen Chen makes a lot of excuses for her poor competitions.
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Chen has stated repeatedly that while she was having boot issues, she should have been able to deal with them and skate better than she did. I really don't see a reason to trash her for not being able to skate her best; I'm sure she feels bad enough about it without Avanta's ugly post.
 
soogar said:
I really don't understand how boot manufacturers haven't solved that problem of narrow heel and broad forefoot for stock boots. Only SP Teri seemed to address this - i see Harlick now has this as well. I have the same issue and the heat moldable boots never solve the problem of the heel moving around inside the skate.
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When I skated I needed full custom boots because I had a BIG difference in width from ball to heel - stock boots, even with a split width, could only accommodate a minor difference. My foot was an A or AA at the ball and AAAA at the heel. No stock boot anywhere worked for that.

And, custom boots aren't always perfect either. My first pair of Klingbeils were perfect. The second pair... not so much. They were defective when received (one whole boot was not attached to the sole properly, it was crooked. Had to be returned to them TWICE before they agreed that it was a problem.
 
Well, this is the first time I've ever even heard of Avanta Boots. The links I have for Skating Boots are Figure Skates by Jackson, John Wilson Skates and Riedell Skates: Ice Skate Boots & Blades:

The Skating Directory

I think I'm going to leave it just the way it is. My deal is how can you miss it if you've never heard of them before. However, I've heard of Harlick Skates, SP-Teri and Risport Skates. I'll keep them in mind because I'm always having to add new sites, etc. whenever another site doesn't exist because the link will be broken then.
 
Rafter said:
At the time, people involved in skating thought the boot problems were in his head. I wonder if it’s the same situation for Chen.
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Fascinating. I hadn't heard that, so thank you :) Back in my day, I had a pair of SK, Rose and Wiblee (spelling ?) skates. The SKs were my favourites and had the best fit for me. I have zero knowledge of today's boot issues and so am unable to contribute (thank goodness......giggle)
 
flyingsit said:
When I skated I needed full custom boots because I had a BIG difference in width from ball to heel - stock boots, even with a split width, could only accommodate a minor difference. My foot was an A or AA at the ball and AAAA at the heel. No stock boot anywhere worked for that.

And, custom boots aren't always perfect either. My first pair of Klingbeils were perfect. The second pair... not so much. They were defective when received (one whole boot was not attached to the sole properly, it was crooked. Had to be returned to them TWICE before they agreed that it was a problem.
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This is the same reason I ended up in customs. I heart my Harlicks.

The fact of the matter is even if Karen had come and and said "AVANTA SUCKS MY BOOTS ARE AWFUL," this isn't the way you respond. It's not that hard to say "We're sorry Karen Chen had issues with her boots. We were unaware of the problem, and it appears she chose to go to a third party to adjust them. Unfortunately due to our unique manufacturing, this can be detrimental to the boot. We've been happy to help Karen when no other boot could, and we stand by the quality of our product." THE END.

No you cannot use that now Avanta. Copyright Rukia, FSU, 2018.
 
Rukia said:
This is the same reason I ended up in customs. I heart my Harlicks.

The fact of the matter is even if Karen had come and and said "AVANTA SUCKS MY BOOTS ARE AWFUL," this isn't the way you respond. It's not that hard to say "We're sorry Karen Chen had issues with her boots. We were unaware of the problem, and it appears she chose to go to a third party to adjust them. Unfortunately due to our unique manufacturing, this can be detrimental to the boot. We've been happy to help Karen when no other boot could, and we stand by the quality of our product." THE END.

No you cannot use that now Avanta. Copyright Rukia, FSU, 2018.
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You're absolutely correct. That's how it should have been handled by Avanta. In a professional way, not in a childish inappropriate way that they went about it.

They certainly can't use that now. It's a little too late to try to sweep that under the carpet. :violin:
 
Rafter said:
At the time, people involved in skating thought the boot problems were in his head. I wonder if it’s the same situation for Chen.
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People don’t like when someone keeps complaining about something over longer period of time. So they get fed up and stop believing that it is a real issue. They stop taking it seriously. My coach thought my complaining about my hip is in my head. It took a year to be diagnosed, I have seen four different specialists, had various scans and by the time the last one diagnosed that I had labral tear, I already had not one but four injuries in the hip/groin/bottom area, including partially torn ilipsoas and partial tear of one of the gluteus muscles (the body compensated for the labral tear by putting extra strain on other parts of the body). So the fact that the skater keeps complaining over the whole season doesn’t mean that the issue is not real! It just mean that the specialists didn’t figure out what it is and did not fix it. But don’t blame the skater for that.
 
After being a skating fan for like 20 years, I learned that just because something is annoying or sounds ridiculous doesn't mean a skater does not have a seriously legitimate issue that can plague them for an extended period of time. I do wish Karen would just stop talking about the boots, not because I don't believe her, but because I knew exactly what the snarky reaction would be. That's more selfish on my part because I doubt Karen cares what some skating fans say about her on message boards, tumblr, twitter, Instagram, but I have to see it.
 
overedge said:
It's still there, and the time stamp on the IG post is now "2 days".
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And I have a feeling it's going to stay there.

This whole thing just blows my mind. I've just about never seen a business more effectively commit customer service suicide with a temper tantrum like this. There's just no excuse for what they did and said; none whatsoever.
 
As I said earlier, regardless of the company's response, her issues are because she has unstable jump technique. No boot is going to fix that. Maybe mitigate it, but until she stops wasting time and actually does something about improving the technique she will continue to have poor performances. And it's a shame because she has everything else and should consistently be in the top groups...
 
Willin said:
@Debbie S SP Teri and Harlick both do wider boots in customs. I know SP Teri does split width, and I'm pretty suck Harlick does as well. In fact, when I was shopping around for my first pair of skates I was told to go to Harlick because SP Teri ran too narrow! I was surprised when I heard the opposite a couple years later.
Click to expand...
Hilariously, when I bought my skates (back in...2001? OMG...) I was under the impression that SP Teris were better for wide feet, which I have. And Harlicks were more for narrow feet. :lol:

I have wide forefeet and narrow heels too. I literally walk out of high heel pumps - if I wear anything with a heel, it has to have a heel strap or it has to be a boot, or else it won't stay on when I start walking.

I bought split width stock SP Teris and they've worked great. They still fit and I've been away from skating for like, 10 years. :rofl: Not that I've put them through a lot, but hey! Still fit!
 
This was Sean Rabbit's comment on the post (I assume before it got deleted):

"Coming from one adult to another, it’s a pretty low thing to negatively go after someone for sharing their experience as to what’s happening with their equipment during an event, especially the Olympics, but it’s even lower that you, the representative of your company decides to take to social media to attack her, who by the way is a mere teenager! Seriously a child is what’s provoking you?! Secondly you’re only making your business worse and hurting the company by making this post, what nerve and audacity! Lastly, business must really suck if you have enough time on your hands to take the time to harass someone on social media. Grow a pair and take the high road buddy"

I don't think she is a child... but still, like a boss, Sean.
 
Avanta Boot Labs has terminated their sponsorship with Karen via instagram:

avantabootlabs March 7, 2018 Avanta stands by its decision to end our sponsorship with Karen Chen. This decision was based on the expectation that the behavior of an Olympian is beyond reproach. Unfortunately, to avoid scrutiny by continued unbecoming behavior, we felt it necessary to exercise our right to discontinue this relationship. We wish Karen and her family the best and hope that we all may revisit our partnership when these private issues are resolved. For further clarification, please contact USFSA.
Sincerely,

Avanta Boot Labs
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I don't skate and had never heard of Avanta until the past few days but I will never recommend them to anyone. Avanta is the one continuing unbecoming behavior by slamming Karen again in the press release.
 
It's not perfect (Ie. the bolded parts), but it's much better than what they'd previously posted.

I'm interested to see what they told USFSA and why they think USFSA will clarify the issue in their stead? Personally, I'm thinking that USFSA would be more on Chen's side of the issue since she's never gone on an unprofessional rant like that. I mean, can't Avanta be banned by USFSA for the comments they made?
 
katmari said:
Avanta Boot Labs has terminated their sponsorship with Karen via instagram:



I don't skate and had never heard of Avanta until the past few days but I will never recommend them to anyone. Avanta is the one continuing unbecoming behavior by slamming Karen again in the press release.
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I think they could have just said something like they are terminating the sponsorship because Karen had a third party work on her boots which voided their agreement. It's so petty and passive aggressive to say "unbecoming behavior", although that's not as bad as saying she disgraces the meaning of an Olympian.
 
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