Post by: gilroym on September 02, 2015, 05:32:22 AM
I dropped his bow off on Sunday about 30 min after the store opened around 10:30 am and they stay open till 6 pm the guy in the Archery dept. call him Bob I'm not sure what his name is told me that he is busy and asked if I could leave the bow and come back. I told him no problem but asked when it will be done. Bob said he will try to get it done but it might be Monday. Understandable he is the only one and its a week before archery. He told me there were only 4 bows in front of mine so I didn't mind waiting, but I then give him a call an hour before closing just in case he had it done no dice he said Monday.
Now Monday has rolled around and its 1 pm in the afternoon and I give Bob a call and he said he is slammed and wont be able to get it done till Tuesday. Now I'm upset 2 days to get a set of strings attached a 30 min job. I called Sportco to see what their waiting list is and they can do it as soon as it gets there. So I call back and talk to the hunting dept supervisor and he just makes excuses about them being slammed as well but offers a $10 gift card. I don't care about the gift card just want the bow done and if there were only 4 bows ahead of me then it shouldn't take 2 days. I told the supervisor that it was poor planning to only have 1 guy in archery the week before the season starts and that ill take my business else were and he was ok with that.
I get to the store to pick the bow up and Bob try's to apologize about the wait while he is working on a customers bow who just walked in to the store. I asked him who takes priority he said the folks who are buying new equipment take precedence. Even though I bought arrows from them and was waiting for the strings to get put on before they get cut, to him that wasn't enough. So I pulled the bow and went to Sportco and they completed my bow in 30 min. and didn't even charge me for the service. That should have been the end of it but I still needed the arrows cut and Sportsman's was running a sale on Gold Tips they were about $20 cheaper then Sportco and I had already paid for them.
now its Tuesday I go back to Sportsman's a to get the arrows cut and now Rod is there. Rod cuts the arrows no hassle and he is really nice. He has seemed to catch the dept up for the week I ask him if he has time to tune the bow and he does it on the spot and gives me some advise about a local guy that makes strings and at the end of our conversation I tell him thank you and he replied back no I own you a thanks for continuing on the archery tradition and getting your nephew out into the woods.
I was all but done with Sportsman's since I purchase all of my outdoor equipment and guns from this store and as a long time customer I was pissed that they treat their first time customers with a priority over their loyalty customers. Rod's attitude and customer service has changed my thoughts I will be calling the store manager today to make sure that he was aware of how some of his employees treat customers and who really deserves credit for keeping customer coming back.
Post by: CoyoteChuck52 on September 02, 2015, 06:08:37 AM
Post by: C-Money on September 02, 2015, 06:18:48 AM
Post by: Smossy on September 02, 2015, 07:46:51 AM
This year being a kind of unfortunate year for the archery department being as good ol Larry retired a few months ago. That being done, The guy Rod trained at the puyallup store, went to the fed way store to fill his position. Also with no one wanting to work during archery season, Its a hard spot to fill but Rods committed. He's done a good majority of work on all my bows and continues to always tell me about all the new things coming out before they're in store.
The guy Im assuming your talking about that does that strings would be Wade Smith who owns Brite Strings, His shop is based in house right in spanaway.
Another great guy, had my girls bow redone there and they turned out amazing, same day he had it all timed and tuned perfectly.
Your attitude on the situation is perfectly just being as Ive had the same type of situations and Im a pretty steady customer which just about everyone there know's who I am.
I actually found hunt wa 4 years ago or so from a conversation me and a gentlemen in the knife/bino department had, he is also now a manager at the fed way store, I cannot remember his name though. Another good fella.
Ill always be commited to Sportsmans Warehouse, The customer service from Rod alone outweighs any other store Ive ever been to..
Cabelas... Don't get me started, I rarely ever step foot in that store anymore. :tdown: Idiots and poor customer service.
Post by: gilroym on September 02, 2015, 09:01:13 AM
You are correct he referred me to Brite strings. Not sure if ill give them a try since their cost of strings is twice what I pay now for same material but it was nice that he offered it up. and it was the older guy with glasses.
Post by: 520backyard on September 02, 2015, 10:59:36 AM
Post by: Jonathan_S on September 02, 2015, 11:18:39 AM
I would submit you should have been doing this in May, or June. Maybe July. I understand the kid is growing but he's been shooting all summer right? His draw length couldn't have changed more than an inch or maybe a little more?
Sorry guys :sry: sounds like bad planning to me. Although I do agree it should have been stringed sooner.
Post by: gilroym on September 02, 2015, 11:50:58 AM
Maybe I'm wrong but I really don't expect awesome customer service from the big stores. I treat them as places to buy things and maybe once in a while get lucky and learn something or get advice.
I would submit you should have been doing this in May, or June. Maybe July. I understand the kid is growing but he's been shooting all summer right? His draw length couldn't have changed more than an inch or maybe a little more?
Sorry guys :sry: sounds like bad planning to me. Although I do agree it should have been stringed sooner.
If he was my kid he would shoot all the time but since his parents don't hunt and live in a development his shooting practice is limited. He does practice on occasion when he comes over, but getting the bow upgraded isn't on their to do list so it became a task for me to accomplish.
I also sent this story modified to the store manager not so much to complain about the employees that didn't help but to show my appreciation for the great customer service from Rod and I also mentioned the girls that work in the customer service area since they are really helpful and don't get thanked enough.
Post by: 520backyard on September 02, 2015, 12:44:56 PM
Maybe I'm wrong but I really don't expect awesome customer service from the big stores. I treat them as places to buy things and maybe once in a while get lucky and learn something or get advice.So I guess customer service at a place that offers customer service and has a archery shop isn't to be expected? Let face it it was bad planning on their part not to staff their archery shop the month prior to hunting season. I don't use them or any store or shop to do anything on my bow but cutting carbon arrows is something I had a need to get done and virtually every archery shop does it. It's a bad business model all the way around on their part and incidentally it wasn't the Puyallup store I went to but the Federal way one. no biggie really like I said my business goes elsewhere. But hey they had a ton of guys that could spool your reel on hand. :chuckle:
I would submit you should have been doing this in May, or June. Maybe July. I understand the kid is growing but he's been shooting all summer right? His draw length couldn't have changed more than an inch or maybe a little more?
Sorry guys :sry: sounds like bad planning to me. Although I do agree it should have been stringed sooner.
Post by: lamrith on September 02, 2015, 03:24:53 PM
Starting out I have my bow done and I'm ready for the season but my nephew not so much this kid grew more then a foot this year and needed his bow setup for a much large draw. I was able to get the new cams on the bow but didn't have the time to get the strings put on and get the bow timed. This is where Sportsman's came in normally I have never had an issue with them before.I mirror Smossy's view on Sportsmans. Rod is the archery Manager there at Puyallup, he is a great guy. He has always gone out of his way to help out as did Jaris (Who is now the Archery Mgr @ FedWay Sportsmans). I highly recommed seeking out either of them when you need service. I do not know any of the other staff, I only ever deal with those two.
I dropped his bow off on Sunday about 30 min after the store opened around 10:30 am and they stay open till 6 pm the guy in the Archery dept. call him Bob I'm not sure what his name is told me that he is busy and asked if I could leave the bow and come back. I told him no problem but asked when it will be done. Bob said he will try to get it done but it might be Monday. Understandable he is the only one and its a week before archery. He told me there were only 4 bows in front of mine so I didn't mind waiting, but I then give him a call an hour before closing just in case he had it done no dice he said Monday.
Now Monday has rolled around and its 1 pm in the afternoon and I give Bob a call and he said he is slammed and wont be able to get it done till Tuesday. Now I'm upset 2 days to get a set of strings attached a 30 min job. I called Sportco to see what their waiting list is and they can do it as soon as it gets there. So I call back and talk to the hunting dept supervisor and he just makes excuses about them being slammed as well but offers a $10 gift card. I don't care about the gift card just want the bow done and if there were only 4 bows ahead of me then it shouldn't take 2 days. I told the supervisor that it was poor planning to only have 1 guy in archery the week before the season starts and that ill take my business else were and he was ok with that.
I get to the store to pick the bow up and Bob try's to apologize about the wait while he is working on a customers bow who just walked in to the store. I asked him who takes priority he said the folks who are buying new equipment take precedence. Even though I bought arrows from them and was waiting for the strings to get put on before they get cut, to him that wasn't enough. So I pulled the bow and went to Sportco and they completed my bow in 30 min. and didn't even charge me for the service. That should have been the end of it but I still needed the arrows cut and Sportsman's was running a sale on Gold Tips they were about $20 cheaper then Sportco and I had already paid for them.
now its Tuesday I go back to Sportsman's a to get the arrows cut and now Rod is there. Rod cuts the arrows no hassle and he is really nice. He has seemed to catch the dept up for the week I ask him if he has time to tune the bow and he does it on the spot and gives me some advise about a local guy that makes strings and at the end of our conversation I tell him thank you and he replied back no I own you a thanks for continuing on the archery tradition and getting your nephew out into the woods.
I was all but done with Sportsman's since I purchase all of my outdoor equipment and guns from this store and as a long time customer I was pissed that they treat their first time customers with a priority over their loyalty customers. Rod's attitude and customer service has changed my thoughts I will be calling the store manager today to make sure that he was aware of how some of his employees treat customers and who really deserves credit for keeping customer coming back.
I have had less than positive experience with Sportco Archery shop. Service seemed slow, and the staff was pretty opinionated about things, less discussion, more lecture sort of conversation... They also did warranty work on my bow and did not set the rest/Dloop correctly and I ended up having sportsmans fix it.
When I 1st got into archery 2 yrs ago Jaris@ sportsmans was great with getting me going, sharing tips etc, he setup my bow that I bought elsewhere while I waited and even had me taking shots in back and got my sight roughed in so I could safely shoot at home to dial it in.. Relaxed and very willing to share info and help make an informed decision.
That said it is about the worst possible week to try and get bow work done. They have limited staff so what are they supposed to do say nobody is allowed to have a day off or take vacation? They are sportsmen too out scouting and hunting.. Heck I know a certain very popular, highly rated shop on these boards that closes completely come elk season... Long and short of it, this sux don't get me wrong, but expecting 1-2day service from a shop the week before season I think is asking a bit much.
OP - I am very glad you went back and Rod took care of you, as mentioned he works hard to make sure customers have a good experience.
Post by: hughjorgan on September 02, 2015, 03:48:06 PM
Post by: Jellymon on September 02, 2015, 04:04:56 PM
Post by: SI Eagle on September 03, 2015, 10:07:09 AM
Post by: MADMAX on September 03, 2015, 10:35:42 AM
and it came with a warranty and lifetime tune/maintenance and a 50 gift certificate
out the door fully loaded diamond with arrows 400 bucks tuned and shooting broadheads to 40yds within 3 days after purchase
just sayin
Post by: rtspring on September 03, 2015, 10:40:09 AM
He does great work!!
Post by: Becky on September 03, 2015, 10:53:31 PM
You are correct he referred me to Brite strings. Not sure if ill give them a try since their cost of strings is twice what I pay now for same material but it was nice that he offered it up. and it was the older guy with glasses.
I urge you to give Brite Strings a call... support a local business owned by a veteran (one man show). Wade is awesome, he works out of his garage in Spanaway and knows what he's doing! Seeing him in his shop (garage) was enough for me to want to help support his business.
As for Sportsman's.. I can't stress enough how much I love Rod. He is such a nice guy who goes so far above and beyond his scope of work to help others. We literally call Sportsman's and see if Rod is working before we go in, I would suggest you to do the same from now on.
Post by: DIYARCHERYJUNKIE on September 06, 2015, 11:04:41 AM
Post by: bullcanyon on September 07, 2015, 11:58:02 AM