Terrible customer service

[metalhed]

Greetings RANT ON
Went to Dicks Sporting Goods today, in Lakewood Colo, and received some of the worst customer service ever.
Went to look at purchasing a box of 7mm bullets.

A little history, this store never has anyone around in the gun area. The bullets are behind the counter, right on the end of the gun area.

I stepped about 2 feet into the bullet area and I hear from across the way, Sir- Sir and it is the Gun Guy waving at me like I am a run away dog or a little child.
This made me mad, so I stated loudly, Maybe if there was someone in this area, I might have been helped. And I left the area and went looking for the Manager.

Go to the front of the store and ask the helper slackers if I could talk to the manager. They offered to help. I told them that I would never spend another cent in this store due to the treatment I received upstairs, and a few other things. They dismissed me like I was an old crank or a punk. I got madder and left. Well my son, who was with me, and standing apart from me, walked out and told me that they had mocked me as I left the building.

I should have gone back in and demanded their job from the manager. But I went home and called the store. 5+ minute wait on hold, only made me madder. Store Manager gets on and I tell him my story. Told him I would appreciate an apology from the employees who mocked me. Manager was shocked and offered up his apologies and said he would talk to the employees I had described to him. He took my name and address, for what I don’t know, unless he is going to send me the apology I asked for.

I am going to call the corporate HQ tomorrow and ask for a follow up with the store manager. I just cant believe that customer service is dead, I had heard rumors but it has been confirmed.

[David Lowry]

I would think you would just ask one of the people around to please come help you at the gun area. Seems easy to me.

[Doc Pyres]

Wow, that is terrible. Nothing is more disrespectful than a rude attitude from someone we entrust to provide courteous customer service. But alas, it is all too common in my experience. I'm glad you complained. Never let the bast*rds put you down!

[The Deacon]

So, let's see. You went to a store where you knew from experience it might take some time to get waited on. You grew impatient waiting for service, so you went behind the counter yourself. You grew annoyed when a salesperson spotted you in an area where you had no business being and attempted to get your attention. You reacted rudely. You became more upset when the store manager was not instantly available to be berated by you and further upset that the empolyees who were there were unsympathetic to your "plight".

Sorry guy, but it this day and age of lunatics running amok with guns, I'd say someone who hops over the gun counter iin a store s damn lucky they did not end up in a cell.

[Doc Pyres]

Maybe I read the original post wrong. From how you paint it Paul, it sounds like the poster actually entered a restricted area. If that's the case, I can see why a store employee would get worried and try to intervene. I still don't think employees should ever mock their customers though. But when tempers get raised on both sides, things can get turned around quickly. A cool head and an open mind are the best approach every time.

[CombatGrappler]

Once someone starts raising their voice and demanding to speak to the manager, they usually get relegated to the "jack@$$" category in retail employee's minds. Especially when the customer is acting out in front of their own child. A cool head and some calm words would have gone a long way toward getting the OP some help.

[Spydiman]

You should see me (a teenage hispanic male) in front of the gun counter. I always get lots of help. :D :p

[AH2525]

Not to be too hard about someone's 1st post, but.....I know in my experience (I supervise a team of State Investigators) when I get complaints about my people, I usually listen a lot quicker to the folks that are calm and present their complaints in a reasonable manner. However, I also know that bad CS can push anybody over the edge. Maybe someone here on the forum would know of a better local gunshop, the big box stores usually are less than ideal.

[motorep]

The same thing happened to me in Sports Authority in Littleton. I went in looking for a specific piece of exercise equipment, it was on the floor to my left as I walked in. There were two employees stacking weights on the other side of the exercise equipment area. They looked over at me, then left. I hung out there for 10 minutes, then walked around the store. When I went back to the same area, same piece of equipment, and got the same "if we ignore him we won't have to talk to him" attitude, I went and found the first employee that I could, and said politely "I'd like to see the store manager". Everyone started buzzing around. I was waiting by one of the registers. I was told that the manager was in a meeting but his assistant came to see me. He apologized, showed me the equipment I wanted, upsold me, and helped carry it to my car. As I was paying, the cashier handed me the managers card with his email address and thanked me for being upset about my experience.
I'm a sales rep. This kind of thing just ticks me off when I see it. The hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars invested in the store, inventory, training, etc, etc, are for one thing only- to sell something. The peak of all the effort is reached when a customer walks in the door, and he gets ignored?! <major rant mode off> I emailed the store manger with these thoughts. He agreed, and in his defense, said it was a new crew. I continue to shop there and have had nothing but good service since.