September 3rd, 2009
Here is an outdoor related post, just to balance out the last one…
Recently, a friend and I went to Gander Mountain in Charleston, WV, to get some stuff for the upcoming bow season. Unfortunately, when we got there, we could not get anyone to help us! We spent a lot of time in the archery department, and then spent more time at the gun counter. In more than 30 minutes, we didn’t have a single associate come around the departments we were in to offer us assistance. I decided today that I would send an email to complain, as I figure nothing will change if no one ever complains about such bad service! Here is the email I sent to them:
I just filled out the customer survey, but thought I would go this route as well, just to make sure this gets to someone who may be concerned about it.
Recently, I shopped at the Gander Mountain in Charleston, WV, and was extremely disappointed in the customer service available. We were in the Archery department for 15 to 20 minutes, and never saw an associate. We went over to the gun department, and stood at the counter for another 15 minutes, and only saw a couple of associates behind the gunsmithing area. One associate was on the phone, but looked up and saw us waiting for them at the counter. He finished on the phone, hung up, and then disappeared behind the wall. Neither associate came out to assist us. After this, we decided to leave (since we could not get any help). Walking out, we passed a couple of associates, who did not even acknowledge us, or ask if we could use some help. I should not have to go hunting associates in the store to get help with merchandise!
Just so you know, we decided to go across town to Dick’s Sporting Goods, where we spent over $200 that day, and where we went back and spent about $100 a week later. When I go back out to purchase the rest of my equipment for this year, I will most likely be going to your competitor because of the bad service in your store. It would be nice to see people who are excited about hunting and fishing in your store, and who are excited about helping the rest of us outfit ourselves for the great outdoors!
Kris Brewer
http://www.jakesoutdoors.com
I wish these specialty stores would be diligent to hire people who are going to be helpful. I don’t go to the store to walk around aimlessly. I want someone available so that they can help if I need it. By the way, I was going to be asking about a special order gun stock, or barrel to outfit a gun for my son. There’s no guarantee that I would order one, but because I got no help, they certainly are not going to get my order.
So, do you all have Gander Mountain in your areas? If so, is the service better than what we experienced?
I have used Gander Mountain as affiliate advertising on this site in times past, but I will not be doing so any more, unless they are able to make amends for their poor service!
EDIT: I got a very fast response (less than 30 minutes) from Gander Mountain. Here is what I got:
Hello, Thank you for your email, I do sincerely apologize for the bad experience you had in our store. Our goal is to fully satisfy every customer in our stores. I assure you that this is something that we do not want to ever happen again, I will forward this to the store and district manager so this problem can be addressed. Hopefully you can forgive us for this occurrence because you are the most important part of Gander Mountain. Thank you very much and have a great day!
Sincerely,
Daniel M.
Gander Direct
1-888-5GANDER
Visit us at gandermountain.com
I am happy to get this response, and will await further response from the local store. I’ll keep you posted!
Popularity: 23% [?]