Gander Mountain No smilies

[dfranks]

I was in Dick's sporting goods today and was pleasantly surprised with a young guy working the counter. He was very knowledgeable and easy to talk to about a wide range of gun issues. We started talking politics and had to stop as we were both preaching to the choir. I think they do need this at Gander MT. On the other hand, they did have a cute young girl who helped. Easy on the eyes!!!

I've always had a positive exerience at Dicks. I went in about a month ago or so and asked about some shotgun shells and the young man walked me over and showed me what they had and we talked a while about the ammo shortage etc.

 

[SigFan07]

Sounds like they are improving. I can usually stand at the gun counter for an hour without anyone saying a word to me. It's actually impressive to watch.

Happens to me to Gander Mountain too.

 

[jaybird_123]

Mike, believe whatever you wish, makes no difference to me, I'm now comfortably retired and did so at the ripe old age of 58, wife and I ran our business as I stated earlier. Not all days was I bubbly nice by any means, in fact there were days I ordered customers out of the door if in fact they were the A holes IMO, actually maybe I was the A hole, whether or not it made no difference to me. If the did not wish to place their shadow at my door step, that was more than fine with me. I have no time for jerks, customers or otherwise. Being as I retired at 58 I was only in the retail business for a short 45 years, yup I started at 13, and was sucessful at it, at any rate I live very comfortably, I did have a short break from the business world while serving in the Army stationed at the Pentagon during the 60's. Mayhap it was the peacenicks that gave me the attidude I have? I still have a problem getting spit at.

I might add, Life is good!

I`m not saying you are wrong with what you did with the jerks. My wife works where she has to put up with people all day, a lot of the time she deals with "jerks" who are unhappy with something, bad moods, yelling because they have to wait for something, like they are the only person in the world. I tell her all the time, no matter what job you have, you do not have to deal with these people. If on the phone, hang up, if in person at her window, walk away or call security, but she does not have to deal with angry and yelling people.

There is no call for store employees to be rude to customers if the customers are not being rude or pushy or whatever. Its not the next persons fault. That all i`m saying. Like I said earlier, without those customers, you dont have a job.

 

[Indy317]

Went to Gander Mountain this morning around 0930. Checking out the ammo isle when an employee came over and asked if he could help me. I answered, do you have any .22LR? He answers "nope", and walks away. Me and the person with me thought he acted pretty rude, especially after he asked if he could help.

When do they get their help from? The girls working up front are nice, , why is working in the back so differant? If they dont like their jobs, they should find another.

I went to the one in Indy Sat. night. I had many employees ask if I needed anything. You were asked, you asked a question, and got your answer. For someone who likely makes next to nothing, that sounds like good enough service in my book. I've heard of worse.

No REAL excuse but still the fact of the matter. Figuratively put yourself in this clerks shoes, ya he's probably at min. or just barely over wage,

I'm not one to eat out much, but I have co-workers who eat out constantly. Then when something goes bad, which isn't very often, I get to hear about the horror story!! I always start laughing, and get a really good laugh when it happens two or three times in a row, or multiple bad things happen at the same time. I don't get why folks expect excellent service in retail settings where the employees don't make all that much money. I always have believed in that if you want something done right, do it yourself. I've been in the gun/prepardness game for many years now. I know some folks weren't old enough, or didn't have money when cases of AK ammo could be had for $70/1000 rounds, but where were some of these folks when they were old enough and did have the ability to buy it at $150/case, and buy five or seven cases and be done with it? I remember Boston T Party's book that said anyone who wants to be prepared should consider .22LR the ammo to store and train with due to its price and being so small being easy to store. He said people should always have at least 10,000 rounds of .22LR at the ready. He was right, but many, including me, never listened, and figured a few boxes was good enough.

If this ever clears itself up, and the ammo is to the point where one doesn't need the help of a min. wage staffer to grab a box and go, everyone needs to stock up like never before and be done with it. Then when it happens again, and it will, we won't have to rely on the service of someone who gets paid next to nothing in order to get a much needed item.

Your customers are keeping you in a job. Without customers, you have no job.

And most likely don't care. We have become a nation of jobs that pay something decent, and jobs that don't pay jack. Most people working those jobs are likely stressed in terms of the money situation. Shelter prices haven't come down to where the majority of lower paid workers can find affordable, quality housing. In addition, everyone thinks good working people should be married and have kids, yet being married and maybe having a combined income of $60K/year, if one is lucky, makes affording even one child a costly burden. So people do what they are told, work hard, stay at the same low paying jobs, get married to someone who has done the same, has some kids, tries to get the American dream that every elected "leader" and media outlet tells them they need to do, and then the bills pill up, second part-time jobs are obtained, time is spent away from family just trying to make it even when the person isn't really even living it large.

I just don't think the people care, I don't think the companies care, because in the end, government is always there to bail someone out anyway. Life on min. wage really can't be all that much better than life on welfare if you ask me. The only difference is the person who can only get min. wage or maybe $10/hour, can't ever obtain the American dream and can't ever afford children without outside financial assistance.

Given all the negatives I read about GM customer service, the four or five employees that I had interactions were with all great.


I've worked retail, both as a part-time job and full-time. The PT job was a high school, early college job at an office supply store. The entire time, my parents were pretty much supporting me for the most part. They were paying for my college, my car, my insurance, still lived under their roof, etc.. I was paying for my food and the one or two times a week I would go out with friends. I was always nice, never felt streesed at work, even though there were some horrible customers, who even our manager would tell them they can be customers or they can't. We ran the print shop, and for some people, they wanted their copies and documents to be 1000%, with nothing wrong, at all, even when they provided sub-par originals.

When I worked at the bank, I was out on my own. Even at $10/hour in the early 2000s, I felt like I would never amount to anything for the most part. I even had an eight hour/week side job paying around $14/hour. I knew that with that wage, I would really never be able to afford any kind of "American Dream" my folks did. They weren't rich, but they were able to buy a $70K all stone, 2,000 sq. ft. home on a 1/2 acre in the burbs. That home costs $150K during my time at the $10/hour job. Affording children and having a middle class lifestyle? Forget about it, not unless I was married and my wife made at least $20/hour. Get a better paying job, maybe I could have, but with my degree, unlikely.

I've come to realize it is very easy to believe everyone is responsible for 100% of everything that happens in their life. I thought that growing up, and made the right decisions. I later found out that just because one has a college degree doesn't mean jack, and can actually hurt you with trying to find jobs. You are told growing up it is wrong to lie, but you put having a degree down on some applications, you don't get hired because you are "too educated" and they fear that once you get established, you will leave for more money.

I fully believe that if retail sales jobs paid $15/hour, service would be much, much better.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Its clearly obvious you have never worked retail or if you have not for any length of time.

You have NEVER had a bad day at work and are always super pleasant to your co-workers? Never ever get upset in traffic? Careful how you answer that.

Are you having a bad day as well? Why call out someone for relating a good experience at Gander?

 

[Darral27]

No, I just think, maybe like you, that he was just a very rude person.

Didn't think there was any need to use purple. Seeing as how we have never met I thought joking was implied. Judging from several of your reactions to people in this thread I am wondering if maybe you were the issue.

 

[jcwit]

Like I said earlier, without those customers, you dont have a job.

99.9% on the customers my wife & I dealt with were tourists, 90% were easy to get along with and were a pleasant to do business with, the 10% who weren't were the BIG problem and even worse in the heat of the summer, and got treated as such.

Being a tourist related business there was always a steady flow of new customers and no worries of a lack of customers, at least in the 20 years till we retired.

I do think Indy317 has hit on a few key points tho.

 

[jcwit]

Are you having a bad day as well? Why call out someone for relating a good experience at Gander?

Sorry, read it wrong or got it confused with another post, happens at my age, such is as it is, whatever it is?

 

[sig40]

I have had nothing but bad experiences at Gander Mountain. The service is slow if you even get any service.

 

[Hoosier45]

I was at Gander in Lafayette a couple of weeks ago. A guy was handling a Ruger 22/45 and asked the girl behind the counter "what does the 45 mean? Can I shoot 45's out of it, too?" She said "yes, I think so."

I stepped in and explained it to him. He thanked me. The girl gave me a dirty look.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I was at Gander in Lafayette a couple of weeks ago. A guy was handling a Ruger 22/45 and asked the girl behind the counter "what does the 45 mean? Can I shoot 45's out of it, too?" She said "yes, I think so."

I stepped in and explained it to him. He thanked me. The girl gave me a dirty look.

I think she meant that's what'd cost to buy the box of .22's to shoot out of it.

 

[Hoosier45]

I think she meant that's what'd cost to buy the box of .22's to shoot out of it.

You've got a point. From prices I've seen lately it'd be a 22/70. I never thought my 45/70 would become my plinking gun due to ammo prices.

 

[jaybird_123]

Didn't think there was any need to use purple. Seeing as how we have never met I thought joking was implied. Judging from several of your reactions to people in this thread I am wondering if maybe you were the issue.

Sorry, I didnt realize you were joking. I thought you were attacking me. All I`m saying is I thought his answer of "nope", then just turning and walking away, was a little curt and rude. I have dealt with people in my, used to be, line of work also, the only time I was rude to someone was if they were rude to me.