Excellent Experiance @ WSS Calgary Gun Counter (Thanks Terance!)
 

I made my way down to WSS nice and early this morning: for my first trip to their gun counter. I've heard so many complaints about the gun counter there (from forum members and my father), that I was more than a little apprehensive about what I was going to encounter. I knew, however, that no where else in town could help me with what I was looking for as I'd already phoned around.

As I knew it was going to be a lengthy visit---I was planning on purchasing my first pistol, and I was not firmly decided on what model of Buck Mark I wanted---I was there just before the store actually opened. I wanted to beat the rush, and make sure that my indecision didn't hold up anyone who knew what s/he wanted from making a quick purchase.

When the store opened and I made my way to the gun counter I was quickly and warmly greeted by Terance (smaller red-haired gent). He showed me the Buck Marks they had in stock: two models, both of which I was interested in based on the reading I had done. I strongly prefered the appearance of one of them, however, and as that isn't the most imporant thing to base a purchase on, Terance worked with me to help me critically assess which was the better choice for me. He listened to my impressions of feel and fit, and he gave his impressions. As I felt quite strongly that the pistol I liked the look of better also fit my hand better, he examined the guns quite closely to determine what physical differances between them would account for the differances in fit and feel. There were differances, so it wasn't all in my head. He peppered our exchange with tips on marksmanship, and other bits and pieces of useful information (and a little bit of general BSing, which is always welcome).

The whole process from the time I walked in to when I walked away from the till took around an hour (and I am thankful that no one appeared to be held up from making their own purchases while Terance worked with me, the counter was pretty quiet and the volume was easily managed by the other staff). The service he gave me was easily on par with---and maybe even exceeded---the service I recieve at the Fishin' Hole . . . which I honestly didn't think was possible for any other retail establishment. I can honestly say that WSS will be my first stop for firearms and related items in the future.

While she won't be home until this coming week, here's my new pistol:
http://www.browning.com/products/cat...51&type_id=429

chicks with guns!:sHa_shakeshout: nice looking piece

Either you got lucky or there is something to be said to being there before they open and catching them before they go stupid....

I am glad that you received good service, I actually canceled an order from WSS yesterday. The order was placed over a month ago, two weeks later, they called and told me that they didn't have one item in stock. I told them to ship what they had, then yesterday, with the possibility of a postal strike coming, I called to see if the order had been shipped. I was told that it hadn't been shipped, but now another item was out of stock. I told them to cancel the order, then sent an e-mail to the customer service department, explaining the situation. I received an e-mail later that day apologizing for the poor service, and telling me that more stock was on the way, and asking me to give them another chance. If they had bothered to respond as quickly when there were issues with the order, I might still consider placing future orders with them, but this was the third time that this type of thing had happened to my orders.

Almost the identical story with me that EH11 made.

They keep blaming the inventory system.

Any inventory control system that is down for over seven months would have some pretty high managment sent out the door.

But this is the CO-OP and I better not say anything bad about it.

Cabalas US overhauled their inventory system last October. They were up and going 4 days and had 90 percent of customer ordering problems resolved within 10 days, which met management's goal.

Cool, WFC?

just out of curisoty what did you pay for the gun?

I didn't buy is 'cause it's pretty.

Either that, or maybe he thought I was cute. ;)

(I was looking particularly old and tired yesterday, probably wasn't that)

I think it was a combination of things: a gentleman who really did want to help, and my being there at a time that facilitated good service. He mentioned that weekday evenings are typically the least busy times at the gun counter.

Your stories are part of the reason why, when I ordered the rings for my Quad, I ordered them from two companies at the same time. I just hoped they show up eventually from somewhere. The ones from WSS got here first.

I don't think there is anything the customer can do to help ensure a smoother website transaction, except maybe calling to confirm inventory before hand? But, if they're blaming the system, that might not do a whole lot of good.

Hmm. I can think of two things that "WFC" could mean, and both of them would result in a venomous retort from me. I like you, so I'll refrain until you clarify. :innocent:

$449.95+$22.50(GST) for a total of $472.45.

It only has one mag (they apparently used to come with two), and the case is not suitable for transporting it in.

it is sutiable if you get a padlock for the handle

Anytime I get Terance he has been extremely helpful. Good on you Dark Aisling for mentioning it.

I had pre-ordered a gun in march that was already incoming from wholesale, still waiting.... (and bought it from someone else). I had also purchased a spotting scope that needed to be brought in. I spoke to Tim at the optics counter and he was great. We set up the scopes I was interested in at the front door so I could make a true comparison. (Evening with lower light) I made a decision and wanted the scope in angled configuration. They didn't have it in stock and I left my info with him. He called me next day and got me a price and delivery and made sure that if I wanted to go ahead that it would be expedite shipped and wouldn't take long to get. I went in and put a deposit a couple days later and he called me to pick up the scope 10 days later. Tim was helpful and knowledgeable. I also had Dom at the the hunting counter bring in a gun case from another location. He called me and made sure it was set aside, I went in yesterday morning and it was ready to go. I know wholesale has not been what they used to be, but they do have some people that really like what they do and are helpful!

I'd store it in the safe in the case that comes with it (with a padlock for the handle), but I'm not so sure about the case for other purposes. I have the impression that my toddler could get into the included case with a pair of scissors. I think if I spend a little more money I can purchase something that I'll have a lot more confidence in. :)

That's great that you had a good experience with WSS and posted it for us DarkAisling. WSS is a place that has a long standing and well earned reputation for poor customer service, so someone having a positive experience to share helps us take our own experiences for face value.

I will say this about WSS, the other departments there have made huge gains in their customer service. The typical experience for me in the shoes, fishing, and archery departments was the staff did everything they could to avoid customer contact and were generally unhelpful or rude when I did corner one of them. However in recent months I am frequently asked if I need assistance finding anything and they have been very helpful and friendly when speaking with me. Especially the fly fishing department.

The firearms/hunting department though... Still a really big problem. Although they FINALLY got some restock on their reloading gear.

Have had great experience with Denis at WSS (firearms counter), he sold me my first firearms at Russel's and now whenever I buy at WSS I look for him. He is very good, takes his time, I know him for almost 6 years now and I am sure he must treat all his customers the same.
Had other chats with other salesmen too, when Denis was not there and most of them were nice enough.

I too have usually had bad experiences there at the gun counter including over hearing conversations between sales staff and customer that make you shake your head. But a last time I was there I got Dave and he was really helpful and seemed to know his stuff. I only deal with him now.