bass pro shops

[onthefly]

I don't want to make excuses for bad service or defend it but it's a reality in retail, particularly big box retail. BPS has over 200 employees to run that store, you don't think a few of them have zero customer service or retail experience, are 18 years old & have other things on there mind some times (like what hockey games are on & where's the party tonight) or are having a bad day. That place is zoo some times, they work evenings/wkends, the wages are low (retail does not pay much above min wage) and associates don't always get there breaks or lunch's when it's crazy and there short handed. If they could hire all there staff like the guy w/ 1 arm in fishing (I think his name is Al, he's great!) I'm sure they would but they are likely just looking for anyone sometimes to replace the person who quite w/ no notice or stopped showing up.
Ive worked in retail before I am glad I did because it gives me a much different perspective as the customer and what it's like on the side of things. For these reasons the independent fly shops and small stores like TFH have a huge advantage and always will, hence why they will never go out of business to big box retailers like BPS and Cabelas. On that note; for those of you think you wont happen to deal w/ the wrong associate at the wrong time at Cabales and have a bad shopping experience than your crazy, they will deal the same issues as BPS I mentioned above.
All that said I have had some great service in the flyshop at BPS and they have some very helpful knowledgeable staff. Sounds like you happen to be there when a younger guy (I only say that because the guys in the flyshop are mature and older that I have seen) was in the shop who for all we know works in apparel but was covering in there for a sick call.
Again not making excuses for them or saying it was ok to have the service you got but just keep an open perspective... I wouldn't say it's fair to conclude there service or flyshop sucks because of it. Now price and selection... That's a little more black and white which is easier to define.

Cont buy fly line there, unless a fly salesman is working. I attempted three times in November/December to buy fly line. I was told that since it is not fishing season, I will have to wait for the "guy" to get back from whereever he was at. Maybe its a gift, or maybe its fly season somewhere else. I was travelling south, in December and I needed some new fly line. I ended up buying it at my desination. So now NO more business for Bass Pro Shop! Fishing season or Not!

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by Lambo

Sorry to add fuel to the fire but I'd have to agree with the lack of service at BPS. I went there last week looking to buy the I-pilot trolling motor. 3 sales guys behind counter stood there chatting with one another about the hockey game while another customer and I waited for service. When one sof the guys finally offered to help, he either didn't know anything about the I-pilot or he didn't care to try to sell one so I left. Went to Fishin Hole and bought the Terrova I-Pilot and an onboard charger from Kelly. Kelly really knows his sh!t when it comes to boat electronics. I was able to make an informed decision and walked out of the store happy. Can't wait to use it on the water!

Kelly is an avid angler, and uses a lot of the equipment he sells, this always makes a huge difference. Now if he would just put a steering wheel on his boat...............

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by bobalong

Kelly is an avid angler, and uses a lot of the equipment he sells, this always makes a huge difference. Now if he would just put a steering wheel on his boat...............

geebuss if you making a wish list...turn his van into a truck

[gramps73]

Originally Posted by Fish Hunter7

the guy with one hand is great he ran out of his wayy to get a BPS. same with the past guys who left neil and the asian guy.

Al is his name and yes very helpful...

[gramps73]

Originally Posted by chubbdarter

geebuss if you making a wish list...turn his van into a truck

And all i want for christmas....

Sorry Kelly could not help my self, Dan made me do it...

[latenite]

Last time I was there, got some help from a couple of clerks in camping supplies, and they were ok. To be honest, if I met a clerk in any store and was spoken too like that, I would have gone to the manager as well. Maybe he needs to clean sh!tters for a while to learn respect for customers and appreciate having a job.

[Lambo]

I agree. It's the store manager's job to motivate and instill friendly, helpful customer service to all the department managers and all the sales staff. It all starts at the top.

[The Great White Hype]

Originally Posted by alodar

Exactly well this one kid offered no helpful information and i had to stand there for 5 minutes listening to him make fun of this girl and insupt her cuz she was buying peacock feathers and had facial piercings( the 2 werent related) then his utter rudeness to myself and simply asking if theyd pre pinch my barbs for me. I got a "no! That y we sell plires buy some and do it yourself" tfh in edmonton does this for me when requested. But beside the fact a simple sorry we cant do that would have sufficed. So needless to say i spoke to the manager. I also find them higher priced which i could have dealt with until it came with poor customer service..... ill be finding a new fishing shop next time im down this way i might even try to find the fishin hole calgary

I am not surprised you got a no, honestly, i wouldn't do it for you either. You must be something lazy to not be able to pich your own barbs. GET REAL.

Of course the service level will not be to the level TFH, as they are literally 15-20 times the size... And have you seen the crowds>??

[Gust]

I miss Frenchy's

[Freedom55]

Was a time when I lived upstairs in that place on 9th Ave. They had it all, but sometimes they made you feel like you weren't one of the good ol' boys and would ignore you. If you stood your ground and persisted, you could get in the club, and there was a lot of lore and knowledge in that old place. IMO a lot of the young fellas on this forum would not go into that place more than once. Some of 'em wouldn't even go into that neighborhood back then.

Ribtor's was another good place that is long gone.
BTW Inglewood is my 'hood, as they say

[FishingMOM]

OP

Why not pay our forum sponor www.ickyflyworks.ca a online visit.

[Gust]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

Was a time when I lived upstairs in that place on 9th Ave. They had it all, but sometimes they made you feel like you weren't one of the good ol' boys and would ignore you. If you stood your ground and persisted, you could get in the club, and there was a lot of lore and knowledge in that old place. IMO a lot of the young fellas on this forum would not go into that place more than once. Some of 'em wouldn't even go into that neighborhood back then.

Ribtor's was another good place that is long gone.
BTW Inglewood is my 'hood, as they say

There used to be a Mohawk on 16th ave that had a really good selection of stuff and not just a few hooks. Frenchy's definitely was an ol'boys club but you could linger for hours in there and bs the colder day's away.

hijack...
Before Inglewood became a chi-chi gated neighborhood;
I was staying at a friends place one summer down by the National Hotel (saw Brian Adams there and we boo'd him off the stage,, he sucked then and still sucks now), anyways, a friend's band was playing DT and I knew that it would be best not to drive. So I thought "damn should I pack some batteries in a sock and walk it?". I opted instead for hooking a crowbar down the leg of my pants which I've never ever considered doing (except in Detroit one night),,, so off I wandered, with a swagger, spitting now and then, trying not to look too "fresh" for lack of a better word. When I got to my destination I was asked something that I've never been asked ever to that point or ever since, "are you carrying a weapon?",, sheepishly I slowly pulled the crowbar up from my waistband, it never seemed to end, . They told me I'd have to re-claim it after the bar closed and I may need to explain why I carry such a large weapon to the Police when they come to check the weapons box. Luckily, the crowbar didn't fit in the box so the cops never questioned a crowbar leaning against the wall. I cabbed it back to where I was staying.

[Kokanee9]

Originally Posted by GustavMahler

I opted instead for hooking a crowbar down the leg of my pants which I've never ever considered doing (except in Detroit one night),,, so off I wandered, with a swagger, spitting now and then, trying not to look too "fresh" for lack of a better word. When I got to my destination I was asked something that I've never been asked ever to that point or ever since, "are you carrying a weapon?",, sheepishly I slowly pulled the crowbar up from my waistband, it never seemed to end, .

If we make it out on the water, your not planning on bringing your crowbar are you?

[Gust]

Originally Posted by Kokanee9

If we make it out on the water, your not planning on bringing your crowbar are you?

That last post is a really poor reflection of who I am and what I stand for,,, it more had to do with the after-dark aspect of older, recession life, Inglewood and the best way to hoof it through there on foot in the mid 80's.

I'm not a weapon's kinda guy unless you consider 4 days camping B.O a weapon. You've been warned.

Oh! I do carry a ceilagh (<sp?).

[Kokanee9]

I was thinking might not be a bad idea. Could just put you at the front of the boat when we troll the shallows and you could spearfish with your crowbar! LOL.Or in willowtrail's boat, you could break the ice in front of it!

[claytonass]

Originally Posted by alodar

Exactly well this one kid offered no helpful information and i had to stand there for 5 minutes listening to him make fun of this girl and insupt her cuz she was buying peacock feathers and had facial piercings( the 2 werent related) then his utter rudeness to myself and simply asking if theyd pre pinch my barbs for me. I got a "no! That y we sell plires buy some and do it yourself" tfh in edmonton does this for me when requested. But beside the fact a simple sorry we cant do that would have sufficed. So needless to say i spoke to the manager. I also find them higher priced which i could have dealt with until it came with poor customer service..... ill be finding a new fishing shop next time im down this way i might even try to find the fishin hole calgary

Howdy yall hows it going , i am the associate that this liar talked to, he is completly full of it. First off the young girl that i was helping (not making fun of) was buying about $300 worth of feathers for a home based jewerly buissness she has, why would i insult a customer that was buying a basket full of hackle, peacock feathers and such. Then the so called customer "alodar" who claims was waiting for service, if he means that looking through the flies as waiting , yea no , came up to me and asked to pay for the two flies he had picked out for fishing the bow river that weekend total cost of like $4.26 and i quote said hey can you pinch my barbs (did not say please) just demanded that i pinch them for him. I asked him why he could not do it himself (cause all real fishermen have pliers with them for fishing) , all he said was that he did not have any pliers with him because he was from edmonton (some excusse eh) so i told hinm that we sell pliers and barb crushers, he didnt want any so i told him NO because it is not our job to pinch barbs, if he said please that would have been a different story but no , he just assumed that its my job to bend over backwards for a rude customer, back to the blog he got mad at me cause i would not pinch the barbs so he stormed out of the shop didnt take his recipt i asked him if he wanted it and he told me off walked out and complained to the first associate that he saw, thinking that just any associate was a manager. We help the people that we can but if you are rude dont bother coming in and please dont lie just because you left your pliers at home or are just to lazy to do it yourself.

Thanks yall for listening, "claytonass"

[chubbdarter]

oh boy thats a heck of a first post.....welcome to AO

[Daceminnow]

Originally Posted by claytonass

Howdy yall hows it going , i am the associate that this liar talked to, he is completly full of it. First off the young girl that i was helping (not making fun of) was buying about $300 worth of feathers for a home based jewerly buissness she has, why would i insult a customer that was buying a basket full of hackle, peacock feathers and such. Then the so called customer "alodar" who claims was waiting for service, if he means that looking through the flies as waiting , yea no , came up to me and asked to pay for the two flies he had picked out for fishing the bow river that weekend total cost of like $4.26 and i quote said hey can you pinch my barbs (did not say please) just demanded that i pinch them for him. I asked him why he could not do it himself (cause all real fishermen have pliers with them for fishing) , all he said was that he did not have any pliers with him because he was from edmonton (some excusse eh) so i told hinm that we sell pliers and barb crushers, he didnt want any so i told him NO because it is not our job to pinch barbs, if he said please that would have been a different story but no , he just assumed that its my job to bend over backwards for a rude customer, back to the blog he got mad at me cause i would not pinch the barbs so he stormed out of the shop didnt take his recipt i asked him if he wanted it and he told me off walked out and complained to the first associate that he saw, thinking that just any associate was a manager. We help the people that we can but if you are rude dont bother coming in and please dont lie just because you left your pliers at home or are just to lazy to do it yourself.

Thanks yall for listening, "claytonass"

welcome. that sounds like some interesting jewelry, can you tell us more. my wifes birthday is around the corner. thanks.

[TyreeUM]

I go to places like bass pro for the prices (most of the time) but mostly the selection. I do my own research before I buy something. Particularly at a place like bass pro, I can promise you most of the employees have experience using maybe 2% of the product available in the department that they work in. The bass pro website is awesome for product reviews as well.

[claytonass]

Originally Posted by Daceminnow

welcome. that sounds like some interesting jewelry, can you tell us more. my wifes birthday is around the corner. thanks.

Hey man would love to help you out but unfortunatly i did not get her web address, but it is a very popular fad that has been sucking up all the good hackles and grizzly hackles, but if your still interested i know that these ladies do frequent the local farmers markets if that helps you out.

Good luck eh

[Dust1n]

Originally Posted by claytonass

Howdy yall hows it going , i am the associate that this liar talked to, he is completly full of it. First off the young girl that i was helping (not making fun of) was buying about $300 worth of feathers for a home based jewerly buissness she has, why would i insult a customer that was buying a basket full of hackle, peacock feathers and such. Then the so called customer "alodar" who claims was waiting for service, if he means that looking through the flies as waiting , yea no , came up to me and asked to pay for the two flies he had picked out for fishing the bow river that weekend total cost of like $4.26 and i quote said hey can you pinch my barbs (did not say please) just demanded that i pinch them for him. I asked him why he could not do it himself (cause all real fishermen have pliers with them for fishing) , all he said was that he did not have any pliers with him because he was from edmonton (some excusse eh) so i told hinm that we sell pliers and barb crushers, he didnt want any so i told him NO because it is not our job to pinch barbs, if he said please that would have been a different story but no , he just assumed that its my job to bend over backwards for a rude customer, back to the blog he got mad at me cause i would not pinch the barbs so he stormed out of the shop didnt take his recipt i asked him if he wanted it and he told me off walked out and complained to the first associate that he saw, thinking that just any associate was a manager. We help the people that we can but if you are rude dont bother coming in and please dont lie just because you left your pliers at home or are just to lazy to do it yourself.

Thanks yall for listening, "claytonass"

Its funny how hes fishing and he dosent carry pliers to remove hooks inside of there mouths of something else.
I do also leave my pleirs at home but if my barbs arnt pinich i switch the trebles off another hook.
still i guess its all about attatude when you go in there.
the young guy i talked to he was pretty nice he didnt know how to awnser my questions but its ok he tried not everyone knows everything but im happy with BPS service for the most part. and when your on the water theres always people who are more then happy to help you. except if your a spin fisherman talkin to a fly fisherman i always get differnt attatudes....but thats just me.

[Daceminnow]

Originally Posted by claytonass

Hey man would love to help you out but unfortunatly i did not get her web address, but it is a very popular fad that has been sucking up all the good hackles and grizzly hackles, but if your still interested i know that these ladies do frequent the local farmers markets if that helps you out.

Good luck eh

that's really interesting. i was at another local fly shop last week looking for some supplies for the boy. i young lady walked in, the boys greeted her by name and she asked if the new shipment had arrived. i glanced over as a young lady in the fly shop isn't an every hour of the day occurrence. what was she rummaging through but all the nice hackle on the wall. huh, and here i thought it was nice to see a young lady interested in the hobby of tying?

[ArtVandelay]

http://www.finefeatherheads.com/

[Ken07AOVette]

Great, I have a 17 year old daughter. Time to put the fly tying gear in the safe

[Daceminnow]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

Great, I have a 17 year old daughter. Time to put the fly tying gear in the safe

never mind. i have two "lookalike" daughters and they've already been busted stealing beads and thread from their brothers tying station. oh, i hope this doesn't go mainstream...........

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by claytonass

Howdy yall hows it going , i am the associate that this liar talked to, he is completly full of it. First off the young girl that i was helping (not making fun of) was buying about $300 worth of feathers for a home based jewerly buissness she has, why would i insult a customer that was buying a basket full of hackle, peacock feathers and such. Then the so called customer "alodar" who claims was waiting for service, if he means that looking through the flies as waiting , yea no , came up to me and asked to pay for the two flies he had picked out for fishing the bow river that weekend total cost of like $4.26 and i quote said hey can you pinch my barbs (did not say please) just demanded that i pinch them for him. I asked him why he could not do it himself (cause all real fishermen have pliers with them for fishing) , all he said was that he did not have any pliers with him because he was from edmonton (some excusse eh) so i told hinm that we sell pliers and barb crushers, he didnt want any so i told him NO because it is not our job to pinch barbs, if he said please that would have been a different story but no , he just assumed that its my job to bend over backwards for a rude customer, back to the blog he got mad at me cause i would not pinch the barbs so he stormed out of the shop didnt take his recipt i asked him if he wanted it and he told me off walked out and complained to the first associate that he saw, thinking that just any associate was a manager. We help the people that we can but if you are rude dont bother coming in and please dont lie just because you left your pliers at home or are just to lazy to do it yourself.

Thanks yall for listening, "claytonass"

hey clay....is that barb crusher a special tool or just a fancy name for pliers, if it special does it do small fly hooks?
thanks

[RayL42]

I shop at BPS, WSS and The Fishing Hole all frequently. In general I have found the service at BPS less then adequate, however as many have mentioned it varies greatly depending on who helps you, WSS sports just barley adequate but getting better over the last year, and The Fishing Hole always has great service regardless of employee or number of customers in the store.

The value of the items I purchase from each store reflects the service I receive.

[claytonass]

Originally Posted by chubbdarter

hey clay....is that barb crusher a special tool or just a fancy name for pliers, if it special does it do small fly hooks?
thanks

No its a tool all to its own, they look like regular pliers but the jaws have no teeth on them so you can pinch a #22 fly with out its barb sliding in between the teeth. I have two pairs one in the vest the other in the car so i always have some with me , makes a huge difference when pinching barbs, we have two styles at the store our brand white river makes some and the other is made by superfly, both are great would stongly recommend them to anyone who spends lots of time crushing barbs.

Have a gooder eh "claytonass"

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by claytonass

No its a tool all to its own, they look like regular pliers but the jaws have no teeth on them so you can pinch a #22 fly with out its barb sliding in between the teeth. I have two pairs one in the vest the other in the car so i always have some with me , makes a huge difference when pinching barbs, we have two styles at the store our brand white river makes some and the other is made by superfly, both are great would stongly recommend them to anyone who spends lots of time crushing barbs.

Have a gooder eh "claytonass"

thanks...i'll be up