problems with Cabelas?

Like others have posted, I've had really great service from their call in dept. Even if I wasn't sure what I was asking about they found a way to narrow the search down and help me out.
I even applied to work for them once. Blew their employment test out of the water. The one that gives them an idea of your outdoor knowledge and areas of specialty. They even offered me a job. Wanted me to move from Washington all the way to Minnisota I believe it was. Pay rate-$9.00. Like someone supporting a family is going to make that move.
So, you lose the chance to have someone who actually knows what they are talking about in exchange for a local kid out of high school who wants to pay for his beer or whatever.
 
I have a lot of things I'd like to say but "Discretion is the better part of valor" However the return situation is worth a comment. Pete, Don't take this wrong but I would never attempt to return 5 year old waders! 5 years of use on waders is full value for money in my opinion. I'm surprised you got full value, the policy is to prorate after 1 year. At any rate the returns situation is changeing and the "no questions asked heres some new stuff" return wil be going the way of the dinosaur or so we've been told. Before the obligatory "thats why I go there" and "If they do they've lost my busines" breast beating starts remember the cost of all those worn out work boots and closed in the car door fishing rods is being passed on to us all. Now If you're in the Dundee store and need some help, go to the bargain cave and ask for me to come out of my lair in the back and I'll help you out or get you with the right guy or gal if I can'y, If I'm there.
 
You just cant beat there catalog. there customer service is first rate! I have shopped at Prairie Du Chen and do most of my shopping in near by Hoffman Estates store, I do a lot at Bass Pro in Gurnee, Il. too. All three stores suffer from the same thing, minimum wage people who dont know there A** from a hole in the ground. You have to seek out the older guys who have some experience. But most of these stores hire pimply faced kids who dont know jack. I was in Hoffman Estates store one day looking for long line rigging stuff, rings line etc, the clerk had no clue as to what I was looking for. Another clerk over heard the conversation and knew exactly what and where it was on the shelf, he was a duck hunter. Its a hit and miss at these stores just like any other store these days. Just try and get help for something in a Homo depot or a Walmart same thing. Parttime employees who just make minimum wage.
 
Eric,

I almost didn't take those waders back to the store for the reason you give. Then I realized that those waders were in no way worn out and a fundamental part of them had failed. I fully expected to have a discussion with the store personel and receive, if anything maybe only a partial return of the value. To my surprise that didn't happen. Any resolution would have been OK whether I received anything or not.

I wouldn't have that policy if it was my store but it isn't. I just took advantage of a store policy that is set to encourage their customers to continue to shop there and guess what, it works, as I do when ever I can. Would I stop shopping there if the policy changed? Heck no, they solidified me as a customer many years ago and baring some really bad corporate decisions I'll stick around for many years to come.

The return policy like the Cabela's Club points and the $150 off if you spend $500 are a cost of doing business just like advertising, catalogs, etc. I have taken advantage of all of them and with the exception of the return policy (twice), many, many times.
 
Before the opening of the Richfield store (which I only live 8miles from), I only went through their catalog service.. Everytime I had a problem it was solved in one phone call and usually with the item reshipped, no questions asked..

Now after they opened the Richfield store I'm even more impressed.. When I go there to purchase larger items, or items they don't have in stock, they automatically ship it to the store and call me.. This was at their suggestion so I could beat out all shipping charges altogether.. Sure, some clerks are more knowledgable than others but anytime I find one that is in over their head they get someone who can help me out.. I'm beyond impressed and don't impress easily..

I actually invited and hunted with one of their managers last season after he was in complete disbelief about our crew being marsh skiers.. (Fewer of us every year it seems).. He was a good sport and only fell a couple of times...hehehe

Their door buster or 4 hour sales are amazing.. Prices I can't find anywhere else..

Gets expensive when they build a store in your backyard
 
Lee
That's what I was looking for---28 gauge bismuth shells. Wanna sell a box?
The main reason for stopping was to avert the shipping sharges.
wis boz
Click to expand...

All I have are reloads Jim. The "new" bismuth company is supposedly on the shelves somewhere. On Shotgun World.com a guy is selling a bunch of Bismuth shells and had a bunch of 28's in 4's and 6's. He was asking about 25 bucks a box. I would go with 6's after seeing what Pete's loads did compared to the 4's I had...richer pattern. Have you started reloading yet?
 
Lee
I haven't reloaded any 28 gauge non toxic as yet. I just ordered two boxes of hevi from Ballistic Products this a.m.. I got #4 and plan on seeing what they will do on early goose which opens Sept. 1. I would think 6's would be okay for ducks and will go with those later. That hevi shot is expensive but you only go around once.
wis boz
 
As far as I'm concerned the only thing worse than a Cabela's retail clerk is a Bass Pro retail clerk! On my way out to Nebraska to hunt with Mike Livingston last spring I stopped at Cabela's in Hammond, IN to grab a case of shells because I left mine at home and didn't have the time or inclination to turn around. I went into the ammo aisle and started looking for some cheap Kent Fast Steel 1's and this chump with a name tag walks up and says,"Sir, could I assist you?" to which I answered "no I'm good to go...just need to find an un-opened case" and he says, "well, what are you looking for?" to which I say,"bullets man, bullets....lots of bullets" in a mock Mexican bandit voice ala Blazing Saddles.

He looks me square in the eye and says,"Sir, the bullets are over there by the guns...let me show you....these are shotgun shells for shotguns". Incredulous that he didn't "get it" I said, "yah, I know....I was joking around....I need some shells man". And then he tops it with this,"Well sir, these are steel shotshells and they are waterfowl hunting and they are very expensive, you probably just need some lead style shells which are over here....let me show you." And at that point I'd had an assful of said clerk and told him to "go away" and he did.

That guy probably had just read the corporate Cabela's manual on "Ammunition: Knowing The Difference In A Diverse Marketplace" that was carefully added to his employee booklet by the HR department that is full of folks that have never hunted.

The net/net of these big box stores may be that they increase revenue and name recognition but I'd bet that it also compells lots of guys like us to go to the Mom and Pops to pay more and keep them in business because chances are the guy behind that counter knows the difference between the powders in a Winchester and a Federal shell.
 
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I never really figured out why "Going to Cabela's!" was such a big deal. I much prefer to shop from the catalog and buy on-line. Their return policy is awesome and that's why they get my return business. I agree, when you go to the retail store you do best to find the older guy employee rather than the sullen faced teen-ager who won't make eye contact with you.
 
Pete, If you asked and they gave it to you thats fine. Waders that I use last 3 years at most But I'm very hard on them.If you used them little and the component failed thats okay. I get a little jumpy probably because of my job. I am the Dundee Bargain cave processor Which means I decide the fate of most of the things that are returned. I can't tell you the number of worn out boots that come in weekly. I'm talking 3-4 years old, sole peeling away after hard use in the construction business and then returned because they leak. Still its good for the occasional laugh. i.e. wader boots for over stocking foot waders returned because they leak (Were the drain holes your first clue) The 2 gamo .22 cal air rifles returned with"bad barrels" (.177 cal pellets in the box with them), The tree stand returned with the reason "Defective clamp, fell out of tree...twice". These people are rmed and in the woods or marsh with us eek!
 
Eric...that would drive me nuts! I mean lets face it, on some days the only thing worse than retail is roofing or dry-wall work!

Your story brings back memories of when I was managing restaurants. I recall guys coming up with a pizza and showing me the rocks in it...which were white driveway rocks that were still dry from pulling them out of his pocket. Or the time a guy came up to the counter with his kid in tow and handed me a sandwich as he was cussing and showed me the nail in it...which was dry and rusty and you could actually see the hole where he stuck it in!!!

As a guide I abuse the crap out of my waders and gear. I have never returned anything that was abused and yet I know plenty of other guides that will wear waders out in a few weeks and insist that they are replaced by the manufacturer! Its really silly and I have to give companies like Cabela's credit for backing up their sales and in most cases doing so when they are clearly getting the short end of the stick.

I just wish that HR could vet the employees a little better and pay more for experience. The employees should be no different than a pro-staff in my opinion. They'd have to pay more for it but I guarantee the extra expense would be mitigated by guys like me that go there to deal with knowledgeable folks.
 
Here's anther good one. We used to carry a little gizmo called a personal lightning strike detector, it was a black box with a graduated light scale telling you how close the last lightning strike was, I assume it measured the level of positive or negative ions in the air. Anyway one was returned with the notation "didn't work". I so wanted to use a lighter to melt part of the case and send it back to the manufacturer. I could just see them looking at it and going "what the ..." but I did'nt.
 
Eric,

I've seen all those returns in the Cave and just shake my head at what people will return. I mean just yesterday there was a big as heck gun safe like half off. I asked the sales clerk what was wrong with it and he said it had a scratch on it - give me a break! The thing weighs over 800 lbs how are you going to move it without getting a little scratch on it? Or the returned camo pants that have "soiled" as a reason.

Certainly there are people who will abuse any return policy. I just try not to be one of them.

I will say that the best informed clerks I have had the pleasure to deal with are those in the shoe departments of Sidney, Prairie Du Chen, and Richfield. Oh and the guy in the marine department in Richfield, and one of the guys in the fine gun room in Richfield - I guess if I really think about it there have been many over the years. One guy in the shoe/boot department in Sidney admitted that he had dozens of pairs of boots he bought as an employee so he could try them out - HE knew what he was talking about. Then there was the guy in Praire du Chen in the boot department that was a Mississippi River beaver trapper on the side and really knew the in's and out's of waders. Just yesterday the guy I dealt with in Richfield, Bryan (I think), clued me in on which brands of waders they get more returns from than any other (Hodgeman). Information like that makes the trips to the stores memorable. Not to say you can't get that over the phone as I have on several occasions including the time I needed to know more about your Alaskan packs and frames before a trip out west. They put me on hold so they could find the guy in that department so we could discuss my needs - priceless.

Jay and others, just remember that the older and more experienced we get the fewer number of people are out there that know more than we do about our sport. So give some of the young staff a break and do a little teaching/informing them about the products you are looking for. It'll help them and their next customer.
 
I have found that the general consensus of knowledge for all these type of outdoor stores is really bad. I really feel that Cabelas should have a product training week for all new hires. Think of how many times a clerk talked you into buying something because of their knowledge about it. We are all going their with the intent of spending half the kid's college fund. all we need is a competent clerk to say...go on buy it....you'll love it.

I have been having huge problems with the Dicks sporting goods. Oh you want a duck call....you mean that thing that goes quack quack...seriously. We were trying to find those new awesome blue wing teal decoys made by Final Approach. They list Dick's as one of their suppliers. Of course no one has a clue what/where they are.

Side note: We have been waiting for the better part of 3 years for the Cabela's here in Rutherford NJ to open. They blame it all on the red tape with NJ and our gun laws. Thinking about working there a day or two a week and telling them to keep all the checks until one week before Christmas.

Mike
 
Lee,

That Richfield store has been open for at least 1.5 years or more. Well before your hunt up here, not sure what that issue with dirt was. Are you headed up this way again this year?

I had to race from downtown Milwaukee, literally on the lake off of Wells street since I had a 1.5hr window until my sisters wedding. Guy at the counter told me it was like 25-30 min up Hwy 45. I hop in, race out....after the 45 min drive I get there, mildly irritated. Give the girl at the counter my waders (issues with the velco straps giving way and not holding) fully expecting to maybe get some credit towards a purchase of new waders, she gets on the horn after I show her the ones I want to buy, says just a minute. Not more than 5 minutes later the new pair are in my hands and I am hustling out the door. I now have about 30 min to get back downtown, but nothing that doing about 85 didn't handle.

On the way back out of town, I came back to truly look around. Nice store, but I am sorry Pete, they did not have the knitting needles like you mention, but they did have a huge selection of very nice stuff, problem was nothing was really a bargain. Hell, most of what I was looking at was higher priced that I could buy from local retailers at home and I decided to support them. Love the store, great return policy, but overall you have to be selective.
 
Hmmmm...that WAS last year wasn't it? I swear they had just opened up as it didn't look like all the shelves were stocked yet and their was no grass yet on the dirt where the sign is on the entrance and dirt mounds out at the edges of the parking lot. I really just raced in, hit the head since I hadn't gone between there and home...raced over to the ammo and picked up a couple boxes of bismuth...then stood in a line of 3 for 15 minutes because somebody was returning a whole cart full of stuff. I can't remember why I had to pay for the ammo at the servi...oh yeah, I had to get my Wi. licenses. I couldn't believe what these dudes were returning..compound bows, dekes in unopened boxes...boots and waders. I wondered to myself ..what the hell did they buy them for in the first place? The best thing about that store was 15 cars in the parking lot...got to park right up front. Some idiot almost hit me on the way out at the entrance though. I don't know if I'm coming up this year or not...have to see what's what.
 
The Hamburg PA store is great. Huge inventory.

The new store in Maine - forget it. Half the size of Hamburg.

Hartford - pretty good. Particularly for fishing gear.

Staff is always hit & miss. I go to Cabelas to be able to actually try on stuff & really see what I'm interested in.

Their pricing is never a bargain.
 
Eric,

My point was that you had $200 in gift cards.................what are you going to do, eat'em because you don't see a bargain?

As far as buying local, sure, whenever I can I do but you know where I live and what's around here. Not too many places locally to buy what I need. My favorite local gun dealer, reloading supplies'er died a couple years ago so now I shop unlocally. Then again some might think shopping at a Gander Mtn or Scheels is local because they are in their town but that's just another chain no different corporate wise than Cabelas.
 
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Mike
You brought up Dick's. That is unbelievably poor. I've stood on the top floor in the hunting and fishing depart and yelled for someone---finally left and never saw a sole.
wis boz
 
Dick's is a BIG SAD JOKE, they advertized a price on 20 ga. shells one Sun that was pretty good so I headed over only to find out that they had those boxes of 20 for almost full price. What the hell??? They are not even close to a hunting type store. Never again!!. P.S I know "If it is too good to be true it probably is"
 
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