Sportsmans Warehouse big mistake

Sorry fellows, but I can't buy into this "boycott" attitude.

In my opinion, the very WORST thing you can do is to get emotional with money. Unless the business is operating illegally, or doing something else that would be considered unethical, I'm going to do the thing that benefits my financial situation.

Not shopping at a store because "they made me mad" isn't going to fatten your wallet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I drive within a mile of the local SW every day. Whether I "like" the people there or approve of their business management techniques has absolutely no bearing on the cost of their goods that I want or need. If they have it, and it's at the right price, I'll buy it from them. There isn't a marriage agreement at the counter that you have to sign..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

While I think that it would be beneficial for EVERY business to offer a discount to active military, the truth is that it is actually a very rare instance. Sad, but true.

OK....go ahead and charcoal me....... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I know for a fact Sportsmans is a joke. Not only to the customers but also their employees. I worked as a Assistant Hunting Manager and the repeatedly screwed their employees over. I got fed up and quit as the manager, i know work about 1 a month just to keep some of the discounts (which isnt much anymore).

I will give you 2 examples of how they treat their employees.

1. Every month each dept has a total sales goal they try and meet. And if they meet it for 12 months straight the full time employees were to get a $1000-1500 bonus depending on tenure. Well we met it.....And we were all waiting for the bonus....Corp kept pushing it off and off. Then we were told it was cut in half do to money issues. We waited and waited...And finally each full time employee after 2 months waiting recieved a check for 100-200 bucks. And they wonder why they have such a turn-over rate in employees!

2. Our store recently had a ballon sale. This meant every customer that bought something would be able to pop a ballon at the check out. The least amount off was 10% all the way up to 100% off. This was huge on guns, because we as employees only get 5% off guns. So their were several of us gun counter employees that were ready to buy guns. And then a "great" store manager said this wasnt for employees. Give me a break! I am all about helping out customers but why would you punish your own employees?

The whole company is a joke and is horribly managed. At any given time we would have 20-25 guns on layaway. That is a alot of money lost now. And I personally thought the military/law enforcement discounts should be raised. Did you know if you were a boy scout member you would get 2 times the discount as someone that was protecting our rights over seas? I really thought the company couldnt get any worse and now they do this....simply amazes me!!!
 
I think a lot depends on the individual store and store manager. My wife worked at a SW for two years and my sister stills works at another SW. The benefits to the employees, IMO, were pretty good. My wife came home with free Kelty backpacks, tons of camping gear, a free Ruger 10/22, and got some pretty good discounts on a lot of high end optics. They also had a company picnic each summer where they had beer and bbq and gave away alot of very nice items to all the employees.

Montemilessd, not trying to make excuses for SW here, but when money is tight, bonuses go out the window. I'd be glad to show you my bonus checks for the last two years (they total a big fat $0). As for the balloon sale, employees are most often exempt from special offers such as these as they are trying to drum up loyal returning customers. That being said, their ordering system sucks! Basically they are not sent what they need, they are sent what the warehouse has. Hence, in the case of the Berger bullets, the store can't just call up Berger and order some bullets, they only get what the warehouse thinks they need (at least thats my understanding).
 
The ballon sale for the previous 2 years were open to the employees and on avg in gained an extra $7000-10000. There were alot of employees buying high end guns. And the picnic you are referring to is a joke! All the nice stuff you get at the picnic are returns! Stuff the companies wont take back from us. Trust me on this. Ive helped with so called picnic! And yes the ordering system is horrible. Each store has the same ordering system. So just because it sells on the east coast doesnt mean it will sell in the midwest or western states. For example our fishing dept is full of deep diving rigs ( coast fishing, deep lakes.) For goodness sakes the store is in South Dakota! I understand we need some off this stuff but when we literally have aisles of it...come on. And in regards to the bonus thing. They promised all their employees this. If the money isnt there, dont promise your employees it. And if the money is so tight dont go open 8-10 new stores a year!
 
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All the nice stuff you get at the picnic are returns! Stuff the companies wont take back from us.



So the free stuff wasn't good enough free stuff??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

If you have a hard time with any of it you could at least donate it to a worthy cause maybe even the scouts or something. There are a lot of folks out there that would appreciate the items even if they are returns.
 
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And the picnic you are referring to is a joke! All the nice stuff you get at the picnic are returns! Stuff the companies wont take back from us. Trust me on this. Ive helped with so called picnic!



I'm sorry but you are wrong. My wife and sister have both helped organize these picnics and although a FEW items may be returns (who cares! I've seen an employee get a brand new canvas wall tent that was returned, and that wasn't at the picinc, just any everyday thing) a majority of the items were either taken directly off the shelf or actively went out and purchased (my sister's store gave out a new TV for example). Returned items are usually saved and sold to employees through silent auctions in shopping cart loads of items.

I think you may just have a bad store manager, as many of these decisions you are griping about are made by the store manager. And a bonus is just that, a bonus. If conditions are that terrible, two words will fix the situation...."I quit."
 
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I know for a fact Sportsmans is a joke. Not only to the customers but also their employees. I worked as a Assistant Hunting Manager and the repeatedly screwed their employees over. I got fed up and quit as the manager, i know work about 1 a month just to keep some of the discounts (which isnt much anymore).

I will give you 2 examples of how they treat their employees.

1. Every month each dept has a total sales goal they try and meet. And if they meet it for 12 months straight the full time employees were to get a $1000-1500 bonus depending on tenure. Well we met it.....And we were all waiting for the bonus....Corp kept pushing it off and off. Then we were told it was cut in half do to money issues. We waited and waited...And finally each full time employee after 2 months waiting recieved a check for 100-200 bucks. And they wonder why they have such a turn-over rate in employees!

2. Our store recently had a ballon sale. This meant every customer that bought something would be able to pop a ballon at the check out. The least amount off was 10% all the way up to 100% off. This was huge on guns, because we as employees only get 5% off guns. So their were several of us gun counter employees that were ready to buy guns. And then a "great" store manager said this wasnt for employees. Give me a break! I am all about helping out customers but why would you punish your own employees?

The whole company is a joke and is horribly managed. At any given time we would have 20-25 guns on layaway. That is a alot of money lost now. And I personally thought the military/law enforcement discounts should be raised. Did you know if you were a boy scout member you would get 2 times the discount as someone that was protecting our rights over seas? I really thought the company couldnt get any worse and now they do this....simply amazes me!!!



I don't know a single big retailer that allows their employees to participate in promotions like that! If your store manager was allowing you to take part in that, they were wrong, and were probably told so by Corporate. This is a corporation. Like it or not they are in business to make money, not give employees discounts, or anyone else for that matter!

Also, ALL retailers have high employee turnover. Why? Because retail doesn't pay well, anywhere. Don't like it? Don't freaking work in retail.
 
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Is anybody going to send a link of this thread to SW corporate? I think somebody with a stake in how SW is run might want to do that.
 
I've talked to afew guts that WORKED at the the in Mesa Arizona, and the only reason they said that they worked there is to get the 5% discount, because their wives made go money they didn't have to have a "real" job. It was just to support their habit. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif And yes they had stated that they were treated like crap. None of those peolpe that i know no longer work there. I us to go to S.W. about 6 or so times a month, but I will never go again. I have already sent a nice long e-mail to their corperate, and have yet to hear anything back from them. I would pay 3 to 5 dollars more for a box of bullets from a "little guy" retailer that cares about custermer service than S.W. My other stuff for camping ect I go to Bass Pro, 5 miles away from S.W.
But that is the way that i feel.

Sorry
 
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and the only reason they said that they worked there is to get the 5% discount, because their wives made go money they didn't have to have a "real" job. It was just to support their habit. And yes they had stated that they were treated like crap. None of those peolpe that i know no longer work there.



Maybe, since they didn't NEED a job, they weren't the best employees??? Maybe their perception of how they were treated was slightly off with the mentality that the only reason they were there is to get the discount. I'm sure they could have gone out and got a "real" job and more than made up for what they were saving with the SW discount. You can't expect to be treated like the CEO when you are stocking shelves in a retail store.
 
Maybe they had a bad manager. There were some guys at the store my wife worked at that I wouldn't want to work for, but overall, as an employee she was treated well.

The only customer service issue I've had at SW was over employees pushing one brand over another (to the point they were making up stories because brand "A" offers free merchandise if they sell X number of products whereas product "B" does not). I went in knowing what I wanted and asked for that item, he tried very hard to dissuade me and get me to buy product "A"; it got to the point he was rude and very unfriendly when I countered some of his fictitious stories. I spoke to the manager and haven't had a problem since. I have alot more stories of good customer service at SW than bad stories. For instance, SW not only gives the employee the discounts, I, as a spouse, also had my own card and could get the discounts whenever I wanted at any SW, and with the exception of a few things it was more than 5%.
 
The way to sell more products is to treat your own employees better. If some is mad at the company they wont give a dam about selling stuff. Treat your employees well they will care! And you may make the arguement of firing the ones that dont care......but its a very long process of hiring new employees. It took me well over 2 months to hire 1 position. Dozens and dozens of applicants.

There are some perks for working there but they are taking alot of them away. Its very poorly managed all the way up to the top. SW doesnt even compete with Cabelas or Bass Pro Shop. They may be a little cheaper than them, but just try walking down the reloading aisle and see what you have to think of Sportsmans!
 
The reloading aisle is not a good comparison. All vendors are having a tough time keeping their shelves stocked.

I have found that SW is not keeping items in stock that the other guys aren't having problems with.

Case-in-point, I haven't been able to get Leupold rings at two different SW stores on two separate occasions. Went to Gander Mountain, found them right away.
 
Dude, your starting to sound like a disgruntled employee who works at "a" store in a corporation and who works as little as possible for somebody he doesn't like just to get a little bit of a discount. I could run down right now to the local convience store to pick up another 40 of Schlitz Ice and find somebody in short order who had the same story. If you are doing well enough that you don't need to work full time there, and are only getting a 5% discount, then it is probably not the best idea for you work there since you should be able to afford what you need without such a paltry discount. Personally I try not to just take the word of a bent out of shape somebody that works at a single point of a corporation as they could be in, at least, a mis-management situation or,at worst, really have no idea of the large picture vision that the corporate folks have. Sounds like you are bent because you didn't like your free stuff from the picnic. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Claimbuster, my problem is not the shelves being stocked. It's the not wanting to have anything to stock. I went back to S.W. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif to see how many request that they have had on a particular item. The manger told me about 50. But the boys at corporate do not care about giving the customers what they want. I live in the middle of a desert, like one other post said, They have a whole aisle of deep sea fishing tackle. And like I said in another post each store is not set up the same. I can go 50 miles to the other S.W. and buy traps, stretchers fleshing tools tanning formulas etc. This company just doesn't care and neither do i (about them)

sorry for the ramble /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
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But the boys at corporate do not care about giving the customers what they want.



Man, I am not wanting to take up the flag for SW but my hand is being forced. Did you talk to the "boys" at corporate and confirm that they don't care? Did somebody at corporate say "I don't care"? Are you sure that it is not logistical issues within the company that they are fighting? Maybe supply chain issues with their vendors? Cash flow issues? Poor business model?

Not saying that these are excuses but to just walk away saying folks "don't care" is a little irresponsible. A lot of these issues may be out of most peoples hands that you deal with.

For the record I don't work at or for SW but I like both stores in my area (mostly for the people) and also have some working knowledge of corporate supply chain.
 
I love sportsmans,shop there all the time,it has everything I need and much cheaper than mailorder.None of your little gripes will stop people from shopping there.They found a VTR for me when nobody could and had another store out of town hold it for me,NOBODY else even offered to look,they will continue to get my buisness as long as they are open.If you dont like it dont shop there.
 
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