Dick's Sporting Goods

[Twigg]

I stopped in to the Dick's in Leominster yesterday. Yesterday was the LAST TIME I will walk into that store !

I wanted to pick up some shells for trap tonight and also order a barrel for my new shotgun.

Now the shotgun is a relatively new model from Mossberg, the 535 ATS. It came with two barrels, a 28" smoothbore with four chokes and 24" smoothbore with an XXfull turkey choke.

I wanted the 24" rifled slug barrel so I could use it for deer this season.

There was one kid working the the Lodge area, as soon as he saw me walking towards him he turned around and walked away from me. I managed to cut him off at the end of the aisle and get him to assist me with the shells. ( They are behind the counter here in PRM. )

When I told him I wanted to order an extra barrel things got strange. He said he'd have to call "the warehouse" and see if they had any. After a brief conversation on the phone I was told "They don't have any and they don't make them anymore.". WTF ?

No point in arguing with an idiot. I've had conversations with the store's management before and they don't seem to care.

When I got home I called Mossberg's customer service to see what was up.
Now I was told, "Of course we make barrels for the 535, Why wouldn't we ?"

Long story short; I got my barrel directly from Mossberg, and I'm taking any more busisness I give to Dick's to the store in Keene, N.H., the ammo's out on the shelves where it should be, the sales staff is knowledgable and helpful and best of all, the State liquor store in the parking lot has Laphroiag 15 year old scotch in stock.

 

[Jay G]

I wasn't terribly impressed with the Dick's Sporting Goods in Danvers, MA either. There was one teenager working the counter who had absolutely no clue about firearms. Their selection extended to shotguns, hunting rifles, shotguns, some airsoft (?!?!?), shotguns, and, oh, did I mention, shotguns...

I see no need to go back...

 

[Adam_MA]

Never even been inside one of the stores myself.

 

[Moderator]

Every time I have walked over to the guns and ammo section I have had bad service. 3 different stores (Attleboro, N.Smithfield, Rockport).

 

[firtree]

Yup, generally morons. But their sales are sometimes really good..

 

[C-pher]

I've been to the one in North Attleboro, the old guy that's always been behind the counter every time that I've been in there knew what he was talking about.

Though, I pretty much only go in when they are having a sale on shells and I need them for Cowboy shooting...

But that store has been nothing but good and good service everytime that I've been there. And, I've never seen a kid in the Lodge area at the North Attleboro store. It's always been one of two older guys.

 

[rapture]

I went to the one in Danvers once, and after looking at the knives for a few minutes with no offer of assistance, I flagged down the clerk. I asked him if he had the SOG Flash II that was advertised on their web site. He said that they were all out. I then asked if they had anything comparable and he said no and disappeared. I continued to look, and a manager came over and asked if I needed help. I told him I was looking for a SOG Flash II, but they were all out. He then pulled out 3 different knives, all with assisted opening, all comparable to what I was looking for. I chose one, and he gave me a 20% discount for my trouble. The clerk at the checout was amazed to see the note he gave me about the discount, because normally they only give 10%. Also, as I side note, I was looking to buy a 18 1/2" barrell for my Mossberg 500. I went to Mossbergs web site, and they wanted $150. I went to Four Seasons and asked Carl about getting one. He went online, and found one from one of his distributors for $75. I HIGHLY recommend that store. I haven't been let done once.

 

[LORD of WAR]

i used to work at Galyans...now Dicks in danvers...i quit once they converted to dicks...we became severely understaffed and the new trainees we got knew nothing about firearms...too many horror stories about the idiots that work there to type...i dont go there anymore unless its for ammo...they usually have pretty good deals and since i know the scanning systems there i can get a case of .410 for $7...yes...a case that costs about $75...muwahahah

 

[dreppucci007]

The only Dick's I've ever been to is the one in Orange, CT...The shells and slugs are all out on the sales floor where they should be. They also had a pretty good variety of rifles and shotguns, and lots of accessories, too. They had a good archery section, too.

 

[hminsky]

I remember when I was a kid, Sears had shotgun shells in the sporting good section. I asked my dad what they were...

 

[Another_David]

I buy clay targets at the Dick's in Natick. Last time I was there the cashier rang it up as $5 x 90 items in the box = $450 per box x 6 boxes....

Me: The price is for the whole box.
Cashier: It says qty 90
Me: Well, if these skeet cost $2700 I didn't bring enough money
Cashier supervisor: No, they're $5 per box
Me: [dead pan] oh okay, I can afford that

BTW, the guy at the gun counter seemed nice enough

 

[Adam_MA]

I remember when I was a kid, Sears had shotgun shells in the sporting good section. I asked my dad what they were...

Hell, J.C. Higgins, made an entire line of shotguns for Sears. I have one that's stamped Sears and Robuck Co. on the receiver.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Adam, you have that a bit backwards.

JC Higgins was a Sears brand. TTBOMK is that they never made anything. If you look them up in the Blue Book, you'll find that Stevens, High Standard and others made guns for Sears and put JC Higgins brand name on them.

 

[Adam_MA]

Ahhhh....

I just figured they made them for Sears, because I have seen some J.C. Higgins shotguns without the Sears stamped on the receiver.

Great gun BTW, I still use it for deer hunting! 16GA bolt action. I can get rifled slugs to group about 6" at 100 yards, off hand with only a front bead!

 

[Nickle]

I absolutely LOVE Dick's.

They're good for our business. We take care of our customers. they don't.

 

[LORD of WAR]

I absolutely LOVE Dick's.

They're good for our business. We take care of our customers. they don't.

truer words have not been spoken...

 

[Tweed]

I was at the Dick's in Leominster soon after they opened. I asked one of the kid clerks if they had snap-caps. He asked me if they were for a cap gun...

 

[Twigg]

I was at the Dick's in Leominster soon after they opened. I asked one of the kid clerks if they had snap-caps. He asked me if they were for a cap gun...

I buy clay targets at the Dick's in Natick. Last time I was there the cashier rang it up as $5 x 90 items in the box = $450 per box x 6 boxes....

Me: The price is for the whole box.
Cashier: It says qty 90
Me: Well, if these skeet cost $2700 I didn't bring enough money
Cashier supervisor: No, they're $5 per box
Me: [dead pan] oh okay, I can afford that

BTW, the guy at the gun counter seemed nice enough

I can't help ibut wonder if the cashier held a straight face when saying this, I tell ya there are some people who really, really, really need a slap upside the back o' the head !

In all fairness to Dick's I will say the folks up in Keene, N.H. know what they are doing.

 

[Another_David]

I can't help ibut wonder if the cashier held a straight face when saying this,

She wasn't joking in the least. She rang the items up, I had to correct her, and then the manager had to come and cancel it.

But yes, even if she had never seen a shotgun, a little common sense would tell you that the skeet end display is not $25,000 worth of targets.

It's comical but I've come to accept that these department stores like Walmart, Staples, Best Buy, offer a variety of products at low prices in exchange for good service. When I walk in the door I expect no service and low prices.

I actually get annoyed sometimes when sales people in these stores offer 'help'. I know what's comming:

Scenario 1: I ask a question and then the sales person starts reading me the features on the box. C'mon man, I'm not blind.

Scenario 2: I ask a question and the reply is, "I don't know" and imediately followed by a cheerful, "can I help you with anything else?" "um yeah, find the answer to my first question."

 

[AL243]

Dicks at the silver city gallaria isn't to bad,they have one guy that competent.as far as cashiers though,one asked for my f.i.d. when i went to ring out a scope! she must have thought since it went on a firearm you needed a permit! I told her that it wasn'nt needed,but she wasn't sure.so i showed her my l.t.c. and she didn't know what it was! I eventually got out with my scope.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I go to the one in Leominster when they have 9mm on sale. You can get it for about $5.50 for a box of 50 when you buy 10 boxes. I expect crappy service when I go there. If there's nobody behind the counter (which is usually the case) I've had good luck walking back into the "employees only" area and finding someone - usually the person that's supposed to be covering the Lodge area.

When you walk through a store in Massachusetts carrying 500-1000 rounds of ammo, you get some very interesting comments from the other patrons and some staff.

Here are a few examples from Dick's in Leominster:

CHECKOUT GIRL (Afraid to touch a brick of .22's): Is it OK to, like, put this in a bag?
ME: Yeah, probably. They hardly ever go off by themselves.

GUY IN FRONT OF ME IN LINE: Wow! What do you have there?
ME: That's 1000 rounds of 9mm.
GUY: And how many bullets are in a "round"?
ME: I hope only one.

WOMAN IN LINE (looking at the 10 boxes of ammo I'm carrying): I can't believe they let you just carry that through the store.
ME: Well, the last time I drove up to the ammo counter they told me that from now on I had to leave my car outside.

CHECKOUT GIRL: Are these for a handgun?
ME: Yup.
GIRL: Are you a cop?
ME: Nope.
GIRL: I thought only cops could own handguns.
ME (whispering): Don't tell anyone.

... and finally:

WHINY WOMAN IN LINE: I don't know why anybody would need so many "bullets".
ME: Lady, I'll bet there are a whole lot of things you don't know.

 

[Adam_MA]

WHINY WOMAN IN LINE: I don't know why anybody would need so many "bullets".
ME: Lady, I'll bet there are a whole lot of things you don't know.

That's good!

 

[dwarven1]

WOMAN IN LINE (looking at the 10 boxes of ammo I'm carrying): I can't believe they let you just carry that through the store.
ME: Well, the last time I drove up to the ammo counter they told me that from now on I had to leave my car outside.

I gotta remember some of these for future use.

 

[Lugnut]

How about this version, would you get in trouble?

WHINY WOMAN IN LINE: I don't know why anybody would need so many "bullets".
ME: Lady, there are lot of bad guys out there!

 

[dreppucci007]

I gotta remember some of these for future use.

Seriously!...Those are some great answers!

 

[Garys]

I actually get annoyed sometimes when sales people in these stores offer 'help'. I know what's comming:

Remember, it's only help, if it does.

Gary

 

[Executive]

Salesperson helpfulness is a function of how enthusiastic they are about the product(s) they are selling. As a self proclaimed "intelligent consumer", I research just about everything I buy for more than around $50.00, so I generally know a bit about what I am taking home. I have bought cars from salesmen that had little or no practical knowledge of the new vehicle they are selling. The original owner of Collectors Gallery absolutely refused to offer any sales-type help with firearms. Big stores, like Home Depot, Staples, Best Buy and so on offer decent prices, but as mentioned in an earlier post, little customer service or sales help. Once in a while, you find a salesperson who really knows the product (think 17 year old kid selling computers at CompUSA) and helps you out. Other than that type of scenario, research before you buy because you are on your own.


Chris

 

[derrick_lui]

Dicks is selling the remington 700 SPS varmint for 499.99 with scope inluded!..so I filled out a gun purchase form yesterday and I am waiting for the NICS to get back to me (I always get delayed for a day). When I dropped by today to have them check with NICS since I havent gotten a reply yet, they apparently lost my paper work!!

The guy was like "sorry sir but we have to check with the guy who helped you out yesterday tomorrow when he's in, the paperwork is not where it supposed to be and I dont know where it is..."

I am just concerned because the guy yesterday might have brought it home ( I last saw him slip my paperwork into his pocket after signing everything because there was a line of customers behind me so he didnt go back to the room and file it...)

I expected more professionalism from a large department store, let alone the paperwork with my SS# and other information is missing currently...

 

[Martlet]

I shop at Dick's quite a bit. It's hit or miss getting someone that knows what they're talking about. It's not a great store, but they have a decent inventory. You just have to go in there with the realization that it's a department store that happens to sell sporting goods.

There are a couple guys at the Danvers store that are great guys to deal with. DON'T let them tip your arrows there, though.

ETA: I read this again and it sounds pretty negative. I actually enjoy shopping at Dick's. It's just not a Four Seasons or LL Beans.

 

[MassMark]

Dicks is selling the remington 700 SPS varmint for 499.99 with scope inluded!..so I filled out a gun purchase form yesterday and I am waiting for the NICS to get back to me (I always get delayed for a day). When I dropped by today to have them check with NICS since I havent gotten a reply yet, they apparently lost my paper work!!

The guy was like "sorry sir but we have to check with the guy who helped you out yesterday tomorrow when he's in, the paperwork is not where it supposed to be and I dont know where it is..."

I am just concerned because the guy yesterday might have brought it home ( I last saw him slip my paperwork into his pocket after signing everything because there was a line of customers behind me so he didnt go back to the room and file it...)

I expected more professionalism from a large department store, let alone the paperwork with my SS# and other information is missing currently...

WOW! I work PT at the one out here and that would be just unacceptable beyond words...Martlet is right in his analogy - as a former customer and now employee, it can really be hit and miss. Yesterday, I was alone in the department for 5 of 6 hours and sold 11 kayaks, (which take time). Even still, a gun purchase would have been priority and the paperwork would have been filed properly, (wait or not)...You can't screw around with a 4473...