I am feeling kind of quilty today. Ive been trying to get several good friends of mine to give bowhunting a shot. I finally convinced Gary to get a bow and just recomended he get a cheap used one from a bow shop, and at the time it seemed like good advice. So he decided to go to a local shop and buy one. He got one and was pumped about it the next day. He hadnt shot it yet but brought to me to look at. It was an old bow but the shop had only charged him 100 dollars for it with a new string installed, but when I inspected it I found that the string was about to pop off and was not installed right. Had he shot the bow it would have whipped the hell out of him. So now there went his good mood. Then to make it worse they had set it up for him for 350 dollars after the boltons and 12 arrows. they charged him the following. 40 dollars for a used WB same as walmart carries. which brand new are 40 80 dollars for arrows which 9 were 340s, 2 were 300s, and 1 was a 400 they just cut down what ever they had laying around one of which had been shot a few times before. they sold him a 80 dollar set of sights which were worth it ,but said that was the cheapest they carry which is BS and a release that was almost wore out for 40 bucks the same one I bought for 59 new. Now he had waited all week to come to my house for a barbeque and shoot bows and now has to take the bow back to get it repaired but the shop will be closed saturday. I hope I havent lost a future bowhunter due to a less than credible shop I think I will take his Bow back myself today and have them repair the bow and make them match the arrows at least. Im afraid they would try and charge him for the repairs. Even if it was their fault. Or do you guys think that would seem like Im butting in to his buisness or forcing my will on him sort of speak?
Some places are like that. They see a sheep ready to be fleeced and go for it. Like Jeff said, go in calm, cool, and collected and ask them to make it right. If they don't want to do it, then step it up a bit and speak to the manager/owner. If that fails, the one thing that usually works is... "I thought you all were reputable, evidently I was wrong. I always tell everyone I know when I get good, honest service, but when I think I am being wronged, I tell everyone to include people I don't know. How long do you think it takes for word of mouth to spread?" Good luck.
I got Mad just reading this! Thats just Wrong!!! He should take it back.Take about 5 guys with you so they are looking at 5 possible lost customers and mouths to spread the word about them. Like the others said keep cool at first then bring it to the next level if needed.
Yea I spoke to Gary and asked if he would be offended if I handled it. He seemed cool with it after I explained in laymens terms how the effect of diffrent weight arrows would frustrate him to no end trying to get his shooting skills sharpened. I am optimistic that the shop will repair the bow as long as Im not an jerk about it, but as far as the arrows I dont know how happy they will be now that they have cut them already. I will find out today I guess.
I know this is hindsight but, when I got my buddy into bowhunting I kind of walked him through the purchase of the bow, arrow selection, initial shooting form and so on. Introducing someone to this endeavor is definitely a hands on appraoch, IMO. All you can do now is what you are doing. If they are unhappy about the arrows perrhaps you can remind them that part of customer service is making sure the customer gets the proper equipment and not just any old BS they have laying around.
I offered to go with him in the beginning but had actually figured he had changed his mind until he showed up at work and told me he had already bought one. He is known for being kind of an impulse buyer with the credit card. I think the shop must have smelled that when he walked in the door.
by the way this bow I believe without lookin at ity right now is a proline, I dont think I have ever seen one before or herard of one. I will have to take a picture later and try and post it definetely is an ugly sob but I guess all the old bows were back in the day compared to now.
Is it a "pro" shop or just some pawn shop/novelty store that happens to sell archery equipment? If it's the former, I'd throw a holy-terror fit. If it's the latter, well, I'd still be mad, but that's about what I'd expect from a place like that. Your buddy should appreciate you intervening and helping him. You're doing the right thing.
proshop slash kawasaki dealer, Ive personally never needed to use them myself but I have stopped in a few times for a glimpse and to get a peep tube one time. They seemed alright to me. They have 3d tournaments there sometimes I guess. If they make it right I will let it go for the fact who ever was working there may or may not know what they were doing. Good help Im sure is hard to find for small town archery shops. they did sale him some g5 broadheads which was a good call though.lol
That's upsetting, esp. the arrows! When I got started in bow hunting a few years ago, I had a good buddy steer me in the general direction of where I need to go. I ended up getting a used bow off ebay almost fully equipped. Before I drew it back I had him look it over, then I had him take me to a pro shop he frequented. He knew them, they knew him. I needed a peep put in, arrows, and then tuned. I figured things would go a lot smoother with him there, knowing what I needed to get done, and being familiar with the people that worked there, than an unknown beginner not knowing what I needed walking in off the street.
whats sad is the arrows were a good quality arrow actually better than I shoot but the grain weight was different. Otherwise they were sweet looking arrows. It is possible there was a mix up because the shafts appearnce were exactly the same other than fletching color was yellow/white and orange/white.
took bow to the shop explained the situation and was suprised how helpful they were to correct the problem with no argument and no charge they also threw in a used quiver for our trouble. I dealt with the owner himself so that may be why. I guess it was his son who handled it the first time. I even purchased a few things to show no hard feelings. Even though there was some. Worked out in the end. Thanks for the advice guys keeping my cool was the best approach.
Glad it worked out for your Friend. He should be happy he's got a Friend to Bail him out Good Job Mud !!!
speaking of which my friend gary came over last night with his left elbow wrapped up I guess he thinks he has tennis elbow, what ever that is, so he could barely pull the bow back this guy cant catch a break.
