jjlaughner
Sharpshooter
After reading several posts about Gander Mountains high prices, poor customer service, and misleading sales; I wanted to make a post but didn't want to hi-jack another thread. So I'll start a new one...
Mind you this was in 2003-04, shortly after the Castleton area Gander Mountain had opened when I was living in Fishers.
I'm on my way home after work one day and decided to checkout the opening sale prices at Gander Mountain. I was looking around and seen, what looked to be a decent small spotting scope, it was a Remington, small viewfinder with a cheapish looking tripod stand sitting inside the display case, it was marked $19.95. I asked to look at it and after a few minutes I said I would take one (I had just built or was building my AR and was shooting .22 rifles and thought it might be fun to try out). The guy puts the spotting scope back in the case and grabs a stacked box from the other side of the counter and rings me up for $199.95 plus tax.
WHAT? I asked 'is this the same scope as the one I looked at?' and he showed me the model number and said the boxed version was the same but the box had a hard shell padded locking case and binoculars. Ok cool, but I want the $19.95 spotting scope out of the case. He walks over looks at the scope and says oh that's mismarked and proceeds to take the sticker off and toss it in the trash as he walked back to void the sale. I told him I would take the floor model spotting scope not in the case for the $19.95 price as marked and he walked away laughing...
So I wait about 10 seconds, he never returned after voiding the sale, I walk over and ask can I talk to a manager? He says he's the manager of that department. I ask to see the store manager and he says that person is not in today I had to deal with him and he was not going to sale me the scope for $19.95 even though it 'WAS' clearly mismarked.
I steam all the way home that the guy A: laughed about the whole thing and refused to give me the marked price and B: said he was manager, would not honor the price and I had to deal with him otherwise go home.
So I went home... Sat down at the computer, found the Gander Mountain website and wrote a huge email into corporate clearing stating how I was treated and how the 'manager' of that department acted when he seen the scope was mismarked and then refused to help me after that. And stated I would NEVER shop that store again and would be informing others of my issue. About a week later I get a phone call from the regional manager asking me to come into the store and talk to him about the situation. Reluctantly I went in, fully expecting to waste my time once again. I get into the store and found the regional manager. We talked for a couple minutes about the store and how they are changing some things in corporate... yadda yadda yadda. I showed him the item, told him how things went down and pointed out the areas 'manager' (which ended up not being the manager at all).
Story ends... with a $20 Gander Mountain gift card from the regional manager in hand with a Remington Spotting scope in box with hard case and binoculars marked $19.95 under my arm in the checkout line. Final price... about a buck after taxes and gift card!
I told the Regional Manager despite his actions I would likely not be back to the store but I appreciated his selling the scope for the marked price.
I have been back to the store a few times to price shop and waste time while the other half was in JoAnn's next door, but never really spent more than a few bucks in there after that.
I think I've used that spotting scope maybe twice since and the binoculars once... typical impulse buy on a 'deal' I guess
EDIT NOTE: in my email to Gander Mountain, I did not ask for the scope to be sold to me for the mismarked price. I was only alerting them to my treatment by an employee.
Mind you this was in 2003-04, shortly after the Castleton area Gander Mountain had opened when I was living in Fishers.
I'm on my way home after work one day and decided to checkout the opening sale prices at Gander Mountain. I was looking around and seen, what looked to be a decent small spotting scope, it was a Remington, small viewfinder with a cheapish looking tripod stand sitting inside the display case, it was marked $19.95. I asked to look at it and after a few minutes I said I would take one (I had just built or was building my AR and was shooting .22 rifles and thought it might be fun to try out). The guy puts the spotting scope back in the case and grabs a stacked box from the other side of the counter and rings me up for $199.95 plus tax.
WHAT? I asked 'is this the same scope as the one I looked at?' and he showed me the model number and said the boxed version was the same but the box had a hard shell padded locking case and binoculars. Ok cool, but I want the $19.95 spotting scope out of the case. He walks over looks at the scope and says oh that's mismarked and proceeds to take the sticker off and toss it in the trash as he walked back to void the sale. I told him I would take the floor model spotting scope not in the case for the $19.95 price as marked and he walked away laughing...
So I wait about 10 seconds, he never returned after voiding the sale, I walk over and ask can I talk to a manager? He says he's the manager of that department. I ask to see the store manager and he says that person is not in today I had to deal with him and he was not going to sale me the scope for $19.95 even though it 'WAS' clearly mismarked.
I steam all the way home that the guy A: laughed about the whole thing and refused to give me the marked price and B: said he was manager, would not honor the price and I had to deal with him otherwise go home.
So I went home... Sat down at the computer, found the Gander Mountain website and wrote a huge email into corporate clearing stating how I was treated and how the 'manager' of that department acted when he seen the scope was mismarked and then refused to help me after that. And stated I would NEVER shop that store again and would be informing others of my issue. About a week later I get a phone call from the regional manager asking me to come into the store and talk to him about the situation. Reluctantly I went in, fully expecting to waste my time once again. I get into the store and found the regional manager. We talked for a couple minutes about the store and how they are changing some things in corporate... yadda yadda yadda. I showed him the item, told him how things went down and pointed out the areas 'manager' (which ended up not being the manager at all).
Story ends... with a $20 Gander Mountain gift card from the regional manager in hand with a Remington Spotting scope in box with hard case and binoculars marked $19.95 under my arm in the checkout line. Final price... about a buck after taxes and gift card!
I told the Regional Manager despite his actions I would likely not be back to the store but I appreciated his selling the scope for the marked price.
I have been back to the store a few times to price shop and waste time while the other half was in JoAnn's next door, but never really spent more than a few bucks in there after that.
I think I've used that spotting scope maybe twice since and the binoculars once... typical impulse buy on a 'deal' I guess
EDIT NOTE: in my email to Gander Mountain, I did not ask for the scope to be sold to me for the mismarked price. I was only alerting them to my treatment by an employee.
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