dukemichaels

Details.. thats all I want.. details.

A pro shop doesn't need the fancy gizmos and newest craves. Give me the details of the hunt.. because when I go to your pro shop and the season is on.. I'm in need of the bow holder I lost.. the bow hoist rope I forgot.. the glue for my fletching I'm out of.....

Too often I run into a pro-shop and they're always out of the details of the hunt.. but have mass quantities of Zwickey broadheads with 8 layers of dust on them. Are you kidding me?

I always try to support my local pro-shop.. but it makes it real hard when they don't have what IS needed by hunters and have all the latest gadgets.. Do you really need 12 rows of "the can"... you're out of tree tacks just like you were last month.. and the month before..

You know what I'm sayin'. Anybody... anybody..??

(oh.. and good customer service is a must).

mauser06

ive yet to find a shop that im happy with.

ive been to...3 different shops and heard horror stories of a couple others so i havent bothered going to them...

the one shop is pretty big in terms of invetory, 40yd indoor range and techno hunt, seem to have a good selection of most anything you need...but its hit or miss with customer service and prices seem rediculous sometimes...

another is a decint sized shop...seems to carry a little bit of everything...again, its hit or miss with customer service...20yd indoor range and techno hunt

the other shop is a tiny basement shop...no range except a bag and paper tuning frame..not much selection of anything but man is that guy nice....and, pretty sure most all the profit goes to "archery in the schools" programs..his hours are terrible..but its understandable..he works AFTER his day job..

i dont know why it seems that i am treated poorly in the shops alot of times...i dont know if its because im not a "regular"...i swear the same guys hang out in there all the time..or maybe its because im a "punk 21 year old..." as some might say? even though i dont carry that around guess i could be sterotyped? or maybe its because they see gear or my arrows that they know they dont carry whatever they see so they are mad because i shop elsewhere...

i dont know what it is...just seems they moan n groan a good bit when i ask them to do something...im there with a wallet in my pocket willing to spend money...i dont ask for miricles, or stuff to be done in the blink of an eye or anything like that...so i dont know what it is....

if they carried the gear i bought, i just might have bought it FROM them...i like what i like and use what i like, not what they carry...i guess the only stuff i bought from a shop was from that small basement shop..he had DDW soap and such i couldnt find anywhere else, and rocky mnt 125gr snypers that arent common...

i hate attitudes and the moaning and groaning i seem to get...im there paying for a service...if you dont wanna do it dont do it..but if you do, dont moan and groan or you probably wont see me or my money again...not like i ask for freebies or miricles...

customer service comes high on my list...thats why i goto the small basement shop any chance i can...hes super nice and i can BS with him for an hour about his programs he started, hunting, gear etc etc...

ranges are nice...i enjoy a little indoor during the winter/rainy days...

invetory is nice...id guess its nice to see the items and even test the items...i usually order mine though...none of the shops carry what i want most of the time...and NONE offered to order anything for me..."nope we dont carry that"

jmbuckhunter

I really like the Tecno Hunt (or some version of the video hunts) in the off season. It beats the heck out of shooting papertargets. And it feels like real hunting.

One shop that I visit has kids only shooting and lessons on 1/2 of its lanes every Saturday morning. That should help recruit a few new bowhunters to the sport. Adults are on the other side of the wall.

This may sound prejudice but, I like getting my service and advicefrom the older guys working there. They seem to understand what I want better than the young kids behind the counter. They are willing to see what I need instead of what they want to sell me. But maybe that is because they are more my age, just my thoughts.

OHbowhntr

The SWAP MEET does sound like a GREAT idea, especially if you grill up some dogs and brats, and have some cold drinks, (non-alcoholic type), it may in the end result in the dealer losing a couple sales to used items, but at the same time, it may bring guys in to shoot, and buy other stuff that they don't have, but want or need. Guys comparing rigs, asking questions about different set-ups and potentially buying more toys they don't really need but like.

My pro-shop I go to has been around for many years, and started out in a back room of their house, back in the late 80's, and built up to a nice big shop next to the house. It's the kind of place, like "Cheers," where everybody knows your name. I've never been pressured into buying anything, and I've been re-directed to a cheaper, all the while somewhat better product. They know that I'm stretching my $$$$ for what I can get, and when I order in stuff, I've rarely ever paid "MSRP," nor do any of the other customers. You want a Cobra Boomslang, it's not the $59.99 that is MSRP, it's $52.99. They could certainly charge that, and I'd still opt to buy from them over BassPro, Cabela's or where ever, but they don't.

They ask how my season's going, not just for small talk, but because they actually give a damn. A lot of the shared stories in the shop are similar to threads on here, where different opinions and input is thrown in, and guys and gals (because there are some ladies in there, too) get to discuss differing techniques call that work and don't work, etc, or better ways to use them.

I think HONESTY and FRIENDLINESS are the big two reason I keep going back, but the fact that the price is RIGHT certainly don't hurt anything!!!

Buck Magnet

Greg, where to start with this one? The number one reason I go to the shop I do now is because of the owners/employees knowledge. These guys know what they are doin and aren't just your average Joe who throws a sight/rest on, eyeballs it up, and says your ready to go hunting.

I have had alot of great experiences at some shops, but I have had some horrible ones too. I can honestly say that our very own Big John was by far the best person that I have ever dealt with at a pro shop and he is the standard that all pro-shop employees should try to follow. My best friend and I stoped in at his shop (never having know that Spud and Big John were on in the same) as I was looking for a new bow. I had just visited an Alpine shop that had trashed talked the BowTech line-up to the point that it really made me curious about them. I stopped in and they had a Mighty Mite but I also wanted to shoot a Patriot SC. Big John wasn't working that night, but he was kind enough to bring his own personalPatriot in to let my buddy and I shoot. He also checked out our bows (at the time we pretty much had no knowledge of tuning) and he offered to tune our bows for us as they were nowhere near correctly set-up. I purchased the MightyMite and when I finally got my accessories and was ready to have it all set-up, I recieved a call from John telling me that the owner of the shop had un-expectadly packed up and left. He told me to bring my bow and accessories to his house and he would set them up and tune them, he also told me to bring my buddy (Matt) and his bow as he would tune them too. I couldn't believe that he would care that much to help out "some young punks". Several times after that he had worked on other bows of mine that I had purchased and we even went to a local club to shoot and tune. (I did get him in trouble, I was buying new BowTechs and letting him shoot them, so of course he had to buy some new bows ) I owe everything that I know about tuning bows and the technical side of archery to John and I can't thank him enough!

As far as other stories, as mauser hinted to, I was frequently treated as a "young punk" when I would walk into a shop and eyeball some of the top end bows. Alot of times I was treated as though I didn't have the money to purchase the bows and also that I didn't know what I was talking about. This was a huge slap in the face and it also made me turn away from that shop and let my friends know about the dealings with these shops.

As far as accessories go, most of the shops around here don't have alot of accessories in stock. You pretty much get a few very expensive target sights and some cheap plastic fiber optic hunting sights as your choices. You can order any sight you want, but alot of times I just want to try out a few different mid to upper range sights and that is impossible. Stabilizers are a major joke at every shop in the area, you have the Simms S-Coil and a Doinker or two, thats it. It would be nice to have more options to browse when you are ready to set up your bow.

Customer service is the major selling point, a few kind words and a little respect will go a long way!

MNpurple

There are so many broadheads on the market that I think look great and would love to try out but at $30-$40 a pop, I just dont have the disposable income to buy 5 or 6 different heads and see what I think of them.

I would love to have a place with a variety of different broadheads that I could actually put on to my arrows, shoot, and see what I think of them. I've never shot a mechanical head before, mainly because I dont want to spend $40 just to see if I like them. If I could try them out first, I would be much more willing to drop the $40 on the Rage for example.

This doesnt just apply to broadheads its everything, I love to try things if possible before a purchase. The more things to try the better, maybe then at the end of each bowseason you could have a clearance sale on the "trial products?"

SwampCollie

Greg I already filled your inbox up once today on the dealer/owner topic... here is my view from a customer standpoint (even though its biased). I was going to save this one all for myself, but since I don't have the capital to start it up anyway, I'll lay it out for you Greg (though if you want to pull a few strings.... you know my background, and I'd gladly GLADLY run a shop.

Reader's digest version.... I'd like to see pro shops better educate their customers.

I have of course, dreamed of having my own shop. While I run the shop now like it was my own, it is very VERY VERY far from it. The whole idea came up because technically in my county, it is illegal to discharge a bowon a residentially zoned property. So even though I have nothing but trees for over 500 yards behind me (and I shoot anyway) I could be cited for it. My neighbors don't care, and I wave from the roof of my screened in porch practicing elevated shots.

The idea started around a 3D range on industrial/commercial zoned property where people could legally shoot, there is a small but existing market niche for this (but it would attract people from outside my county). Not just 3D like one day per month club tournaments, but open 6 days a week, two courses, broadhead range, shooting towers for practicing elevated shots etc etc etc. I have 8 typed pages (that won't suprise Greg) of ideas for the place saved on the computer.

Of course I'd have a pro shop. Sell hunting and 3D bows, heck maybe even fine guns, who knows. But I'd make it classy. Big fireplace, leather couch with all the current magazines and dealer catalouges laid out. I'd have an indoor range as well, maybe even 10 target 3D inside.... who knows... all space dependant. I currently work on bows for a living, so the personal service and labor part of the job I'm more than used to.

Here is what I've been getting to.....

What would really set this place apart is not only would I work on customer's bows (which is what I do for a living now), but I would have another identical workbench in an adjacent room complete with its own 30 yard indoor lane, a pair of bow presses, squares, levels, everything you need to work on a bow. Only rather than payingme to do it.... you can hand me $5-10 or whatever and work on your own bow yourself. You don't need to put up big money for overhead in buying a $500+ dollar press, you can use mine for a fraction of that.

I'd offer a basic do's and don'ts class, requiring basic certification (to protect the customer from himself and me from lawsuits), and even offer lessons on how to work on your own archery equipment (lets be honest here, how many of you would pay $50 to be able to do just about everything you need to do on a bow, while learning exactly what is going on with your $1000 plus investment).

Having a more educated customer is good for business. Oddly, even though this sounds underhanded, when people start messing with their stuff, they are going to make mistakes and break stuff... which is why I am there to help not only with a labor charge (depending on how bad it is) but also with parts and even just friendly advice or suggestions. It will actually drive sales. People will want to tinker and experiment and this will encourage that very thing. To the best of my knowledge, it would be totally unique among archery shops. Most shops want to charge you $20 to install and tie in a peep, and they see this as an opportunity for profit because they offer a service you cannot perform yourself..... but why not?.... I want you to learn how to do it yourself so that you will better understand your bow and what makes it tick (or hopefully just make a silent swish ). Ever notice that good mechanics aren't always good race car drivers, but most good race car drivers are also great mechanics? The more you learn about your bow, the better archer you will become.

On this same sort of note, I want to see pro shops now offer these kinds of classes. Heck, just take arrow building/refletching. Offer a class on a Saturday, make it like 3-4 hours long. Charge $100. For that, you get a Bitz jig, Goat Tough, Vane scraper, some vanes/blazers and the class itself. Bring your own arrow shafts! For anyone interested in getting into reflecthing arrows anyway, $100 is a reasonable equipment investment... so consider a hands on instruction and being able to know which side is really right and which side is really left, thrown in at no extra charge. Fly shops do this kind of thing with fly tying on a regular basis, same with fly casting.

WakeCow

Knowledge of product+ Customer Service are easily the two biggest things in any buisness yougo into.

ONESHOT_BRANDON

FOR ME BEING AN AMATEUR BOWHUNTER AND A NOVICE HUNTER I WANT SOMEONE WHO IS ENCOURAGING,LIKES WHAT THEY DO,HELPS AND TAKES TIME WITH YOU IN EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO LEARN....I WANT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I CAN ABOUT HUNTING AND BOWHUNTING...SOME OF THE BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD..

GMMAT

I forgot to add one thing......

Bottom line......give me a shop owner who acts like he wants to be there.....and like he wants to help me out........

................and he can just about name his price.