Pro Shop Blues
 

Yesterday I drove 2 hours to a pro shop to look at the patriot that they said was in stock.
Ok so here I am in the shop with cash in hand, I looked around the shop and no patriot the only BT bows they has was a gen 2 and pro 38 both last years models.
I asked the guy behind the counter where the patriot was his answer we dont have one.
So I says to him now I know you probably dont get many australians calling this shop looking for a patriot he says your right we dont so I say well ok why in the *&^% did you tell me you had one here I told you on the phone it was going to take 2 hours to get here.
His reply was well we dont have the patriot but over here we have a far better bow than any BT your going to get.
He grabs a MMMMMATHEWS also last years model
and trys to sell me that.
Then when I tell him that I dont want a Mathews he gets all snarly at me.
I just looked at him and said you have to be kidding me right your P'ed at me because I dont like Mathews and wont own one how the *&^% do you think I feel driving 2 hours on the believe that you had the Patriot and you knew that was the bow I was most interested in.
He then ordered me out of his shop so I just took 8 crisp $100 notes out and said well jerk see this you aint ever going to see any more of my money.
That guy dont know just how lucky he is that he still has his front teeth.

Sorry for going on about it but it realy got to me 5 hours driving cause I hit peak hour traffic getting back home and almost a full tank of gas just so some clown can try and pull my chain.

With that off my chest I feel a lot better now
thanks guys

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

I hope there is another shop close by, because if I were you, that would be last time I would visit them. Sounds to me like they may have just told you that to sucker you into coming so they could sell you a bow.

Thats a real bum deal bud, I hope you find one somewhere else.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

that was the closest BT dealer to me
looks like I am gonna have to drive a long ways to find another one. Then the problem if I need to make a warranty claim comes into effect.
But I do know one thing it is going to be a cold day in hell before I will go back to that shop.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

I'd contact Bowtech and let them know what kinda schmuck they have supposedly representing them!<img src=icon_smile_angry.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Ausie, that sucks that he made you drive so far to pull the bait & switch. I wonder if he tries to sell Bowtech to people when he doesn't have a Mathews like he probably tells them?

Phil.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

he only had 2 BT's in the shop
about 20 mathews a few PSE's and a couple of Hoyts
It really looked to me that he was mainly a Mathews dealer and just had the others to get people in the shop

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

I like the above suggestion of calling Bowtech and telling them the way the dealer treated you.

I wouldn't want somebody like that representing my line of bows!

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Maybe that is a good reason why bowtech and other bow manufactures should sell their product on line.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

I am sorry to here about that. Far to often so called &quot;proshops&quot; do things like that. I had to drive 2 1/2 hours to my nearest &quot;stocking&quot; Darton dealer to get a look at my new bow. I know how madd I would have been if I would have had what happend to you happen to me!! I had just the other happen infact. I have to say this is about the best PRO SHOP I have ever been in. It was well worth the drive.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

You should post the name/location here on the great big world wide web so that others don't get snookered by them <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

Winger

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

DOES MAIL ORDER SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA? I'LL BET THAT YOU COULD CALL BOWTECH AND GET THEIR BLESSING FOR LEN OR HUNTERSFRIEND TO SHIP YOU ONE ALL SET UP! Your kind of experience is really BS and is why consumers need choice.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

That is EXACTLY the type of thing I spoke of in another thread. Unfortunately, Len, Mike, or myself cannot sell to you or anyone via the internet or mail-order with Bowtech, Mathews, or Hoyt. If they find out, the dealership is pulled immediately. That is the policy, end of story, ain't worth it to us to lose the dealerships. So, in poor Ausie-guys' case, he must either be forced into buying this product through this nimrod, (not) OR, drive another however-far to look and buy one elsewhere. Sucks, and I feel for you Ausie. Wish I could sell ya one. Maybe someday. Good shooting, Pinwheel 12

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Yeah I know Pin
looks like I am gonna have to drive down to Austin
But will be callin them first
I hope it dont happen again otherwise I wont need a bow for a few years

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

that just blows dude, sorry about your luck!

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

As a professional Pro Shop owner, I am embarrassed and offer my apologies. This type of business trickery is without an excuse.

This is something I posted recently on another forum which seems appropriate at this time:
There is no absolute definition of PRO SHOP. If you have enough money to hang a shingle and buy &quot;X&quot; dollars worth of bows from any one manufacturer, they dub you a PRO SHOP. You 'may' get set up properly or you 'may' not. The disgrace I've seen in this industry is absurd use of the term &quot;PRO SHOP&quot;. There are no standards that an archery store has to meet. There are no schools they have to attend or tests they have to take.

The Pro Shops that are good are usually crowded during the rush season beyond belief. I can't tell you how many sales or service jobs we lost last year because some customers just couldn't/wouldn't wait in line. If your Archery Store is crowded and people tell you it's worth the wait, count your blessings. While many of you know a lot and probably can do a good job on your bow, don't even begin to think you know it all - I don't.

.......I know AMO would like to set PRO SHOP standards, but how? I wish most of the manufacturers would/could do a better job of selecting the stores that sell their products.&quot;

I, like PW12 and other Pro Shop owners, wish I could help.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

OK guys, you ain't gonna believe this one!
Hey Ausie guy, did we go to the same shop, or what?? I believe I spoke to that very same nimrod!!! With the same exact conversation!
I went to a Bowtech dealer to see about any 2002 model that might have been in stock. It was a 1 & 1/2 hour drive (but I was going to be in the area anyways that day) only to be told to &quot;buy a Mathews and be done with it!&quot; I was also told that Bowtech was a company on it's way out in &quot;2 or 3 years, and that they had THE worst 2 cam bow on the market today&quot;. He also said that &quot;the man designing cams for Bowtech worked for Oregon, and you KNOW what happened to them!&quot;
When I reiterated with facts about Bowtechs company and technology, It seemed like I knew more about them than he did! How can a &quot;Pro-Shop&quot; sell something that they know nothing about? I pointed to the 2001 Bowtech's that were hanging on the wall, and I told him that these were the best bows on the market IMO and that he would never sell me a Mathews!
Needless to say, I sent a very informative letter, by email, to John Strashiem himself. I named names and told him all of the details of the conversation, and told him that some dealers in our area, try to steer us away from their bows. They say they sit on the shelf, but I think the dealers are representing them poorly.
Is there more of a markup on the Mathews and they can make more money? I know a dealer right now that would LOVE to carry the Bowtech line, but can't because there is a dealer less than a mile away carrying them. Which is a shop that I too refuse to patronize, so in order to get a Bowtech, I have a drive ahead of me.
Ausie-guy, I wrote the letter, but if you want me to, I will mention this to John when he calls.
The best Pro-shop in my area sells Hoyt. Looks like I might have to switch!!!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Randy

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Ausie....definitely contact Jerid Strasheim at BowTech, he's a great guy and has stated that he will consider internet or shipped bows on a &quot;Case by Case&quot; basis based on exactly the reason you stated......it's simply impossible for you to GET ONE in a realistic distance.
And since the only shop to carry them within realistic distance is obviously run by a Buttnut ,I imagine he would be willing to help you out.....he offered on another thread to discuss any such problems with potential customers.
His e-mail address is located on BowTech's website.....I'd take him up on it.
The bows and the company are worth the extra effort......it's just a shame that YOU have to go the extra mile to find that out.<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>

Edited by - Matt / PA on 02/24/2002 21:22:29

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Len
I sure would like to see some standards brought in for Pro Shops but how do you go about setting it up I think more scrutterny should be done by manufractors when accepting them as outlets.
Are you sure you dont want to go into partnership with me LOL

Randy
No need for you to mention it but if you want to go ahead I have already written a letter outlining what happened

Matt

I have BT's phone number here so I will be calling them in the morning hopefully I will be able to speak to Jerid if not I will leave my number and he can call me back when he has the time.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

THERE IS NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER FOR THE BEHAVIOR OF THE DEALER THAT YOU WENT TO AUSSIE!

I know lots of dealers have had poor luck selling Bowtechs for a couple of reasons and the jerks like you ran into today make it even tougher.

Lot's of dealers both fail to attend the AMO show and thus don't get themselves truely educated on the product. Combine this with the fact that most of the Archery Magazines that the average Archery customer reads tout every bow that is advertised in their pages as being pretty darn swell. Look at the article in the new Peterson's Bowhunting on 12 forgiving bows. Is there anything in the article that would make you pay an extra $200 for a given bow? They all sound terrific.

Archer's Retreat, Bowhunting.com and the Bowsite tend to get the Seriously Addicted or Pro, the Serious Enthusiast, and the Soon to Be Serious Enthusiast visiting them. Though there is tremendous buzz among the true would be Bowtech customers, there is no such buzz among the average Joe that picks up Bowhunting or Bowhunter at the corner newstand. But there is Mathew's buzz at this point in time.

So a lot of decent and not so decent &quot;Bowtech Dealers&quot; do have some of last years Bowtechs on the shelf. This leads some of them to badmouth the product.

Now as some of you know I was very unhappy with one of their warranty provisions, but I have never thought that the bows were other than first cabin.

Bowtech would be better having availability for all through those such as Len and Pinwheel as well as through their true quality dealers. Having meatheads represent your products is of less value than not to be sure.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

This may be far fetched but is there a possibility that some of these type shops could be getting dealer status in an attempt to block competition for their &quot;PREFERED&quot; brand of bows? Seems like with the protected territory arrangement this could happen. Get dealer status for the competitive brand and only keep a couple of older model bows on hand and then attempt to steer customers to their prefered brand. Might be something for Bowtech to check out. I am sure there have been more underhanded practices than this take place.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Been there, not with Bowtech or anything, but in general, which is why 20 years ago I just gave up on the whole thing, bought my own jigs and presses, and became self sufficient. Not that that handles how you get the product in your hand in the first place. The pro-shop system is OK for beginers etc..., but there are a few of us who have been doing this for a while, and it is more trouble than it is worth. That isn't any slam on the guys on this board that do it right.

How could it be fixed, think PGA. Though I backdoor that whole process also.

I would do some of the stuff already mentioned. Something else I would do is write Mathews, after all this guy isn't exactly the Bowtech dealer of the year. Even if he is pushing Mathews, this kind of dishonest behaviour hurts everyone. It doesn't mater whether they take action or not. They probably wont if it is a one-off.

I once politely wrote Jay Maseey, famous guide and writer, to firmly and politely ask what had happened with my book, that was long overdue. He wrote back equaly politely to say gosh I'm sorry my daughter just died, and we kind of lost track of some stuff, and if I owe you a copy its on its way. Whoa! Everyone has bad days, but the 2hour drive to meet the guy illustrating Webster's definition of Moron is something we could all do without.

What about the Better Business Bureau for the town in question.

Don't drop it, but in your complaints don't exagerate it, or you may end up getting hurt too. Just the facts. He said X on the phone, he didn't have it, and tried to switch me.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

There is an old retailing term for this action, it's called &quot;BAIT and SWITCH&quot;!

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Nubbb: Quoting you; &quot;So a lot of decent and not so decent &quot;Bowtech Dealers&quot; do have some of last years Bowtechs on the shelf. This leads some of them to badmouth the product.&quot;

I have 2 of the 2000 BowTech models left and 5 of the 2001 BowTech models left. I count it as a bad business decision on what my customer base really wanted and that is NOT BowTech's fault.

I know you know this but there are some out there who incorrectly blame the manufacturer. It is not unusual to have &quot;left over&quot; bows at the end of any given year. We discount them for the customers looking for a good deal and get on with the year at hand. We do, however, watch ourselves in how we will order that manufacturer's products for the present year. We have to ask ourselves; is it us, is it the marketplace, or is it the manufacturer's products lacking in some aspect?

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Just wanted to say I just ordered a Bowtech but before I did , I did a lot of research as well as calling Bowtech, after dealing with Bowtech on the phone I'm sure that these shops who have treated customers the way they have will soon be regretting it as far as Bowtech is concerned. On another note after all the research I did I finally decided to find a shop that carried BT and try them out before I made my final decision,the shop I ended up at is also a Hoyt dealer,when I asked his opinion on both lines his answer was &quot; to be honest with you they are both great companies and it all comes down to personal preferance&quot; I shot a couple Hoyt's and the one BT he had left and made my decision. I sure wish all dealers could be like that.

RE: Pro Shop Blues
 

Len,

Your post said &quot;I have 2 of the 2000 BowTech models left and 5 of the 2001 BowTech models left. I count it as a bad business decision on what my customer base really wanted and that is NOT BowTech's fault&quot;.

Len I couldn't agree with you more! I guess I didn't articulate well enough. In no way is it the Manufacturers fault! Some dealers resent their own purchasing decisions and take it out on the manufacturer from time to time. It is for this reason that I think it's so important to have dealers that are behind a product available as sources to potential customers. Having dealers like the one Aussie went to, slam your product makes no sense in my book.

Your enthusiasm for Darton shows and you know that a potential Darton customer will end up better off with you, than with a dealer that has no such enthusiasm for the product.

Best....Nubbb