Why I don't shop at Dicks Sporting Goods....

[golfer1]

OK, they are fine for balls, shoes, bags, etc. but for clubs and advice, I wouldn't put a lot of trust in them.

While I was shopping with the wife yesterday, I was meandering through the driver section and the guy working in the golf section asked if I needed anything. I said, "no just looking, still searching for the perfect driver, etc. He asked what I was using and I told him a Cleveland 460 Ti, Reg Flex with a 10.5º loft. While I really like this driver, I do hit the ball very high with very little roll but get god accuracy, hitting faiways about 75% of the time.

Now here's where it gets good. He states that the new 460 drivers have a HIGHER center of gravity which causes a lower ball flight and more roll!

And as we all know, the opposite is actually true. I should have corrected him, but the wife was motioning me to get going and he didn't sem like the type of person who could handle criticism very well, so I just left.

Maybe they just moved him into the golf section from the tennis section.

[demon]

I dont trust any salesman period. They only tell you what you want you to hear so they can make a sale.

[Andy_79]

Originally Posted by demon

I dont trust any salesman period. They only tell you what you want you to hear so they can make a sale.

Errrrr, what else would you expect them to do ?!

This is a pretty stupid statement....

[demon]

Originally Posted by Andy_79

Errrrr, what else would you expect them to do ?!

This is a pretty stupid statement....

Not to lie

[warbirdlover]

Golf stores like these should have well trained salespeople who are GOOD golfers and can help you. I found one store in Milwaukee like this. The rest are young kids or (obviously) high handicap golfers who just don't know. Here's my list of "don't buy here" stores. I can't comment on Golfsmith since I've never been to one but Edwin Watts is REALLY GOOD from my experience. I don't like Dick's, Golf Galaxy or similar around here.

If they have a golf monitor and you understand what you're looking for (which we really all should) you can still use these places. You just call the shots.

[golfer1]

I'm actually an independent manufacturers rep of industrial mechanical equipment for 16 years. So as a sales person, I appreciate talking to a knowledgeable salesman who knows what thay are talking about. My regular guy at Golfsmith is an avid golfer with a 10 handicap and people wait in line for him.

Dick's is a mass merchandiser competing with a lot of different types of competitors, so as the saying goes " you usually get what you pay for" applies here, including bad advice from misinformed sales people.

[Davebud]

Agreed, I used to do sales and the only thing I ever lied about was that we would get the jobs done on time. That was beyond my control and I wasn't lieing on purpose. As much as I could, I made sure it happened, to the extent that I was in the field installing for free the last 5 months I worked at that company. My commissions suffered dramatically and I finally had to quit the job, way to much stress. That is the single biggest reason my wife and I will not expand to the point that we would need employees.

Can't stand salesmen that you both know they are full of crap when they tell you something. I won a national sales competition at that company out of 500+ salesmen, I did not lie to do it. Salesmen that do just choose to, they could be more productive by telling people the truth. I got a lot of refferals based on the fact that people liked my style. A recent example, I was out at the dump and there was a gentleman unloading a bunch of construction garbage from his truck. I asked what the project was, and let him tell me all about what he was doing. So after about 5 minutes of him talking he asked what I did. I told him that my wife and I run a cleaning company that cleans new homes when they are done being built. So he asked me how much, I told him and he replied that our price was to high. No problems I said, I was really just wondering what you were building. Well he hands me his bussiness card and tells me that was the softest sell he had ever seen and he would like us to do the 3 houses he is building and he will pay our price. He is a purchasing agent for a large company that is building the houses on the side. Sold 3 jobs, didn't lie, no pressures for either of us and we both drove away happy.

[JEFF4i]

This isn't true?

Why, just the other day someone told me that Callaways offer the most workability! Don't tell me that isn't true!!!

[Tenn-Driver]

I won't dipute anything you guys have said here, but I will say that I did go to a DSG store near the 1st of Nov because I was told they had a golf simulator. I wanted to find out what my swing speed was and if I had one of those swings that required a off set driver...
The guy was a very nice quiet spoken man that was quite knoweledgable (he didn't talk down to me because I was new and learning). His card read that he was a PGA Golf Pro...

One thing he did impressed on me was the fact that I didn't need high dollar clubs at this point and time, but I should think about finding something more fitting to me other than the Northwestern (K-Mart Specials).

He made a couple of suggestions, but left it at that.
I did buy my putter from him, so he didn't totally waist his time wiht me.

So in defense of this one guy... Not "ALL" the DSG Stores have idiots for sales people.

[golfer1]

Originally Posted by Davebud

Agreed, I used to do sales and the only thing I ever lied about was that we would get the jobs done on time. That was beyond my control and I wasn't lieing on purpose.

Dave, that is so true! It's also the main reason why many good sales people leave corporate America and become independent mfg. reps. like myself.

[flomarilius]

Wait a second I worked in a golf store for a bit but my classes forced me to stop. Listen guys, honestly not all of the guys their are like that. I was knowledgeable about most clubs and when a person asked me about PING for example I wouldnt make up stuff I would tell things like "I'm not familiar too much with this line. People love them but personally I dont have a taste for them. Go with what feels best." Personally I hate Ping after what they did to the stores that gave discounts to Military Personnel. If you know what your talking about and you dont juice the monitor you make a hell of a lot of sales.

A month ago I sold about 8 drivers, 9 iron sets, and about a handful of putters in about a week and a 1/2. Just be blunt and give the consumer an idea that you know what your talking about so that he can trust you. Of course you gotta lean with people to the higher end models and of course I mean we all understand buisness but dont force them and give them compliments on their swing and you've got a sale.

A Nationwide Tour guy who lives in Miami walked in once and asked to see a certain iron set, obviously I recognized him and I realized he was testing the stores for things like juicing. The sleezeball before me juiced the monitor to make an average joe hit a 230 3 Iron (of course he sold it) and the guy gave me compliments. He was working with GI trying to discover why stores would do such a thing. Got his card and even got a few lessons from him !

IT pays to be nice! and oh yea honest!

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by Davebud

Agreed, I used to do sales and the only thing I ever lied about was that we would get the jobs done on time. That was beyond my control and I wasn't lieing on purpose. As much as I could, I made sure it happened, to the extent that I was in the field installing for free the last 5 months I worked at that company. My commissions suffered dramatically and I finally had to quit the job, way to much stress. That is the single biggest reason my wife and I will not expand to the point that we would need employees.

Can't stand salesmen that you both know they are full of crap when they tell you something. I won a national sales competition at that company out of 500+ salesmen, I did not lie to do it. Salesmen that do just choose to, they could be more productive by telling people the truth. I got a lot of refferals based on the fact that people liked my style. A recent example, I was out at the dump and there was a gentleman unloading a bunch of construction garbage from his truck. I asked what the project was, and let him tell me all about what he was doing. So after about 5 minutes of him talking he asked what I did. I told him that my wife and I run a cleaning company that cleans new homes when they are done being built. So he asked me how much, I told him and he replied that our price was to high. No problems I said, I was really just wondering what you were building. Well he hands me his bussiness card and tells me that was the softest sell he had ever seen and he would like us to do the 3 houses he is building and he will pay our price. He is a purchasing agent for a large company that is building the houses on the side. Sold 3 jobs, didn't lie, no pressures for either of us and we both drove away happy.

Amen, I have been in sales in one capacity or another since my working career began. I have found the best way to sell and get GOOD referrals is to be up front and honest about what you can and CAN'T do. Sometimes its just as well to tell a potential client that you can't rather than saying you can and not coming thru.

[Jules150]

Originally Posted by demon

I dont trust any salesman period. They only tell you what you want you to hear so they can make a sale.

Just like launcher monitors!

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

Golf stores like these should have well trained salespeople who are GOOD golfers and can help you. I found one store in Milwaukee like this. The rest are young kids or (obviously) high handicap golfers who just don't know. Here's my list of "don't buy here" stores. I can't comment on Golfsmith since I've never been to one but Edwin Watts is REALLY GOOD from my experience. I don't like Dick's, Golf Galaxy or similar around here.

If they have a golf monitor and you understand what you're looking for (which we really all should) you can still use these places. You just call the shots.

I totally agree about Edwin Watts. Every time I've shopped there, the salespeople have been helpful and patient. I always get the sense that they are trying to help me make the best decision possible. Of course they want to steer me towards ceratin clubs. And maybe those clubs are the ones that they'll make the most money on. It's their job. And they need to feed their families, just like the rest of us. But when I go into Edwin Watts looking at drivers, and the guy suggest that I grab five drivers and spend time in the simulator, and he suggests that I grab a Fusion, and I tell him I don't like Callaway drivers, and he says "no problem, what do you like?" Well, that's all I can ask for.

Anyone who lumps all salespeople together and calls them a$$holes has been watching too much George Carlin. Who, by the way, is a salesman himself.

[golfer1]

And sometimes the best answer to a question is "I don't know, but I can find out." Unfortunatley a lot of sales peoples ego's get in the way of using that as a response to a question they can't honestly answer.

The internet has made a lot of customers a lot smarter these days. Some of the problem is that a lot of retailers and businesses don't provide adequate training any more. They let their sales people learn by the "baptism by fire method". While experience can be considered the best teacher, you still have to be taught the fundementals.