My opinion on Purchasing from EPPS

[Daver_II]

My experience was jaded to say the least. I purchased an AR from epps and upon a hiccup transferring it to me (as I lived in Quebec at the time) ended up In me canceling the order. The firearm never left the store room. And I was charged 10% restocking fee. When epps had done nothing but apply for a transfer. Its is not like I returned it for a defect, or because I was not happy with the condition.

Now how is it fair that I paid $100 for a rifle that never left the store room?
And was not even offered store credit for another purchase?

How is it fair that someone who buys a $150 dollar gun only pays $15 for restocking and I pay $100 even thought epps does the same amount of work?

On a separate event I drove four hours to visit their showroom, and granted they were busy, but I could not get service even though I was ready to drop $1700 on a benelli mr1.
However the attitude of the sales guy put me off when I asked if they could give me a better deal on extra mags.

Over all I am ready to give up on epps, but unfortunately for consumers, we can not afford to ignore one of the biggest stores for firearms in Ontario. Especially with the selection they offer...

One thing I will say is that when I bought an HK USP from them, and they forgot to include the 2nd magazine, they shipped me a new one for free very quickly. I appreciate that as an honest mistake, but when I have issues with every experience I have with epps, I start to wonder.

Now I look elsewhere and only check epps to price match. In a bind I will still buy there, but I don't make that decision lightly.

[ice2152]

First off just want to say Epps is the best!! Sorry to hear about the bad experience some people have had but in a retail enviroment where you are one of only a few who deal in firearm products you are going to be overly busy. Staff are going to be busy online or on phone handling customer orders while trying to accommodate the instore customers. I don't work for Epps but have worked retail for 24 years and know what it is like in that type of fast paced enviroment. Have patience. Things work a little more slower and friendlier in the north so there might be some conversations with locals and regulars. Something Toronto Citdiots could learn a lesson from. LOL Keep up the good work Epps.

[Rule 303]

I'm looking forward to going to their store. I'm driving up to Algonquin next week for a camping trip and I will be making a special detour to go see their shop! Glad to hear they really care for their customers.

Don't forget to stop in at Weber's for a burger!

You don't want to shop on an empty stomach, right?

[DonTC]

Great people, great service..

Would purchase from them again.

[Adam134]

I wouldn't waste my gas to drive to epps and I'm about 20 minutes from them. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt (3 trips with the exact same treatement) but their sales staff are rude and assume because you aren't a regular you aren't worth their attention until the regulars are dealt with first. Seems they forget who is the one selling the product and who is buying; I shouldn't have to battle for the right to SPEND my money.

[Jan1968]

*** censored ***

[BillR]

My truck is programmed to stop at Epps everytime I am north of Orillia. At times they are so busy in the gunroom that you can't even get near the counter.
My experience with Epps has always been very positive.
BillR

[drewhatto]

I love Epps bought a few guns there and they did have by far the best prices that i found for the guns . they could use a bigger store tho !!

[Harrier .45]

At my first visit I needed help what would be the right gun for me (.22), I got a comment "you need to know what you want, we have over 4000 guns in stock". My answer was "Well, you need to help me here, because you have over 4000 of them!"

Jan

The problem we run into is exactly this: "I'm looking for a .22. What would you recommend that would be right for me?" How can we answer this if we do not know what you are using it for, or what sort of considerations you have already made toward this purchase?

Yes, we do have more than 4,700 firearms in stock at any given time, all of which are posted on our website for you to review -- a website that is updated by the minute, and shows real-time inventory selections. What we are trying to have our customers do for themselves is to scan the available models that are in our inventory to determine which styles of rifles will best suit their requirements and their budgets.

Are you looking for a bolt-action rifle, or a semi-automatic rifle?

Do you want wood stocks, or synthetic?

Do you want a scope mounted to the rifle, or will you be using iron sights?

Under what sort of conditions will you be using this rifle? Is it your primary gun, or a back up?

Do you have a price range in mind?

What are you using the rifle for? Hunting? Target shooting? Benchrest shooting? A little bit of all of the above?

Have you visited our website to determine what we have in stock? If so, what appealed to you? If not, have you visited the websites of the manufacturers to determine what is being produced that might meet your needs?

And we ask that if you have visited our website, that you make note of the inventory stocking number for the specific firearm(s) that are of interest to you. Coming into the store and saying "You have a rifle on page 6, line 4" does not help us find that particular rifle for you. Instead, if you come in with a small measure of preparation and say something like "I'm looking for a bolt-action .22 that I can use for shooting squirrels", or "You have a Savage rifle for sale, stock number NGxxxxx", we can certainly assist you with that product, or suggest alternatives to that model.

We simply ask that customers realize that we have one of the largest firearm inventories in the business, and that the buyer must make at least a small effort to help us help them. Even if you do not have a specific model in mind, being able to at least suggest some purpose for the purchase you are intending to make will allow us to assist you far better than blindly asking "What scopes do you have in stock?"

Jan, I, too, have been in customer service for more than 27 years. I have trained sales agents in several different fields for many years, and pride not only myself, but our staff here at Epps as well on our product knowledge and our willingness to assist ANY customer that passes through our doors. No, our customer service is not perfect. Yes, we do sometimes make mistakes. And yes sometimes personalities may be somewhat counter-active to other individuals. But contrary to several claims here on this string, the staff at Epps does not go out of its way to ignore or otherwise discriminate against new customers. On the contrary, we welcome new shooters and new customers as well as experienced or familiar ones.

Customer service is a two-way street. Too often on these message boards it seems that customer forget this. We on the business side of the counter are here to HELP you, not to make decisions for you. We can recommend or suggest products and alternatives, but in the end it is the responsibility of the customer to make an informed decision when they choose to finalize any purchase.

In order for us to offer this assistance, we must have certain input and cooperation from the customer. We are not asking that you walk in with a 100% specific request in-hand (I want a Remington 700 SPS DM in .270 Win Mag with a Bushnell Elite 3-9x 40mm DOA reticle mounted on Weaver bases with Leupold Medium matte rings). All that we ask is that our customers have at least a basic understanding of what they are looking for, and what use they intend to get out of it. That way we can start with that preliminary selection they have made, then branch out to other options once we have established a wider range of products that will suit those needs.

Isn't this why they call it shopping?

[pkitcheman]

I live in minden about 1 hr and 15 min from epps. I went their twice. And will never go back. No one in there wanted to give me the time of day to help me find what guns i was looking for. Is it because Im only 22 years old and must have been some kid just wasting time? They were right about me.being 22. But i have a good job with a good salary. So took my desire to buy 2 brand new guns to accuracy plus in peterborough. They were awesome. One salesperson spent 45 min with me looking at stuff. And was surprised that i actually was buying that day. That's how it should be. Not even thinking that someone was going to buy something but still giving them your time because they came to your store..not the next guys. Sorry epps, all you have going for you in my mind is your over crowded massive inventory.