Not impressed by attitude at DVC gun range.

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freeflier

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The very first time, after joining, that I made the 45 minute trip from Vancouver to DVC I found the range shut down. The only explanation was a sign claiming "Range Maintenance". I had been on the web site earlier and saw nothing warning members not to waste their time coming out on Monday. I sent a curt email to the administrators complaining about the fact that I had wasted an hour and a half on the road because they couldn't even be bothered warning members. The response I got was typical of many Canadian businesses...instead of an apology or some form of token compensation I got a belligerent attitude and essentially told that if I didn't like it...too bad.
Conveniently they did this maintenance on a "members only" night which only compromised the range time of the people who had already paid and did not cut in to the "drop in" revenues that occur on other evenings. Clearly this outfit is going to take your money and then expect you to put up with whatever crap they dish out. I only joined 5 days ago so I can legally cancel which is exactly what I told them to do. I havn't gotten a reply so I suspect I'll be in small claims court next.
 
That sucks. I know a few of the employees can have a 'stern' attitude but Kelly, the owner of DVC is absolutely great, he taught my PAL course. Hes a really nice guy and easy to talk to. If you have an issues just bring it up with him i'm sure he will try and rectify the problem.
 
I believe they installed a new backstop that day. But yeah, they don't really have a good method of communication for their members. Some days they have HUGE groups reservations in and it takes forever to get a lane.

It would be nice if they had a kind of monthly calender and did continuous range status updates. Would make life a lot easier and happier for people (both members and public alike).
 
only ever stopped by when i moved out to bc to check it out, coming from calgary and the shooting edge the range just felt way to cramped and dingy, turned me off before i even tried shooting there
 
With the technology today, this shouldn't happen. A simple phone call to find out if there was an event or something going on would have alleviated this.
Backhoe guy swoops in and says he has a few hours free to fix a berm. Guess I'd shut down and do the repairs.
Not all things have a 1 month notice. Who can afford to have someone hired solely for updating a website.
Sorry but there are no winners in this outcome.
 
tigrr said:
With the technology today, this shouldn't happen. A simple phone call to find out if there was an event or something going on would have alleviated this.
Backhoe guy swoops in and says he has a few hours free to fix a berm. Guess I'd shut down and do the repairs.
Not all things have a 1 month notice. Who can afford to have someone hired solely for updating a website.
Sorry but there are no winners in this outcome.
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You are very correct there are no winners, but there are losers and that is the range. If you are in bussiness then you need customers and if they keep treating them like this they soon won't have many. It is up to the owner of the bussiness to make sure his customers are notified of work parties working on the range and from I hear in this thread they did not do this or even care about doing it. Just my two cents worth.

Graydog
 
I shoot at DVC every week and usually twice a week and have had 99% execellent experiences. The staff are great and always have a good attitude. They have been talking about the maintenence that they will be doing for over a month now so its not like it should come as a surprise. But then again I always try to chit chat with them when I'm there to find out whats new and such. They are hoping to expand as well. They told me a while back that the backstop and track system are being upgraded.

I suspect that Monday night was chosen as they have only been open Monday nights for a short time and it "usually" isnt very busy so it would upset the fewest people. As for your comment about the members only time vs the drop in time, news flash, its a business, most members dont buy ammo and thats where the bulk of their income and that place is not cheap to operate so what do you expect. Besides, its not like they shut it down on a weekend or something. To give you they benefit of the arguement, I guess arranging it for satuday or sunday night might have been better but I'm sure that would have cost them alot more so its simple economics. And granted, memberships there are pricey so we tend to expect alot, but a phone call prior to making the drive out could have saved you the headache. I live quite close and if I'm going at night, I always call ahead. If its packed, I stay home, if not I head down simple simple
 
freeflier said:
Clearly this outfit is going to take your money and then expect you to put up with whatever crap they dish out. I only joined 5 days ago so I can legally cancel which is exactly what I told them to do. I havn't gotten a reply so I suspect I'll be in small claims court next.
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Clearly you are too lazy to call ahead and extremely ignorant to the fact that the back stop wears out and needs upkeep.

Trash talking DVC won't fix your problem with yourself.

X2 for staff already telling people that the backstop work was coming, an it was expected to be completed on day they are least busiest.
 
Periodic maintenance at a range? Yup. It'll happen.

Maintenance on a member only night vs public night? That's the best choice to keep $$$ coming in. If $$$ aren't there, range won't be available for members or public on any night.

Calling ahead before each trip? ...uhh...ok. I probably wouldn't bother. Don't expect many do.

freeflier said:
...The response I got was typical of many Canadian businesses...instead of an apology or some form of token compensation I got a belligerent attitude and essentially told that if I didn't like it...too bad. ...
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^^^ This is the real problem here. I suspect if the staff's attitude were better then the OP might not have been so pissed off.
 
never been to DVC and im not planning to go but its good for someone that dosnt have their pal and its a one time thing so yea to expensive
 
freeflier said:
Nuff said, that was my experience and my membership is now cancelled.[/Q
Now that you have cancelled, drive up Coast meridian to the POCO range. Its $140 bucks, and you have way more shooting options available to you. The only nice thing about DVC is that it is indoors, and you don't have to wait for target changes.

My other rant is that their ammo prices are awful.
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deagle2008 said:
never been to DVC and im not planning to go but its good for someone that dosnt have their pal and its a one time thing so yea to expensive
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That is a shame.

I've been a member exclusively at the PCDHFC (on Burke Mountain) for many years. It was always a great place to shoot and I have many fond memories of the Range Officers and events. Unfortunately, one really cold day in December, they had a really long waiting list (over 2 hours). I just couldn't take it and decided to drive down to DVC and check it out.

Intention was to shoot my own .22 there since I didn't have pistols. Staff were friendly, pleasant, and helpful. I ended up selecting a few pistols from the display because I'd wanted to try them for a long time. Yes, the ammo isn't cheap, but it is a good deal when you think about the costs involved in running the range and providing well maintained firearms for loan.

I found out that the Glock (which I was all set to buy) just didn't sit right in my hand. That would have been a waste of $700. DVC saved that. I found one that worked and now own it. I'm happy.

The target retrieval system-- which they plan to upgrade soon-- is great. No ceasefires is fabulous. The warm and dry shooting area is nice when it is cold or wet out.

I still go to my old haunt on Burke Mountain to shoot my larger bore, but that is because DVC can't handle them.

Before you count it out, you really should take a trip there and experience it for yourself. I'd be happy to take you on a member only night as my guest. That means you don't have to pay the day card rate. Just bring your PAL, Firearms (pistol caliber or .22lr) and have at it.

I'll bet you like it, and I'm not normally a betting type.


(I should mention that I got the LEO discount which helped with my decision to buy a membership, but it is worth it at the regular price to change targets at your convenience and to be warm)
 
Mirth said:
Before you count it out, you really should take a trip there and experience it for yourself. I'd be happy to take you on a member only night as my guest. That means you don't have to pay the day card rate. Just bring your PAL, Firearms (pistol caliber or .22lr) and have at it.

I'll bet you like it, and I'm not normally a betting type.


(I should mention that I got the LEO discount which helped with my decision to buy a membership, but it is worth it at the regular price to change targets at your convenience and to be warm)
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That's very generous and I really appreciate the offer. I'm sure the facility is great and that's why I joined. Unfortunately I have a HUGE problem with people who first commit a slight you and then get their back up if anyone has the nerve to get annoyed. If you make a mistake admit it and move on. Don't puff your chest up and act like you are the one being slighted when someone calls you on it. One finds this on the road all the time with a-holes who do something stupid and then give YOU the finger for honking. This is what I encountered at DVC when they tried to make me out to be a jerk for complaining. I decided that I could do without the aggravation and of course they gave me a hard time (when I tried to cancel my membership) by banning me for life (fine by me).
 
You sound like a stuck up dude, with poor attitude. How old are you? Haven't you learned you wont get positive feed back if you approach someone with anger? Guys like you upset me, coming on forums and complaining like little girls, ( no offense ) but grow up dude. Don't like it move on. No one cares you need a tampon.


freeflier said:
The very first time, after joining, that I made the 45 minute trip from Vancouver to DVC I found the range shut down. The only explanation was a sign claiming "Range Maintenance". I had been on the web site earlier and saw nothing warning members not to waste their time coming out on Monday. I sent a curt email to the administrators complaining about the fact that I had wasted an hour and a half on the road because they couldn't even be bothered warning members. The response I got was typical of many Canadian businesses...instead of an apology or some form of token compensation I got a belligerent attitude and essentially told that if I didn't like it...too bad.
Conveniently they did this maintenance on a "members only" night which only compromised the range time of the people who had already paid and did not cut in to the "drop in" revenues that occur on other evenings. Clearly this outfit is going to take your money and then expect you to put up with whatever crap they dish out. I only joined 5 days ago so I can legally cancel which is exactly what I told them to do. I havn't gotten a reply so I suspect I'll be in small claims court next.
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To be fair to freeflier the guys at the range should not have given him a "tough luck" story. But not being party to the conversation it's hard to say if you gave them attitude which brought it on though. NORMALLY they are pretty good with the members when it comes to stuff like this. But they won't take crap either.

Changing or fixing the backstop at that place is a HUGE job. There is no way that they waited until that evening to start just so they could piss off the members. Likely they'd been at it all day. And if you let loose with a bit of frustration about not being able to shoot then I can see them barking back at you. It's not right but depending on your approach I can see it happening.

new and novice said:
My other rant is that their ammo prices are awful.
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N&N, their ammo prices are only high if you're using the range guns. Marking up the ammo well above store cost is how they pay for the guns and keeping the rent paid. If you stop and think about it that way then it's not that bad. They could not exist at all if they only charged the drop in fee.
 
I foresee someone's handle turning to pink in the near future. A frustrating (but minor) inconvenience (in which the lesson learned would be to phone ahead) becomes a confrontation and ends in a banning from a range for life. Puffed out chests and honking, all right, but I wonder from which direction.
 
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