Wholesale Calgary... painful

I emailed both WSS and their competition in Calgary to ask as to availability and price for a Ruger compact. Ru els replied, WSS did not I bought from my rifle from Ru els and didn't bother further with WSS.

Who or what is Ru els? Is it a new store?
 
Its Russels and they are owned by Wholesale who are owned by UFA. Been posted a few times in this thread.

Yeah, it would have been Russels if it had a couple more "s" in it. Ru els is how it was spelled. Isn't it funny that the guys who complain about poor service and complacency are so lazy and complacent with their posting.
 
Spent an hour+ yesterday waiting for service at Calgary WSS.They now have take a number for faster service and they were on #5 when I showed up and grabbed #8! At least they're consistant.They even manage to FU their mail orders.They exist only because of the pricing otherwise natural selection would have already occured.The poor bastard next to me was trying to buy a 405gr bullet mold specifying smokeless powder while the staff extolled the virtues of using a .54 TC conical and blackpowder for his 45-70 Marlin!out of general pity and low tolerance for further BS intervened.SSDD at WSS.....Harold
 
Had great service at the WSS in Nanaimo last week..

A fellow recognized me from the huntingbc.ca website and said hello, then I followed him around while he stocked me up on downrigger gear, carried my stuff to the counter and was generally very helpful!


Did you tell him your big foot story. If I meet you, thats the first thing I'm gonna ask. :D
 
I'm never overly pleased with the gun counter service at Wholesale (In Calgary), but I can't say there has ever been a time where I left pissed off at someone who was helping me.

I don't know if it's only in my experience; but I have always, always had excellent service in the fishing section. Always get asked if I need something while I browse, and always got helpful answers to my questions.
 
Be careful what you wish for...I live near a small city with one gun/outdoor gear store; which we call "Bend Over Sports"
I'd be happy to wait in line at WSS to deal with someone who isn't an expert as opposed to dealing with an expert who charges way to much because they can.
Ever paid 10 $ for a 5 pack of winchester buckshot? You walk a little funny after that...not good funny;bad funny. 50$ for 20 pack of 38-55? Wow! A pistol or revolver under 500$ not happening;even for used.
I didn't mention where I'm from 'cause that's not cool slagging a store like that; still I stop @ WSS when I'm in Cowtown. And leave happy every time.
 
Be careful what you wish for...I live near a small city with one gun/outdoor gear store; which we call "Bend Over Sports"
I'd be happy to wait in line at WSS to deal with someone who isn't an expert as opposed to dealing with an expert who charges way to much because they can.
Ever paid 10 $ for a 5 pack of winchester buckshot? You walk a little funny after that...not good funny;bad funny. 50$ for 20 pack of 38-55? Wow! A pistol or revolver under 500$ not happening;even for used.
I didn't mention where I'm from 'cause that's not cool slagging a store like that; still I stop @ WSS when I'm in Cowtown. And leave happy every time.

I cant wait til WSS is built here in PG. I went to the local shop here and they had my old rifle I traded in before on sale for 100$ above the brand new price:confused:
 
I always go to Russell's first. They usually do me fine. If they don't have what I want, then I'll go to WSS. I hate the lines, but once I'm talking to a guy, and explain carefully what I want, then its usually not so bad. But I do hate the lines/waits. I'm really unhappy about Russell's closing, but I knew it was only a matter of time. I had such high hopes for BassPro, but they have such terrible selection. Its a waste of time even popping in there. It was there that I have experienced the worst customer service. There were several people lined up waiting for help. There were 4 people behind the counter. 1 person behind the counter was off in la-la land, and the other 3 were all helping 1 customer. When I asked for some help, I was treated with such malice that I'd gladly pay an extra $50 for a gun somewhere else rather than give them my business.
 
It's a very sad story that on Dec. 28 Russell's will be moving all their staff and product to WSS and will be closing down. I have always loved Russell's and hated WSS. Looks like I'll be looking for a small mom/pop shop to deal with from now on...
 
I don't live out west, but I certainly understand the frustration.

Here we have Lebarons and bass pro. Of the two Lebarons staff might actually know something. Bass Pro is by far the worst for knowledgeable staff, they are just marginally ahead of the walmart kid who asks if a box of 270 will be an ok substitute for a box of 243!!!

But in either case, I would much sooner get my stuff from the local guys but his prices force us to drive the 3 hours away to Lebarons to get it. It is actually cheaper to by the gas and go there than it is to buy the gear at the local shop! In doing so though, we certainly loose out on the staff knowledge, but what do you do?

As for wholesale itself, I certainly understand the employment issue. Seeing as I don't go in person I have done the mail order deal. No real problems their, other than one instance. Was on a wait list to by a scope, back ordered, and they kept on telling me it was coming. So I called the manufacturer, they had discontinued the model I wanted 4 months ago! Called wholesale, told them, they had no idea but assured me that they would be getting a shipment together and not to worry!! Not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
 
Seeing this thread pop back up is funny, I was in WSS this week and actually had a positive experience for a change. There were a bunch of guys working on on the gun counter, things were moving along and I actually got decent service. Maybe the Russell's move is rubbing off on them already. We can always hope, right?

Mark
 
Am I the only guy here who gets decent service from WSS?

I can't say I've ever had crappy service from the Calgary, Edmonton, or Saskatoon stores.
There used to be a fat bastard at the Calgary store who was a loudmouth but I just chose not to talk to him. Problem solved.

But I also know what I want when I go in there.

Last year I was in Saskatoon for a couple of weeks in November. I'm sure I went to WSS at least 6-7 times. I was asked if I needed a hand with anything multiple times.

I'm sure there's a huge difference between customers coming in and just tirekicking and trying to make BFF's and someone coming in and knowing what he wants.

If I was the gun counter guy I'd be a frikkin' grouch too having to deal with these maroons.
 
If I was the gun counter guy I'd be a frikkin' grouch too having to deal with these maroons.

And that there is the problem. Customer service is their job. If they only like dealing with experts on the topic of shooting then they should have known better then to even apply for the job.
 
Support the little outdoor shops in your home towns and you wouldnt have to wait forever at the "outdoor malls."

That is a great idea if their prices were in line with other suppliers.
Otherwise, I will wait to get my stuff.
IE...IMR powder $39.99 Local, $31.99 WSS
I can be patient and save money or be in a hurry and get screwed...hmmmm.
 
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