Wholesale Regina...what a joke.

Let's face it people, it's retail sales. Not likely to attract the most qualified people at those wage rates. I am often quite impressed by some of the people
they do have working there, but I'm sure they probably go through ten duds before they find a good one. Then the corporate office bean counters tell them
they have to layoff half their staff and the ones they keep quit because they're expected to work twice as hard for the same old crappy wage. If you think the
service is bad now, wait until the hunting season draws near. I actually feel sorry for those poor bastards; it's easy to see that they are way under staffed.
Although I can definitely understand the frustration of anyone trying to buy something there and having to put up with one of the ten duds. Lord knows,
I've had to deal with enough of them and it certainly took the joy out of looking at a fine new rifle.
 
Undergiver said:
I have a had great service with the WSS in Burlington, WA. Maybe the U.S. stores could give the Canadian stores a few lessons.
Click to expand...

Is this the one by the Cabelas just south of Seattle? When I went there, it was nothing but USA #1 Fudds. I casually brought up how proud I was that good Canadian companies were making it big in the USA. These guys had no clue WSS was owned by Albertan farmers haha.
 
Rocket Surgery said:
Is this the one by the Cabelas just south of Seattle? When I went there, it was nothing but USA #1 Fudds. I casually brought up how proud I was that good Canadian companies were making it big in the USA. These guys had no clue WSS was owned by Albertan farmers haha.
Click to expand...

nope, Burlington is south of Bellingham.
 
Eh as much as I prefer to support local business... I hate dealing with our local shop (Island Outfitters) that much more. They are out to lunch with some of their prices, and provide completely crap service. At least at WSS the (clueless) sales people behind the desk give me the time of day, and give a sincere effort to trying to help find what I'm after.

In other words: WSS is fine, as long as you know what you want... and they have it in stock.
 
Had a problem with the same redheaded guy the other day. I was buying a bunch of stuff, (and I've spent thousands there before, not that it should really matter) and he made it perfectly clear that all he wanted was to get rid of me as soon as possible. Too bad, there are some good guys behind the gun counter at WSS in Regina, but all it takes is one really bad experience for me to want to take my business elsewhere. The really sad thing is that I think that character is some type of manager or something :rolleyes:
 
ever since the co-op took over, there's been a definate drop in service and supply with wss- doesn't matter which store- they don't even have the "stupid stuff"- like lee ratchets in stock- it almost looks like ufa wants to starve wss into extinction for the tax write-off
 
I have never had a bad experience @ any of the WSS stores I have visited = all of the stores in BC/Alberta...

but then I do not go in expecting the person behind the counter to know more about firearms than I do I just tell them what I am looking for get them to check stock if they have it I buy it if they don't I move onto the next item.

I will patiently train them as we are talking and when I leave they know more than when I arrived and will serve the n next person with a little more knowledge...

I have had a few of the staff pull off some ignorant uninformed comments which I will laugh at but I then educate them so they know not to spew stupid next time.

CC
 
Camp Cook said:
I have never had a bad experience @ any of the WSS stores I have visited = all of the stores in BC/Alberta...

but then I do not go in expecting the person behind the counter to know more about firearms than I do I just tell them what I am looking for get them to check stock if they have it I buy it if they don't I move onto the next item.

I will patiently train them as we are talking and when I leave they know more than when I arrived and will serve the n next person with a little more knowledge...

I have had a few of the staff pull off some ignorant uninformed comments which I will laugh at but I then educate them so they know not to spew stupid next time.

CC
Click to expand...
That's the spirit CC, never give in to the uninformed masses.:D
I guess it's easy to criticize when you are standing on the other side of the counter, never really knowing the whole story. The bottom line being, I think
we're better off with them, then without and hopefully all the little bumps and annoyances will sort themselves out with time. And I'll honestly try to
keep it in mind next time I feel like going on a rant about WSS....NOT.:D
 
I go in to the Regina store fairly often. I have always had good service. When the staff is busy, I usually just skulk around until they are free.

I see a lot of macho guys at the gun counter showing off to their girlfriends. That must get a bit tiring for the sales staff. I realize that these guys are always "big spenders", and should have extra special attention, for sure.:rolleyes:

I bought a little Marlin 925 the other day in S'toon WSS. They were selling guns like hotcakes. While I was there, they sold me a Marlin .22, others bought a nice Remington shotgun, an expensive looking handgun, a big rifle. The guy I dealt with was very nice.

I am just glad to have places to go and buy guns. Back in "the good old days", you could buy guns almost anywhere. Our good government made most of the little places knuckle under and pack it in. I remember when our local Co-op grocery store sold rifles and ammunition. Not much choice, mind you.:)
 
Things that bug me about WSS and Cabelas in Winnipeg:

When I know more about something than you do and you can't answer my questions. If I have to know more than you and figure it out myself I might as well order online (cheaper than you sell it for) and not bother driving 45 minutes to get to your store.

When I call ahead of time to verify you have a specific item I'm looking for and then I make the 45 minute one way trip to pick it up and when I get there I'm told that you are out of stock.

When your website says you have something in stock but you don't really have it or there is an error on your website.

When I do make the trip for nothing because you have no clue and don't have the items I want in stock (even though you said you did an hour earlier) and I then order the item from you and am told that it will be here on the next shipment which should be in a few days, then I wait a month and call back and am told you have no idea when this item is coming in.

When you are to busy picking your nose behind the counter and won't take the time of day to talk to me or when I'm treated like a child when I ask to look at a firearm.

And my most favorite is that their prices are ridiculous. Buying a sendero from LeBaron with taxes and shipping was $100 CHEAPER than sticker price (before taxes) at WSS and Cabelas.

I could go on but the bottom line is that I've had it with those guys. I order everything online now and will only go to those stores to browse if I'm in the area (to watch a movie at the mall for example) to kill time and I never expect them to have what I'm looking for.
 
OK I need to comment on this...
I have been on both sides of the counter. 3 years in gun sales at the Army Surplus store in Winnipeg back in the late 80's. I think many people here have unrealistic expectations of what to expect from sales people. Back then we were expected to have a good, helpful attitude and work towards knowing a little bit about everything. It's unrealistic to expect to find a complete expert in the niche of the industry that interests you. You may but it's not all that common. The range of knowledge is pretty huge. You may know all there is to know about your area of interest but you cannot expect to find that behind the counter except by luck. That guy behind the counter may not know much about over / under shotguns. Does that make him a bad person to deal with? That same guy who "knows nothing" may regularly shoot 3" groups at 500 yards and, oh bye the way, has shot 10 really nice whitetail bucks in the past 10 years.
From the other side of the counter I can tell you it's a very mixed bag of a job. You do meet a ton of really interesting people and it's very satisfying to help them get what they want. It's also nice to fondle new toys and meet industry insiders. If you are a gun nut, it is a dream gig that unfortunately pays peanuts.
What is it about guns that bring that out so much attitude in people? That need to show off all their supposed knowledge? 99% of all customers are decent folks. Outdoors people truly are the salt of the earth. But for every guy I met who really knew his stuff I met 10 who knew squat but had lots of attitude. Is it really a great ego trip to try and prove you know more than the guy behind the counter? I have seen it all, including the expert who took apart his semi auto 22 and brought it back in 25 pieces to the store on Saturday morning (busy!) and wanted it reassembled NOW.
The people who work in the sales industry are there to do a job. Some are university students, some are honest hard working people who are interested in what they sell and do it for little pay. Some are truly experts who live, eat and breathe guns. A few are idiots...they will get sorted out fast. It's too bad the pay is bad. People with above average brainpower tend to become Actuaries and Computer geeks, not retail sales people. Many of the people behind the guns counter are there because they love it. It takes years to really know the industry and by then the call of the "better job" is strong and the good ones tend to leave. Please cut your gun guy some slack! I'm sure the posters here would go bat sh*t crazy if opinions of their job performance were posted on the internet for all to see. Rant off!
 
You belong to this site to learn about guns, so I wouldn't rely on what a student/clerk tells me about guns at the store. Do your homework and buy what you need at the store if they have it, those guys are only making $10/hr., you can't expect them to all be gun gurus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom