# Scheels



## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

I was at Scheels in Rapid City today and picked up a Landmark spotting scope. I wanted to post about how helpful the guy (and everyone else) there was. They didn't try to sell me the most expensive thing, but the one that would benifit me the most. They also had very reasonable prices. This wasn't the first purchase from there, and won't be my last, but just wanted to tell about how great everybody there was. I'm sure most you have been there, but still wanted to share. :beer:


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Well at least you have good expereince with Scheels.


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## goosehunternd (Mar 10, 2006)

> blhunter3 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Well at least you have good expereince with Scheels


I second that, every time in that store I leave disappointed


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## AV (May 24, 2007)

Yeah not very impressed with scheels customer service..... sportsmans is the way to go...


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

goosehunternd said:


> > blhunter3 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> ...


I second that second


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Good to hear Varmint.I love Scheels.Spendy but always been good people I've dealt with.Rapid,S Falls,Fargo,StCloud,wherever.
Nothing against Sportsmens either but some of their stores have young,marginal,know it all help in my experience.
One notable exception has been the St Cloud,Mn store.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have been in very few sporting good stores that will not try sell you what they have not what you want. It's been a few years, so I don't remember the exact sequence this happened, but I had some fun at Scheels in Fargo.
I walked in and when asked if they could help I said "ya I want a 300WSM". The salesman right away says: "what you going to hunt", which is code for we don't have one. I said deer. The salesman says I don't need a 300 mag for deer, and the best deer caliber out there is a 270 Winchester. I said ok, like what one? He showed me a Winchester model 70, and I said "that's a real nice gun, I like it". He said "can we write it up for you"? I said "nope, I got one just like it". He is a little put out now and asks "so why do you need a 300WSM"? I said I might want to shoot an elk too. Then he says the new (then) 300WSM is all hype and the good old 300 Win Mag is better, and proceeds to show me a Remington Sendero. I told him boy I sure like the looks and feel of that rifle. Again he asks "can we write it up for you"? I said no, and he asked why. I said "I got a rifle just like that one too". Now he is getting ticked, and says "what the *&&^% do you want a 300WSM for? I said, "just because I want one isn't that good enough"? He stomped off without comment which I thought was petty. Oh well, if he is going to waste my time can't I waste his?
That was years past, and I did dump nearly two grand on a new grill there last Saturday.


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## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

I've never been to any other Scheels except for the one in Rapid, and they have always been really good.


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## bretts (Feb 24, 2004)

I've always had good experiences with those guys...a few guys in the bow department are the only guys I would have touch my bow. There isn't a chance I would have anybody at sportsmans, gander, and definitely not cabelas touch my bow.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

It's tough to have an employee gauge an entire organization. You never know what kind of personality you're going to get and hiring I'm sure isn't easy. Here in Bismarck, there are some guys I flat out avoid and some guys I look for.

What I missed the most was the OLD Scheels that was on N. Broadway in Fargo (by Ben Franklin Jr. High). They had a solid crew in there.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Not a Scheels defender, but I am surprised that so many people want a field trained expert on every product at their beck and call in a store like Scheels or any other similar store. I walk through the aisle and see a ton of stuff and for me I realize that equates to hundreds of products from various Mfg. How can any one person or even a group of people be able to know the exact quality of each product.

I ordered some chemical for my business today. I ordered product the salesmen was not familiar with. He asked me how and why I use the products. The catalog contains over 350 different cleaning chemicals many of which have similar uses. His questions of me where to better serve others down the road. He will never put any of the chemicals I ordered into actual use, but can relate what I do to someone else if they inquire.

That is all one should expect from a salesperson unless you are going to a specialty store and how many of those do we have that can survive? Most people simply go to them to gather the information they desire and then price shop the store and end up buying it from Scheels or Walmart.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

I havnt had any bad experiences as of yet. I did think it was funny though when I went in and asked if they were going to carry the 'Classic Doubles' ammo made by HS. None of em' heard of it.... :lol: 
Hard to keep on top of every new thing on the market I spose...


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## shootnmiss09 (Sep 15, 2006)

Scheels, is the place where i usually shop. U have never had any bad experiences with them


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## fargodawg (Sep 20, 2005)

as already stated, if you know who to look for it is tough to have a bad experience at Scheels. I dont expect experts on everythng but many there know more than I. I give them the price range and they can get me done up right.

I think that Sportsman's is a cluster and have banned Gander Mt. after a no help situation (I called Scheels from the dekes aisle at Gander and had what I wanted put on hold for me at Scheels instead)


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

> What I missed the most was the OLD Scheels that was on N. Broadway in Fargo (by Ben Franklin Jr. High). They had a solid crew in there.


The salesman by the name of Dennis ( I believe he went to Moorehead after the N. Fargo closed) was one of the best saleman in the histiry of Scheel's! No B.S. plain and simple! He would get what we needed when we needed it! I wounder what ever happened to him! Great guy and very knowledgeable!


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

If it is the same Dennis that is still in Moorhead, Steinar (sp??), you are correct. He is great!!!! Knows his products very well.


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

duckp said:


> but some of their stores have young,marginal,know it all help in my experience.


Id rather deal with some of the yonger workers, atleast in the waterfowl category. Its easy to tell if they know what they are talking about, and if they do, they usually know a lot better than the older guys. IMO. It seems in some circumstances the older guys take us (the younger people) for granted because they have had so "many" more years of hunting experience. Times have changed........

I've actually had some really good experiences with the fargo scheels. There's a few young guys that really knew what they were talking about so i dropped $700 in there one day just because i knew was getting some honest/good advice.

I've been in the bismarck scheels probably 1000 times over the past 5 years and don't think ive bought anything from the hunting section besides shells. We save our money and give it to places that we think is worth getting our business


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## Southwest Fisher (May 14, 2004)

I'm actually a Gander fan, but that's because I spend all my time in the fishing department and old Backwater Eddy is very good to me. His knowledge is worth the trip alone.

Also, for the many service members out there, Gander has a 10% military discount, better than Sportsman's (5%), Scheels (none, but I have a buddy working there whom is an OIF vet and he's trying!), and way better than Fleet Farm, which puts big "We Support Our Troops" banners on their flyers but has no discount. When I sent them a letter inquiring about their lack thereof, I received a snotty form letter as a reply. Thus ended my longstanding relationship with the Mills family. :******:


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## Almomatic (May 6, 2006)

Chris Hustad said:


> It's tough to have an employee gauge an entire organization. You never know what kind of personality you're going to get and hiring I'm sure isn't easy.


One employee can kill the reputation of a company with a bad experience to the customer. Too bad all sporting good stores are going the way of walmart, it seems that they just want a body to say hi or push a credit card instead of hiring a staff that has some expert knowledge, I know I used to work for one them that is doing that. Find the guy you can get an honest answer/advise from and stick with him, whichever store is your favorite. :2cents:


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Well I used to love Scheel, but until they moved to their new store in Fargo I have lost a lot of respect for the store. I cannot get help and when I do they try to sell me stuff that cost more then I have or something I don't want. I used to work at a car/lawnmower/docks and lift and if you are going to sell something you need to the everything about it and I think that all sales people should do just that. I did research upon research on that stuff we had for sale and i wasn't even a sales person yet. All I want to Scheels people to do is get their staff to know their products and help people, not just the ones that have money.


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## catfisherman2 (Apr 17, 2008)

As a person of a background with this subject, I will add my opinion as I feel it is just. I have worked for Gander Mountain, Scheels Allsports, and Sportsman's Warehouse. I started with Gander within the new store that opened in Fargo as a new associate. I finished as a manager within the last one I had worked for. I feel every store has something, as a customer, to benefit from. I know that I look at price and availability first. I really do enjoy the Scheel's store regarding the selection and product they offer, not so much the decoys that I needed. The thing about the businesses that everyone needs to realize is that the suppliers dictate what the wholesalers will have for selection. I always hated people getting mad if the store was out of a certain product...somehow that was my fault. I will tell a secret that everyone should know if you are a reloader...The brass is a left over biproduct of what is not used during manufacturing of the loaded up bullets...it is not produced like that. Primers are the same. The military has the control as of the last two years as well as .224 bullets. Winchester is their own company regarding primers but CCI and Federal are affiliated with ATK. When the military calls up an order for $38million, winchester is stuck holding the bag and can't produce what is needed fast enough. Anyways...back to the point of this forum. I have been working throughout all of these companys and I have found the thing about Scheels is that they have a very nice, very well displayed store. They are very competitive regarding prices....hunting and fishing I mean. It is just a pain in the *** to get bait.


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## rberglof (May 17, 2007)

I have only shopped in the Scheels in Grand Forks and have wandered around in the one in Minot. There is a guy in the GF store that is a retired teacher that seems pretty knowledgeable and a very nice person that I was impressed with. My wife and I went in there to buy arrows and we talked to him for a bit, when we left we did not go back in for over 6 months and when we walked in he remembered my wifes name and was close on mine and also remembered where our house is in ND. When we get back to North Dakota I will find out if he still remembers us. I have to admit I do like Sportsman's Warehouse also but have only shopped in one in Washington. Cabelas in East GF is OK about the same as Bass Pro Shops usually to busy for the amount of sales people they have and they try to look for the big spenders to take care of first which I don't blame them for that, they are there to make money.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

The gun department at the St. Cloud store is pretty top notch. Went to high school and shot many a ducks with the manager there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the gun department in their Fargo store is very poor at best. Their staff is very insightful... if they ever stop their jabbering to each other and help the customers. I found it very strange as I wouldn't see a "typical" gun purchaser as they range from the beginner to the expert shooter or from the rookie hunter to the well seasoned veteran. I was planning to purchase an O/U and went in to shoulder quite a few guns and my budget was upwards of $1500 for a gun. After shouldering a lot of different guns and just wanting some assistance with fit and finish questions and spending about 30 minutes or so walking around the department only looking at mid price range O/U's, not a single time was I approached while out of the corner of my eye 3 employees stood behind the tuning bench yapping away with each other on a very slow afternoon.


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## snow123geese (Feb 3, 2008)

I like Sportsmans Warehouse the best (Fargo). They have good prices and the people there are very helpful. I like the archery dept. the people there always ask you if you need any help and if you do need help, they help you with anything. Scheels is kind of high priced I don't think I have really bought anything there but a chair for my ground blind and a treestand. The people there weren't very helpful. Last time I was at Gander Mountain I couldn't find anything I wanted. They didn't have any waterfowling stuff out, at all, but some shotgun shells. The people there werent' very helpful either.


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## sdrookie (May 21, 2006)

Sioux Falls has SW and Scheels. Spend money at both. SW seems to put alot more into educating hunters which is way cool. But once you spend some money at Scheels to show you are serious they are very responsive. In house gunsmiths that know what they are doing too.


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## Traxion (Apr 16, 2004)

I worked in sales for a couple years during college at Scheels. It was an interesting experience at the least!

It is difficult to have up to date product knowledge on almost every item in the HFC dept. You try, but it is still hard. And, as we all are, if a person comes in and asks a question they want the answer NOW LOL! Tough to say I'll look into it and get back to you. The age differential between myself and the customer sometimes caused issues too. With some customers that were older than me there was definitely a distrust in what I was telling them, even if I probably did know more in some cases. Not all were like this, but a decent chunk. I also found it funny when people got extremely upset at me when we were out of something. Sorry, crap happens. It was a very good learning experience as a whole.

One thing to remember is that my perspective was that of a part time employee. I wasn't the most knowledgeable sales person in the dept. Granted there are a few bad apples in the full time employee group, but there are several in the store I worked at that were very good at what they did. There were a few product pushers but there were a few that flat out knew their stuff. There was even a PT employee that was very very good. A little interaction with the employees will help you find the most knowledgeable employee for what you're looking for.

Scheels Corporate sets some of the things each store can do. Some areas may not get a good budget for decoys thus their selection sucks. Or, that is why they are always low on stock. Some of their policies made things tough. They also liked more aggressive sales people when I was there. It was too much for me. Even still I despise going in there and getting jumped by three different sales people. Selection is OK, but nothing great. Pricing was competitive.

I think each store, Cabelas, Scheels, etc. has their goods/bads. While one bad employee can hurt a business, the next one you meet could be great and gain you business. Just depends on which one you get


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## catfisherman2 (Apr 17, 2008)

I think that every retail sporting goods stores has its flaws...I am responding to the guy that had worked at scheels. It is very difficult and very very uncomfortable for a customer to get mad at the sales associate because something is not in stock. The employees within the store do not have the kind of control to make sure the "A" products are always in stock. These employees work at a store level. They do not have the check book, so to speak. The corporate employees obviously make the most money and, in that sense, are supposed to have the responsibility to order the products needed. On that note, the midwest is a very tough territory to order for, as per corporate is concerned. These corporate buyers, you have to understand, may or may not be from this area....North Dakota and some parts of Minnesota...not likely. Scheels is very fortunate given that the owner and children within the business live in the Fargo/Moorhead area, at least that is the last I have heard, forgive me if I am not up to speed. That is a great idealistic problem to have. The family knows the area and also knows what is needed within the area. When Sportsman's Warehouse's owner based his corporate out of Midvale Utah, I do not believe Utah is like Minnesota or North Dakota. Not to get off the subject so much but I believe that knowing the type of location, types of people, and types of game and fish to pursue, may be the best situation that can happen if you are to sell products to those people. Lets face it, hunting and fishing are a hobby and not a necessity. I love it and I would perfer that the organization that I buy these items from should know what the market is all about. Scheels does a great job at it, as much as I don't like the big tourist attraction I still do some shopping there and probably will always. On that note, Gander Mountain has the best catfishing selection in town...hence my name. I catfish when I get the time. I wish Scheels would target that a little more. All and all, I have written almost a story, the point is this: there are several retail sporting goods stores within the Fargo/Moorhead area and they will always have something that the other doesn't...doesn't really matter what type of service is given, the products seem to always sell themselves? I buy things from all of them and even when I get upset that one doesn't have what I need, I will find it elsewhere...I never point at the hourly associate as the problem, they only make under $9.00 per hour and I do not believe that they are given a $700,000 checkbook...that is for one year at the most. Lets ease up upon the hourly associates a little bit within all stores as the ordering process is not a duty of the hourlies but of corporate...except at Scheels. I think Scheels does a damn fine job of ordering, hit or miss with the decoys, holsters, and fitted hats...


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## krazysmurf (Oct 6, 2007)

averyghg said:


> goosehunternd said:
> 
> 
> > > blhunter3 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:
> ...


I second that second that second


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