Interesting Experience at Dick's/Bought some stuff too.

[Fat-G]

Today at Dick's there was a guy looking for some fishing stuff, and had an employee helping him. Before I get started, I DO NOT work at Dick's. So the guy was asking questions about what kind of stuff he needed, and every question he asked the employee was like "Umm, I don't know." After about the 10th question with that same response, I got pretty fed up, and stepped in and asked what the guy was looking for. It turns out he does a lot of saltwater fishing, and was looking for a good, strong, cheap rod. An Ugly Stik was the first thing that came to mind.  ;D So I showed him which one would be the best, and he asked me a couple other questions. Meanwhile the employee is giving me a complete death stare. Why? If anything I saved his job. The guy was getting pretty ticked that he couldn't answer anything, let alone make eye contact. Me and the guy talked for about ten minutes, and he was asking what would be good for croaker and spot. I think it's complete BS that Dick's hires people that have no idea what they're talking about.

Another cool story. Say what you want about Strike King Shaw's Series, but I think that they are more than worth it for the price. They're $3 a bag, so I grabbed three bags of the 7 inch Shakey head worms (basically a Trick Worm) in Watermelonseed, and a bag of 5" Salty Stiks, in Carolina Pumpkin/Chartreuse tail. I also grabbed a pack of Fat Ikas in Black/Blue Flake, per request from RW. So I get to the counter thinkin' it's gonna be about $20, and the grand total was 11 bucks. Turns out the Strike Kings were .97 cents a bag. Man, if I had known that I would have cleared out the whole rack. They're pretty good quality, with a TON of salt.

[Grey Wolf]

Why didn't you turn around and go buy some more if they were so cheap ? That was a good deal.

[aarogb]

    Wow, that's usually for Dick's Sporting Goods.  Everyone that I have been to has had nice and knowledgeable people in the fishing section.

    God must have rewarded you with the cheap baits for being so nice and helping the customer out.

[fatmanslim247]

Believe me I know the not hiring people who know whats going on thing... I work at dicks, and my manager doesn't know anything about the stuff in the lodge and she hired someone who has no idea either.  Ya the shaw baits have been clearanced out for a month or so, but the plastic they use is just to hard for my personal taste.

[Fat-G]

The ONLY reason I didn't go back and get more was because my mom was waiting outside, and I didn't want her to have to wait any longer

[bilgerat]

Ahh, go easy on the guy. Maybe his area of expertise is golf but he was in the lodge for whatever reason. I don't think they get a commission so he probably could have cared less if the guy bought a Zebco 33 and some bobbers to go deep sea fishing.

There's 3 different Dick's I go to and some of the lodge staff are knowledgeable and some aren't. That's how it goes in retail.

Good score on the baits

[Koop]

I don't go to Dick's very often in the fall, in the summer it has a *decent* at best selection.  By fall all the duck hunting stuff comes out late August and the fishing section is cut to about 3 isles.

[seyone]

I've cleared the shelves of the Shaw's series baits at my Dick's. They were on clearance at just over a 1$ a pack and then another 20% off all strike king soft plastics.

[petervd]

I've cleared the shelves of the Shaw's series baits at my Dick's. They were on clearance at just over a 1$ a pack and then another 20% off all strike king soft plastics.

All I know is, The Gander Mtn. in Palm Beach florida has some of the most intelligent employees working in the fishing section. They have answered Every one of my questions from bass fishing to sail fishing. I go there all the time for advice on offshore fishing. I'm actually becoming friends with some of the guys. Good stuff.

[SammyLee]

Same old story.  An employee at the pet store did not know a female molly from a male.  I had to teach him.  When I mentioned this to the manager he said, "Yes, you're right. By the way, do you know anyone who really knows fish and is willing to work for 6 bucks an hour?"  Emmm, nope.

I don't shop at the Memhis Dicks because the last time I was there they had a bunch of fishing gear with no prices.  Everytime I wanted to consider something, I had to ask and they acted like I was bugging them. So, you don't want to sell it?  I don't want to buy it.

[EastTexasBassin]

I used to work at Dick's part time (25% discount!) and I was the only associate in the Lodge that knew anything about fishing.  The other guys could tell you anything you wanted to know about guns, but ask about the differences between flouro and mono and they would be clueless.

 I still shop there frequently, and somehow I still end up helping customers whenever I'm there.

As mentioned above, many times the associate you encounter in the fishing section actually works in golf, footwear, or some other department.  The stores aren't staffed with lots of extra people.  When the lodge guy goes to lunch or if he calls in sick, another department sends in a backup person.

[Dan:]

I used to work at Dick's part time (25% discount!) and I was the only associate in the Lodge that knew anything about fishing. The other guys could tell you anything you wanted to know about guns, but ask about the differences between flouro and mono and they would be clueless.

I still shop there frequently, and somehow I still end up helping customers whenever I'm there.

As mentioned above, many times the associate you encounter in the fishing section actually works in golf, footwear, or some other department. The stores aren't staffed with lots of extra people. When the lodge guy goes to lunch or if he calls in sick, another department sends in a backup person.

That was exactly my experience when I worked at Dick's. I was the freshwater fishing guy, we had a saltwater guy, and then we had a gun guy. If we all worked at the same time it was fine but they never scheduled more than two people to work the lodge at the same time and when they did it was usually only an overlap of about 2 hours between shifts.

[NewAngler]

but the plastic they use is just to hard for my personal taste.

try it with gravy.

[Steven Ladner]

We have a Dicks opening in less than a month here, hopefully their better than Academy...

[moloch16]

Well, it's not just Dick's.  I went to Bass Pro one day and was asking some questions about high-end rods and the guy didn't have a clue.  I was at the local Dick's one time a young tournament fisherman was behind the counter we talked reels for a long time.  It's just the luck of the draw.

[Elite Image Fishing]

I used to work at Dick's part time (25% discount!) and I was the only associate in the Lodge that knew anything about fishing. The other guys could tell you anything you wanted to know about guns, but ask about the differences between flouro and mono and they would be clueless.

I still shop there frequently, and somehow I still end up helping customers whenever I'm there.

As mentioned above, many times the associate you encounter in the fishing section actually works in golf, footwear, or some other department. The stores aren't staffed with lots of extra people. When the lodge guy goes to lunch or if he calls in sick, another department sends in a backup person.

That was exactly my experience when I worked at Dick's. I was the freshwater fishing guy, we had a saltwater guy, and then we had a gun guy. If we all worked at the same time it was fine but they never scheduled more than two people to work the lodge at the same time and when they did it was usually only an overlap of about 2 hours between shifts.

Same story here. I currently work at Dicks #337 in Dothan Alabama. Our selection is horrible, but we do have that .97 deal on the Grigsby series. We have 5 people staffed in the, Lodge department, of which one other guy knows saltwater fishing leaving me for freshwater.... the other four guys are hunters and probably don't know the difference between a buzz bait and a worm. I am not saying all Dick's are like this, but if I didn't know about fishing or the little I do know about hunting I'd be S.O.L. The training program is horrible the only fishing training available is all about selling Field and Stream Equipment, which is a Dick's brand they can sell cheaper. Lastly I love my job, and if you are ever in Dothan Alabama stop by and say hello.  

[Sam]

"I think it's complete BS that Dick's hires people that have no idea what they're talking about."

We vote them into Congress all the time.  ;D   ;D   ;D