The Truth about Cabela's Customer Service - It Rocks!

Every so often we make the 1,000 mile journey home to visit family, and consequently we visit the "extended" family that Cabela's has become over the years. It's unthinkable to make it up to the Kansas City area and not actually stop by Cabela's, even if all we buy is a T-shirt. Given that we're almost always back in Kansas for a major holiday (Thanksgiving or Christmas), the store is usually packed with a huge number of people (all rather pleasant to deal with), with a small portion that decided they had to go to Cabela's in the camouflage.

Here's a fellows YouTube video for all those who have no idea what they're missing:

I'm not sure why you'd decide to wear camo to Cabela's; maybe it's just to see if what you're planning on buying to finish your ensemble is actually going to blend? Maybe it's just the warmest coat they have (have fun duck hunting). All that aside, I actually had a purpose when I stopped by before Christmas 2007.

I recently inherited a new rifle (in .300 Weatherby Magnum), and really wanted to upgrade the scope on it. The scope that came with the rifle was likely older than I am (and I'm not terribly young anymore), and while it was good and worked, I wanted a little bit more zoom and was interested in getting a mil-dot reticle.

Flush with "Christmas" money, I pointed my wife and son in the direction of the fish tanks (my son thinks of Cabelas as the zoo -- then again he's two), and headed straight for the optics/gun counter. Man, talk about a rush of people, there must have been 20 people waiting at the particular time I was there and you have to take a number, get in line, etc. Well, after 1/2 of waiting, a now "tired of Cabela's" two year old, and a still very indulgent wife that was happy to wait, I gave up, called it a day, and headed out.

No scope that day. Bummer.

I'll admit, I was in a very cranky mood heading out of the lot that afternoon. I mean, here I'd driven 1,000 miles, waited in line for 1/2 an hour, and didn't even get my number called. I wouldn't be near another Cabela's for a year (and yes, they're online, but it's nice to actually hold a scope and take a look through it before you purchase it). Having a head of steam and heading over to spend several days with your in-laws (who admittedly are quite nice) doesn't put one in the best mood.

I spent the night surfing the net, and looking at Cabela's online scope selection to see what choices I wanted to narrow it down to in case I made another pass at the store.

In the morning on the next day, my saint of a wife could tell I was in "one track mind" mode, and promptly offered to go with me and make another pass at the store -- first thing that morning! So off we went, hopefully to get into line early and have a chance to get some help with purchasing a scope.

Well thankfully the store wasn't hopping at 9:00 am when we arrived, and I got the second ticket in line, and was promptly called up. I can't recall the name of the fellow that helped me, but the impressions I had formed in the previous day were entirely off. This guy treated me like I was the only person at the counter, and we had all freaking day to choose a scope. I think I looked at six different scopes, starting with the ones I researched the night before and moving to some others he suggested. A couple of things worth nothing about his service (which I hope is typical):

• He took a look at the list I had and kept his recommendations in the price range I had identified. At no point did I feel he was pressing me to buy a bigger scope just to spend more money.

• It's not freaking Wal-Mart (though I like their low prices!); anyone that's bought a firearm at Wal-Mart knows that it's a hit or miss (mostly miss) thing on finding someone knowledgeable in firearms. For example, I've had a person give me .357 Sig when I asked for .357 Mag and then say "What? That won't work?" This Cabela's guy just started pulling out scopes with mil-dot reticles and then asked me if a Bullet Drop Compensating scope might work given price/performance. It's nice to actually deal with knowledgeable people.

• About half way through the process, four young guys came up to him and said they needed some help. "Sure thing, as soon as you grab a number" was the reply, and it wasn't smarmy like some government offices I've had to deal with, but just a matter-of-fact statement. Admittedly, they weren't impressed, but I appreciated he didn't rush me, or push me off so that he could service another customer. We just went right back to talking about features on the scopes he had out.

Of course I walked out of there with a scope that I've been happy with so far. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and you could go to the shoe store and they'd actually *help* you get a shoe that fit. Cabela's isn't another "choose your own box and good luck" kind of place, and I really appreciated that one day last December.