Academy Sports + Outdoors — Local services in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

I was in the store on 4/12/2022 at 3:10pm. The first person I saw was and older man greeting people as they enter the store. He was very friendly. My next stop was in the fishing section. Found what I was looking for. Next stop the gun section. Only 1 person in the department at the a female, I ask if they had any Ruger Red Label over under 28 gauge. She said I don't think so. ( Would have liked to hear her say let me check and see.) I went on looking through the store. My daughter was looking for a small sized net for trout fishing. We could only find one that was dayglow orange, was a kid's net. We go back to the gun department to ask if they have one in black. Now there is the one female and three males behind the counter. I ask I could ask a question they all looked at me and said there are a lot of nets on the aisle. To witch I replied I'm looking for one like this but I'm black could you check and see if you have any? The female looks on the computer and said no those are all we have. I had said we are looking for one for trout fishing. To witch a male sales person with curly reddish brown hair and beard said to me we don't sell that much trout fishing stuff. Wow this is a sporting goods store. (Then no one ask if they could help us with anything else out thank you have a good day. Let us know if we can help with anything.) They started talking like we had gone from the counter. Not friendly at all. My daughter and I continued looking around. About 10 minutes later we found a fanny pack my daughter liked but it didn't have any price tags on it or the shelf. I had to go back to the gun department for help. They were all still behind the counter talking. I just ask if someone could tell me how much it was. One of the other males said here I can sand he scanned it and said it $19.99 I replied thank you. No one said anything just kept talking like we weren't even there, and kept talking. At this point no one in the store has said anything to us that showed anyone here appreciated us shopping here. We started looking around in the cooler section and a young man how's name is Dre ask how I was doing. I told him that I'm doing fine thanks for asking. I told him that he was the only person in the store to say anything to us except for the older man greeting people at the door. We headed to the check out counter and waited in line for a few minutes. Then the cashier said I'll take you right here. Her name is Gwen, she is very friendly and ask us if we would like to apply for the academy credit card today you can save on today's order now. I told her no thank you. We talked as she checked us out. We paid and got our items she thank us for coming in today and enjoy the rest of our beautiful day.

I have worked in retail for the last 46 years as a manager in the grocery stores. I believe that the people that get a head are the people that are treating people the way they want to be treated and will always be the reason customers come back to shop. I'll be looking for the people I have named in this review and NOT people like the unarmed. Because the named people will be making the difference in the way customers look at the company. Thank you go out to. Mr Dre, Ms Gwen and the man greeting at the door. He has a Name too I'm just getting old sand don't remember it for witch I'm very sorry. I will find out the next visit. Thank you for reading just believe they deserve to...

I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment, frustration, and sadness following my experience in your store this evening while attempting to exchange items I had purchased online. What I anticipated being a quick, 30-minute visit turned into an unnecessarily stressful ordeal lasting over an hour.

From the outset, I encountered difficulty with the return barcode. Instead of calmly troubleshooting the issue or considering the possibility of a technical glitch within the store's system, the store manager, Manny, immediately accused me of attempting to return an item that had "already been refunded." His tone was combative and accusatory, rather than helpful or solution-oriented. I was stunned by how quickly the situation escalated without any real effort to de-escalate or offer support.

To make matters worse, Manny actively interfered with other associates who were trying to assist me, further delaying and complicating the process. At one point, he refused to help me any further, claiming it was because I had taken a photo of him. For the record, the photo was not taken to post online, but to have a clear record of the person involved when reporting this incident to your corporate office.

I also want to note that I am fully aware this incident likely stemmed from the moment I briefly took my daughter to the restroom, bringing the cart and the online-purchased shoes into the restroom area—not inside the actual restroom, but nearby—out of concern for their safety. Upon exiting, I noticed several employees stationed outside the restroom as if anticipating wrongdoing. The implication was clear, and I felt unjustly scrutinized and treated as if I were attempting theft.

This is not the first time I have felt mistreated or discriminated against in this store, but tonight's experience was the most disheartening by far. While the actual store manager did eventually come out and did his best to resolve the issue, the damage had already been done. I left feeling humiliated, upset, and entirely unwelcome.

I have never tried to take advantage of your return policies and I take great offense to being treated as if I had. I work hard and spend my money honestly. To be treated like a criminal simply for trying to exchange a pair of shoes I rightfully purchased is unacceptable.

Because of this experience and the pattern of poor treatment I’ve endured at this location, I will no longer be shopping at your store. I hope my feedback is taken seriously and used as an opportunity for improvement, so that no other customer is made to feel the way I...

I'm not normally one to leave reviews but I think people should be warned that this Academy is not as good as it once was. Mind you some of the employees are fantastic but customer service and inventory leave a lot to be desired. I placed an online order for 2 hour store pickup on Sunday December 20th and received an email saying I'd get an email when my order was ready. I never received said email but I gave consideration, two additional days, to the holidays and covid-19. It is now Wednesday and after calling this morning to inquire about my order status I was informed that one or more on my items were out of stock. I was then told a) even though the item says in stock on the website doesn't mean its actually in stock in the store b) I could call other Academy stores to see if they have the items in stock c) someone had started my order but not finished it and d)its Christmas. I understand retail having worked in it, I understand its Christmas but that is where my understanding stops. My account had been debited the full amount for all items including the out of stock items. The associate, while not necessarily rude, was rather dismissive of my concerns. Had someone reached out to me on Sunday within or after my pickup time/window I would have completely understood. However, here we are 3 days later and it took me calling to find this information out. I canceled my order since some/most of my items I wouldn't be receiving and will be refunded. I have since called the store several times seeking to speak with the manager but I can't even get an answer. I have long been a fan of Academy but I will definitely be taking my business elsewhere where the customer is...