Dunham's Sports — Local services in Crossville

I don't usually rant, but I wanted to share my experience today because I have never felt as disappointed and disrespected as I did this morning.

Today started like any other day—I got up, got the kids to school, and got ready. However, my husband was on second shift, so he was home with me in the morning. I convinced him to join me for some errands, so we took care of a few things and then headed to Tractor Supply.

As we were pulling into the parking lot, I noticed a Dunham’s Sports nearby. I had never been to one and was curious if they had what we needed for the kids' school sports this year. My husband agreed that it might be worth checking out.

We walked around Tractor Supply first but couldn't find what he was looking for. Around 9:44 a.m., we decided to head over to Dunham’s Sports. I was mainly there to look for track attire and proper shoes for the kids, as they were at school and couldn't come with me.

As we walked around, I took my time exploring everything the store had to offer—they had a lot more than I expected. While I was looking at shoes, an employee approached me and asked if I needed help. I said I was just browsing and continued to look around. My husband and I eventually split up; he went to the hunting department, which isn't really my thing. The same employee who had offered help earlier returned, seemingly hovering near the counter. I told my husband via text that I'd be in the clothing section.

I found something I liked and sent him a video of it, but it wasn't sending fast enough, so I walked over to ask him if he would buy it. That’s when we were suddenly approached by the same employee, who told us that her manager said we were banned from the store. I was confused and felt everyone in the store staring at us. Not wanting to cause a scene with all these people around, I asked why we were banned. The employee said she didn’t know but insisted we needed to leave.

We left the store, and when we got back to the truck, I immediately called to speak to the manager (this was around 10:30 a.m.). I don’t appreciate being humiliated or being asked to leave without a reason. The manager said they had been removing people who had been banned and that we might have resembled them. He mentioned they have a protocol, but it might need fixing if it leads to misunderstandings. If it was a mistake, he said he would apologize and talk to his team about handling these situations better in the future.

In my opinion, this whole situation could have been avoided if they had simply asked for our names or provided proof of the banning, like a reason or documentation. I also think stores should have pictures of banned individuals somewhere visible or on file to cross-check. It seems ridiculous and unprofessional to just approach someone, tell them they're banned without asking for a name, and not provide any explanation.

We didn't even have anything in our hands at the time we were asked to leave, which makes this even more absurd. I believe stores should have more safeguards in place to ensure innocent customers aren't wrongfully accused. I understand stores can ban people for personal reasons or refuse service, but respect goes both ways. If we did something wrong, it should have been communicated to us like adults. But to be told to leave without any reason—while being followed out in front of other customers—was extremely humiliating.

When I called the store to discuss the situation, I was told they’ve had a lot of repeat offenders and that we may have been mistaken for one of them. My message to them: do better. Come up with a better system to handle these issues.

Sorry this is so long, but it was really weighing on my...

I want to support local businesses ( Crossville TN) but this place has the worst customer service I’ve ever seen. I wanted to buy an item that they advertised but they said they were out, so I said no problem I’ll pay for one and you call me when they come in. They said they can’t do that I need to keep coming by and checking to see if they get one in stock. I asked for a manager and said I wasn’t in a hurry can I pay for it and you call me when it comes in and they said the same thing that they sell out of that item quickly so I need to come back and check if they have one. They said they don’t have a lay away system so I can’t pay for one and wait for it. My wife and I just looked at each other in amazement and walked out. I unsubscribed from their emails and will never go in there again I will just shop online for all my...

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