Bass Pro Shops — Local services in Gainesville

UPDATED REVIEW: I want to update my original review as the quick follow up and response I received from Bass Pro after my review was posted was outstanding. Almost immediately, Bass Pro contacted me and apologized for the experience I had at the store and then the next day I received a call from Bill Van Kampen, the Gainesville store manager. Bill was very apologetic and we had a nice conversation. I could tell right away that Bill and Bass Pro truly care about their customers. Thank you so much - your response was very much appreciated - 5 stars!

I have shopped in a dozen Bass Pro Shops across the country and have always had a very positive experience but unfortunately I can’t say the same for the one and only time I came to the Gainesville location. Three staff members were very unprofessional, were accusatory (and lied) and did not show they care about customer service or their customer. Made me feel as if I was trying to scam the store! I purchased an item through Bass Pro Corporate Customer Service that Bass Pro approved as a price match purchase. Since I needed the item for a boat project for that same day, corporate said I can pick up the item at the Gainesville store (about an hour forty five minute drive for me which I gladly did since I needed the item). I purchased the item on the phone with corporate customer service at around 8 am and waited 5 hours before I headed to the store. Both corporate and the store confirmed 2 were in stock when I called. Unfortunately, the item took longer to be released by the team (Fraud dept) that does the verification of the price match and it wasn’t ready when I arrived at the store 7 hours after purchasing it. Corporate tried to help by suggesting I cancel the phone order and just complete the price match purchase at the store. Made no difference to me as I just needed the item. At the store, a man claiming to be the store manager (said his name is Oggie) didn’t like Corporate’s suggestion and then was very unprofessional and went on and on complaining to me that corporate should have never approved my price match. I was surprised by his carrying on about the price matching and even saying the price I got was only $20 higher than what they paid for the product. I got corporate on the phone and they tried to help and spoke to “Oggie” and when corporate indicated it was still being verified they said I had to wait for the verification to be completed, Oggie smiled that my purchase had to wait longer. While this was happening, a young man working the customer service desk tried to be helpful and went to find the item, it wasn’t out on the floor, he said the 2 in stock were in the back in a cage. Oggie then told him, he’s not going to find it and then Oggie said they don’t have any in stock. The two other staff people (tall woman with long dark hair and a young woman) then said their “2” in stock was wrong and they actually didn’t have it in stock after all (which turned out to be a lie). I was shocked that they seemed so bothered that I was approved by corporate to make this price matching purchase as if I was taking money from them! I left the store very disappointed with the experience I just had and decided to call corporate again from the parking lot. The Bass Pro Corporate Customer service was extremely helpful, understanding, professional and went above and beyond to make sure this situation was resolved. The corporate customer service person called me back saying the verification was completed and that she was calling the store manager (the real store manager) to ensure they retrieve my item from the back. Apparently they actually did have it in stock. I went back in and the young man who tried to help earlier, had my item ready for me to pick up. He was the only one out of the four people I dealt with at the store that cared. He apologized to me for the ordeal even though it wasn’t his fault and he was just trying to help. I was very appreciative of him for his efforts but sadly his co-workers are the reason this...

I had a major issue in the Gainesville / FL. The firearm department discriminated me. I order a firearm from Savannah / Georgia store, through the phone and they delivered it to the Gainesville / FL store. I drove 2 hours from Jacksonville with my wife and kids to pick up the firearm. First they told me I would need to wait 24 hours to process the firearm in the store after the delivery. After explaining the situation, that I drove from Jacksonville with my family to Gainesville / FL only for that (2 hours), they told me that it could take hours to process the firearm (this was 5:30 pm), and maybe we wouldn’t have enough time because they would close the firearm department at 7:00 pm. Only after I insisted with Daniell (manager) , they finally processed the firearm (almost 6:30 pm) and I could see and fill out the paper work to bring the firearm with me. I have a green card, Florida drive’s license and Florida conceal carry permit. For some reason the manager Daniell told me I need a document from the USCIS (government) proving that I’m “legal” in the country, so I downloaded the document (pdf) from the USCIS website and sent it to his email (the exactly document that he requested me). After a while they told me that they need the document that was delivered to my house, not the one I downloaded from the website (they asked me to download the documents from USCIS for them), otherwise they couldn’t process my background check to take my firearm. So after almost 4 hours, they didn’t let me take my firearm, they refuse to ship to the Daytona beach / FL store (because it is way closer to my house). The only option they gave me was to refund it. I didn’t want that. I have multiple firearms that I bought from multiple dealers, and I never had a problem purchasing anything, and even worse, I never felt discriminated by anybody before because my race (Latino) like I was at the Gainesville / FL store. And I never was prohibited to purchase a firearm before. So they refunded me. I called the day after that to talk to Bill (he wasn’t at the store when everything happened), the main manager of the store. I explained him the situation and he told me he couldn’t do anything about it. They didn’t even apologized to me. They just didn’t care. I told him I would get back there to show the documentation they required me, but the firearm that I purchased from $1.399.98 was now 1.669.77. I asked him to, at least, after everything, match the price I paid before that they refunded (against my will). And Bill, the highest manager of the Gainesville / FL told me that he can’t do nothing about it, and if I want the firearm, I would need to pay the price from now (not on sale anymore). The firearm is a ZEV OZ9c HYPERCOMP, UPC: 811338035721 and the serial number is ZD05302. I purchased at 01/11/2024. The only thing I want is to be able to purchase the same exactly firearm (that is still available in the store) for the price I paid originally, $1399.98. The worse experience ever. Can anybody do something about it? Help me? Or it is what it is? Anyone higher than...

This review is only based on this last trip that I took to that store for a specific purpose that was not available. I normally don't shop at the store, so I couldn't honestly give a review on how the store is. I've taken my son there a few times in the window shop. It's not really my style of clothing, and they're stuck seems really overpriced for what it is. However however, this particular trip only happened because I called ahead to look for a specific item. That item was your code tennis shoes for women. The girl on the phone play it put me on hold cuz she had to go check, and when she came back she said they did have them. I have been looking all over town for somewhat affordable steel-toed sneakers. I have not been able to find any in my size, and it's incredibly frustrating to wear shoes that are half a size too big because the retailers in this town don't believe that women might need steel toed shoes. I got to the store and was looking around in the shoe department. Wasn't so easy to put on a steel toed shoes so I asked one of the employees there. He showed me where the tennis shoes are and I asked him if they had any for women. He said everything they have is for men. Okay I've been dealing with this the whole time asked if he had a certain size, the size that I need that no one else has oh, and he said he didn't believe that they had any sizes smaller than a 13. I know whole lot of guys, a whole lot, that we're smaller than a size 13 shoe. So right there it's telling me that Bass Pro Shops in Gainesville only, accommodates the big guys when it comes to steel toe shoes. Way to go guys. You've just given me another reason to never shop there. Because obviously you have a specific customer in mind oh, and that is not me. So if you decide to go there make sure you have lots of extra money, bad taste in colors on clothes, and don't need any steel toe shoes for women. It was not a good experience oh, because I wasted my time going there oh, because the girl on the phone told me that they had them. That is what makes me angry. I have gone to most of the stores in Gainesville, and wasted a whole lot of my time for nothing, and celebration Pointe is a little bit out of the way, and you managed to waste my time further, so I won't waste my time ever shopping at your...