Academy Sports + Outdoors — Local services in Hoover

Normally, I try and give people the benefit of the doubt, but honestly I could not find a single reason I was treated so badly. First off it started with a call asking if they had a particular item (a Christmas present/trampoline they had on sale) in stock. My husband was working the next day so I needed to know if they had it in stock and if anyone would be there to help me load it. The phone call was directed to the appropriate person, but that person did not have any interest in helping me. Her quote was, “I don’t know”. After explaining my reason for calling, I received the same response. Since I wasn’t sure I would be able to get assistance, my husband and I drove out that night (7:30pm) so he would be able to help me. When we arrived there were probably 15 customers in the entire store, so it wasn’t as though they were busy. Then when we entered, no one greeted us. As I walked the perimeter of the store trying to locate the trampoline, I noticed a lot of the 15’ trampolines displays set up all around the store. Two huge displays in eyesight of the person I actually spoke to on the phone. Even though I was upset, we purchased the trampoline and in the end was helped while loading it. The other reason I gave this only 1 Star was the treatment I received in the hunting and fishing area. While my husband was busy, I went to purchase some bulk ammo they also had advertised. I had checked their website and it was in stock. Now I’m not ignorant to guns and ammo, and I would appreciate not being treated like a 5 year old, just because I am a woman. I found the display signage, but not the ammo boxes, so I asked the gentleman. He literally said, “now what are you going to do with that much ammunition?” By this point, he’d refused to go check the back for a box for me however he was offering to check the back for a male customer in another aisle. Let’s just say, I wasn’t very happy. I approached the associate after he returned from checking for the other customer to see if they had it. They did not have any more in stock, but he didn’t tell me that. He told the male customer. I was furious! After we left, I just drove a couple of miles up to Field & Stream and purchased the exact same box of ammunition. They even met Academy’s price and didn’t have any problem selling bulk...

The company is systematically robbing people with thier return policy!! My daughter's bought me a couple of outfits for Father's day, unfortunately they were the wrong size and style. The tags were still on the items but I didn't have the receipt for them,( again this was a gift) After leaving my items with the customer service clerk, I selected similar items (and in 2 instances, the exact same item in the correct size) and returned to the customer service desk. She informed me that some of the items were a different price than what I was returning( which I was aware of with 2 of the items) after she completed the exchange, she gave me the total. When I questioned why it was so much she infortmed me that even though I was basically getting the same items as I was returning, "the computer" discounted the value of the returned items, and so the exchange was costing me additional dollars. When my wife asked if the items in question are on sale, the clerk verified they were not, but they were discounted to the lowest "recent" price. Unfortunately the clerk could neither define the range of "recent" nor could she communicate the purpose of this policy. Long and short this "policy" essentially added 10.00 to the difference in the return/exchange. While this is not an exorbitant amount, it is none the less a policy designed to penalize the customer. Nothing at Academy is particularly unique, and there are a number of other sporting goods store I can shop at. After this experience, I will choose to shop anywhere EXCEPT Academy, and will let my friends and family know about thier less than...

There were 2 reasons for not being satisfied with my experience. First, Men's Boots, Only found 1 of the 5 different brands I was hoping to purchase in my size. I needed a 13 in 1 style and 12 in another style, biggest size found 10.5. Obviously not even close to a full grown MAN 's foot, maybe a child's foot?? I did purchase a pair of Justin Square Toe Wel/ boots for $104.99. However it wasn't the pair I wanted and the my other choices were around $149.99. Secondly, When cashing out the lady behind me advised the clerk that he had forgot to take off the safety mechanism. The clerk immediately apologized and went on to tell me about a time when that happened to him before practice when he needed something. A lot of my items, clothing, Men's boots, under Armour shirts and shorts had the safety device attached to them. So when I get home and got items out of bags sure enough a safety mechanism was on a pair of shorts!! The alarm failed to go off obviously while I was departing the store and now I have to drive 20 miles back and then back home to get a device taken off my purchase. I spent a total of $252.23 when I originally came in for a equipment pad/mat for $21.99. Don't expect these small details to be overlooked when I'm at a huge corporate business, spending money that could be spent at another establishment. Bad experience, won't return to store...