DICK'S Sporting Goods — Local services in Indianapolis

Ordered two kayaks online. One had to be shipped and the other I could pickup at a local store.

Kayak #1: The one I picked up at the store had a terrible paint job done on it. You could see where someone placed their hand on the paint leaving finger prints, paint runs down the side of the kayak, and areas not continuously the correct color. It was a true mess but we had plans to go kayaking so I decided to keep it. I advice going to the store and pick one out if at all possible or they may try push a flawed product on you. Why this was even on display inside the store is beyond me.

Kayak #2: The second kayak shipped to me looked ok but was severely scratched up and the delivery company (ABF Freight) Dick's used was a terrible experience. A woman called and left a voicemail while I was at work. I returned the call within hours and scheduled delivery the following week (the soonest they could deliver). She gave me a nine (9!?!) hour delivery window. I received a text message on the delivery day that the shipment was on the way. The delivery man showed up and the package was unloaded. I helped carry it up the driveway. I noticed the wrap and cardboard underneath was torn and the kayak scratched up bad but no holes. I needed this for a planned family trip the following weekend (it took 13 days to deliver the kayak) so figured I'd just deal with the repairs instead of rejecting the shipment and be a kayak short. That's the good part. A few days later I receive a letter from them stating they have a shipment in storage because they couldn't reach me and they'll be charging me $35/day in storage, with a $125 minimum. Really!?! Within the hours from them leaving a voice message and me calling them back they decided to charge me $125? They take 13 days to deliver a broken product on a day I have to take off work because they need a 9 hour window and they're charging me storage because it took me a few hours to call them back? Do not use this company if you want to keep your customers.

EDIT/UPDATE: Someone from Dick's called and left a VM after I left that review. I figure they wanted to see examples of the damages so took a few photos while the kayak was still in my kitchen, never used. I have added them now. Not looking to return it or anything, just sharing my experience. I highly recommend purchasing things like this in the store. Having one shipped...

The entire place is a mess, from boxes being everywhere to the uncaring staff.

I worked retail for many, many years, and I understand that there is a lot of post-holiday stocking going on, but there are several employees doing literally nothing productive (one who was asked to help us by another employee was just spinning around a volleyball and walking around looking bored).

We asked an employee if he was experienced with rollerblades and he replied in the affirmative, but was able to tell us absolutely nothing about the 1 of 3 models that they carried in the store (or at least that they had available), even when specifically asked what made it worth buying versus the other models. He was clearly stumped and stumbling and just told us that if something went wrong, it has a 1 year warranty. Only one of the 3 employees we asked was really and truly helpful, but even she seemed like she couldn’t be bothered and called upon someone else to help. The first employee with whom we spoke had no idea where the rollerblades even were.

That we even found these employees was amazing because I walked the entire top floor before even finding anyone, and as I sit writing this review, there are none in sight, just many teens and kids playing with unsafe equipment (not the fault of employees, but certainly a liability for the company and store).

There is a reason that we like REI much, much better, but we decided to give Dick’s yet another chance despite the many times that we have been disappointed here since REI doesn’t sell rollerblades, but that was apparently a mistake. We...

Sales personnel seemed like it was a burden to have to talk to me, and was aggravated with my questions about the product. Through our sales persons negative body language and "dead looks" on his face coupled with the fact that he didn't want to take the time to clarify my questions I initially walked out. However, it was equipment that I needed for medical reasons and came back. The sales person seemed happy at that point when I had to order the product. I'm assuming sales commission? The next problem not having to do with the sales person was Dick's Sporting Goods inventory and shipping. It seems that the store tends to have display models of products that it doesn't even keep in inventory. This is not a shocker as most major corporate stores do this now, again helping push consumers towards less expensive online retailers instead. The problem that finally put me over the edge to cause me to write this review was that I as I was filling out their in-store online order, I ordered standard shipping that clearly stated 3-6 business days (also on the receipt), but once the receipt printed out it gave an 8 to 15 day arrival. As it stands, the item will arrive 10 days after order. I will no longer go to this particular location for purchases anymore. I don't recommend that others go to this location either. I recommend that others should seek alternate Dick Sporting Goods locations. I will never purchase an item online though Dick Sporting Goods anymore. In today's market of shipping, there is no...