Academy Sports + Outdoors — Local services in Killeen

Never thought I would leave a negative review about my favorite store and probably most-visited location but here we are ¯(ツ)/¯.

On 04/28/2025, I came in to check out a firearm that showed “STORE PICK UP, Ready Within 1 Hour” for the Killeen location. I’ve purchased several firearms at this location & have always been directed by team members to pull a ticket from the large & visible red ticket dispenser. So I pulled a ticket as this was routine for every visit at the store’s gun counter I’ve ever had. That section of the store was fairly empty, only 1 customer and I were waiting for assistance physically at the counter (glass displays with the firearms, optics, etc). A team member behind the counter was moving boxes of some sort and I assumed he was not assigned to the section I was needing help in as I stood there for about 15 minutes unattended. Finally, that same employee addressed me asking me if I was waiting for someone or something. I told him I had pulled a ticket and was just waiting to be called. He informed me that “we don’t use that, you didn’t need to pull a ticket, that’s why I was doing all of stuff and didn’t help you.” I was quite shocked that he actually said that and couldn’t tell if he was joking but his attitude the entire time was very discourteous and unpleasant. I asked him about the firearm that showed “in-stock” online and he immediately said “trust me we don’t have it, I know when the trucks come in”. The team member’s name is Andrew if I recall correctly and it was disappointing to see staff so bitter and disgruntled. I did not want to keep dealing with Andrew so I purchased the firearm online at 11:45 AM the same day and got a notification that it was ready for pick up at 12:02 PM. I drove to the store and once I arrived I got another notification stating “As you requested, we’ve canceled your Order” but I NEVER cancelled the ordered and felt as if they were essentially playing games with me following that awful interaction with Andrew. When I walked in the store and spoke to the customer service counter, a “manager” had told me that it was a “stock discrepancy” and they did not have the firearm. What a coincidence ¯(ツ)/¯.

Fast forward 6 days later, 05/04/2025, I got a notification “Your order is ready for Pick Up”. I drove to the store, per team member Andrew’s words & instruction, I didn’t pull a ticket (even though the ticket dispenser was in correspondence with the “NOW SERVING” sign) and went straight to a team member. Just my luck! It was Andrew! This time, my item was actually ready for pick up, although his unpleasant attitude remained lol… Maybe it’s not quality that they look for in the hiring process it could be CONSISTENCY! But he did something positive which is ALMOST-not saying a single word except “sign here”making it short & sweet for me.

We all have a job to do and we all have the same choice to either give good or bad service. It’s not hard to choose the good route and it’s also not right for the consumer to not receive the simple expectations in your job duties.

God bless you bro! 🙏🏼...

I am using my wife’s account only because I do not have one.

I would have given the lowest rating however, I did have a superb customer service experience with a person whom was stocking shelves.

Not only did they greet and ask me if I needed help- when it was clear that he was busy- but he offered to take me to the fishing gear to get the filet knife that I was seeking.

I was very happy with him. I wish I would have gotten his name so he could receive adequate recognition.

No this review is not about him.

This review is about what happened at 10:10am January 1st 2020 at the customer check out.

For those of you whom have worked in retail- a job which sucks- you will know that point if Sales transactions are the most important thing any retail outlet engages in.

It is why you put your A team at that point in the customer experience.

The staff of this particular Academy Sporting Goods store must have been absent at that class in Business school.

I was at the counter literally with cash in hand and an extremely happy attitude...then I noticed that not one counter was open yet.

There was a man at a register but he said that he wasn’t checked in yet. It was 10:10 am and I was in a hurry. I figured ok I’ll just go to customer service which was right next to the register.

The lady that was there had just finished helping someone. She took one look at me and said I can’t help you with that you have to go the register.

I turned around and went back to the register. The guy was just standing there.

In fact five employees- including the greeter and a person I assume was the manager- were just standing around.

All of them had just witnessed what happened.

No one offered to help.

I stood for what seemed like an eternity...probably on a few seconds but in that few seconds I decided to place the items I wished to purchase on the counter and walk out.

On a positive note the greeter did say, “HAVE A NICE DAY” as the automatic door closed behind me.

This lack of adequate customer service will be the death nail of Academy as they compete against both Walmart and the internet.

I circumvented those particular routes of purchase specifically to have customer interaction with a professional.

With the exception of one person, the professionals I were dealing with today made me sick to my stomach.

I doubt I will ever return.

I am posting this review on both Yelp and the company website.

I know that the company is in financial trouble and the powers that be should use their security cameras to review this incident and learn from it if they hope to survive.

In the past I’ve worked both in food service at Sizzlers Steakhouse and as a salesperson at Sears...I know a little about the difficulties of running these types of businesses.

To the CEO of Academy Sports...learn from these words or go the way of Sears and Toys-R-Us.

If you need pointers ask the manger across the street at Discount Tires in Kileen.

I had a similar oversite occur there and he went overboard in fixing it.

I get all my tires from there now and I recommend everyone else...

Minus stars is what manager Steve Knowlton deserves. Someone stole my debit card number and charged $102.40 worth of merchandise at 9:37 p.m. on 1/5/16 at this store. I live in Austin and was not in Killeen on that day. After speaking with my bank, I called Steve to let him know what had happened. Instead of being courteous and sympathetic, he was indifferent and rude. He told me to call the Austin police.

When I asked him if he was going to look into seeing if one of his cashiers was in collusion, since someone was able to use my number without the card, he told me to "stop yelling." I was not yelling. I was upset and being firm, but not rude or yelling. After I replied, "I'm not yelling; you will know when I'm yelling," he rudely responded "What do you expect me to do when you accuse my people of stealing;. When I then said, "One of your people had to have been in on it b/c they made the purchase with only the number. I have never been able to do that. I can only buy with my card in hand." Steve then said, "Have a nice day" and hung up on me. I was shocked and stunned. Now I'm angry.

Why did he get angry? Was he in on it? Has this happened before, and he is just incapable of managing? Is he just lazy? Why is someone with such poor customer service skills managing a store? At no time did he act concerned or sympathetic to my situation. I was victimized out of $102.40, which I cannot afford. He didn't want to address it at all. He wanted off the phone and made it clear that I was wasting my time in complaining about this .

I called Corporate in Katy, TX and reported Steve. I have been shopping at Academy since I lived in Houston in the 1980s. I will never shop there again, and I was about to make a very large purchase. Corporate was very responsive, so if you have a problem, Google Academy Corporate Office for the number and let them know. Their customer service people are better trained than this horrible excuse for a manager.

In all fairness, I will say that this is my first time having a problem with Academy, their merchandise or their employees. But this was such a bad experience that I will not risk shopping there ever again. And I camp, fish and target practice with firearms. So does everyone else in my family. My son deer hunts. My nephews fish and swim. My nieces wear sports clothing. So Academy is going to lose a lot of sales just from this one rude manager. While Academy's selection and prices are good, Walmart, Target, McBrides and Cabela's will have to do. I would rather pay more and get great service than deal with this kind of rudeness...