DICK'S Sporting Goods — Local services in Lone Tree

Shopping with my son for baseball gear yesterday was one of the best experiences I have had at a sporting goods store in my life. We did not have an established budget in mind but I am aware that some sports items can certainly graduate in price level fairly quickly. I should prelude this review in saying that we stopped into the store a few days ago and selected a baseball bat while in a hurry; and we were not sure that we had selected the proper bat on the first attempt. Upon returning to the store to potentially exchange the bat, (or confirm that we already had the correct bat) we first got the thumb's up from the clerk/store manager when we walked in that a return or exchange was no problem----and that they would still honor the 20% coupon that was given by the local Little League (even though the coupon had expired on the day we originally bought our first bat). This was greatly appreciated as a parent because I wanted the correct bat for my son regardless of whether or not the discount would be applied, or if I had to spend a few more dollars. In my opinion, having improper sports equipment can make the difference of a kid being excited and doing well, or being frustrated and struggling with a sport.

The associate that made all the difference for us was Joe in the baseball department. Joe took every opportunity to explain to us the positives and negatives of baseball bats that they had available and we selected several to test at the in-store batting cage. Clearly Joe had played a ton of baseball in his life and we were the recipients of his knowledge and experience. Without any reservation in doing so, Joe patiently gave tips and advice as my son tested no less than 6 bats over the course of 30-45 minutes before making a final decision.

I was so impressed with Joe (and certainly wanted to take advantage of having a true expert that gave honest answers to us) that we ended up purchasing a few more items while we were at the store.

I have played many sports while growing up and understand the benefits of being so excited to play that you literally eat, sleep, and dream about practicing or playing in your next game. From the experience that I have (I am still close friends with many teammates from twenty years ago or more), I know that these years are irreplaceable.....and yes, part of that means having the proper sports equipment that fits correctly and is of reasonable quality or better.

Obviously a better bat or more expensive bat (prices can get crazy for kids bats these days!) doesn't make a better player or buy you any home runs. Part of me even feels that it is better to struggle with novice equipment until you "earn" better equipment........but as a parent and as someone that knows that feeling of being soooo excited to play a sport--- I know that there is no replacement for passion. The new gear did not give my already excited son anything he did not already have internally, but it did give him that extra sparkle in his eye that will help against what otherwise might be an intimidating pitcher:) Thanks so much for all the time and patience Joe! Your efforts will benefit my son all season--

PS--Only when a product or service has been so outstanding that I am absolutely blown-away, do I take the time to write a review. It has been roughly one year since writing my last review---hats...

I did not have a pleasant experience this weekend when I visited two of your stores to buy a lacrosse goal. We have bought several over the past few years for my son and there has always been an extended warranty. We went to purchase the goal and was told the extended warranty was not listed. So we waited to buy the goal. I called another store and spoke to two people and one stated they talked to a manager that there is a warranty for the goal. So we drove to the other side of town to purchase the goal. When we were checking out we were told there is no warranty. The cashier was trying to find a book with the warranty information but could not find it. She was checking her watch since it was almost closing time and was more worried about locking the doors and it being closing time and kept shouting to other associates about locking or unlocking the doors. She radio'd a manager and since the manager (Laura I think) was on the phone with another store could not take the time to come talk to us. She told the cashier to tell us that if it is not popping up on the computer there is nothing they could do. Looking around and checking her watch the cashier stated "so what do you want to do, there is nothing we can do to help you and you can either buy the goal or not". I was actually buying the goal with the money I had just received from Asurion. I could have bought the goal elsewhere and cheaper but Dick's has always been good to us until now. Since I do not have a warranty on the new goal when it is time to buy another one I doubt I will go back to Dick's, I will also probably start going to other stores like Lacrosse Unlimited or Monkey sports for our lacrosse needs. I don't usually like to complain but I felt as though no one wanted to assist us or see if possibly another brand of goals might...

I went in to get 3 golf clubs regripped and encountered one of the rudest employees I've ever dealt with. I called in advance to see if they could do the job immediately or needed to keep clubs longer. This same employee told me he would do it immediately if I arrived after a certain time. I live an hour away and had another errand in the area. I have a newborn baby, and given my scheduling, I needed to stop by 1.5 hrs earlier than he said. He confirmed I was the one who called earlier and immediately took my clubs to the back without saying much. After waiting about 5 minutes he came out from the back and said "I'm not that fast buddy" and sped past me to help another customer. I followed him to ask how much time he needed and if I could come back later to pick them up. He replied, "What did I say to you on the phone?!" I tried explaining that I live an hr away and this was the only time that worked for me, but he rudely repeated the same question. I said I'd take my business elsewhere. When he returned my clubs, I saw that he had already removed the grips off 2 clubs. On my way out I complained to another employee. He was courteous and assured me he would have the golf dept manager (the rude employee’s boss) complete the job. When I returned to collect my clubs, the golf dept manager didn’t care much about what happened. He didn’t ask about what happened earlier but waived the labor fee for...