King Kong Hobbies — Local services in Ramsey

Overall, it's good. Long story warning! I'm new to the r/c airplane hobby. My wife purchased my first r/c airplane here as a Father's Day gift. She didn't know anything about the hobby and was relying on the staff to guide her. They recommended the Horizon Hobby Hobby Zone Aero Scout 2 1.1m RTF as a first airplane, for which I am very happy. However, it doesn't come with batteries or a charger. They should have made it clear that these items were needed. Over the next few days, I did a little research on batteries/charger and decided on what I would want to get me started. I went to the King Kong store and met Doug, who was very helpful. He was quick to offer a battery/charger combo that didn't seem adequate based on reviews. I asked, "If you were me, is this what you would pick?" He said no... I told him what I wanted, and he agreed. Since the airplane has Spektrum electronics, I wanted to stay with their batteries/charger, but not the bottom level. I purchased 2 batteries and ordered a charger not stocked. Note: he was happy to price match! The charger took longer than expected to come in, which is understandable. The staff was unaware of my special order when I called to check the status. I waited until the next day to talk to Doug and found the charger was received. I do now have the charger, and everything works great. My experience could have been better, but Doug was very helpful and seems to have a wealth of knowledge, and in the end, he listened to my concerns and observations. I will continue to go there and recommend them. I prefer to shop local, but local isn't flawless, but neither...

I just got back into the hobby and since King Kong was close, I chose to do business there. Unimpressed. I purchased 3 RC cars, accessories and spent close to 2 grand. I have been back since for parts which are incredibly hit or miss if they have them in stock. I tried to special order 2 or 3 parts ranging from $6 to 12$ and they wouldn't just order, and I needed to pay in advance. OK fine I get the policy but seriously it was less than $25 in parts. seems silly and from the past few experiences, they never seem to have parts in stock so I am not going to keep playing the order parts game. Product knowledge is also seeming to lack there. I have asked questions only to have them spin the parts book around for me to search myself. Lastly. I bought a charger there that is defective. I called and asked if I could exchange it and they sent me to Traxxas. No biggie but I don't have the receipt and used their loyalty program when purchasing so I asked if they could provide me the proof or purchase. He got my info and said he would call me. Never heard back. All in all, Hub hobby is much further but I know I will get what I need there and have never had an issue. They always have a huge assortment of parts and people that know what they are doing and are very active in RC. I won’t give King Kong Hobby any more of...

This shop is awesome. Super nice owner Doug, very knowledgeable. Everything you need for RC. Happy to order from here and support a small business hobby shop instead of order online, especially because you get a discount with the loyalty program. Definitely my favorite hobby shop. Also, upon thinking why I had such a great experience, the owner didn’t assume I didn’t know anything because I was a woman, he treated me with respect. I always have to be on edge when I go into magic/ dnd shops/ hobby stores / other typically male dominated spaces because they normally treat me like I don’t know anything, but he wasn’t like that at all. There was even another female behind the counter which I...