The wife and I went to Cabela’s this past weekend. I’ve been looking to get her a better catfish setup than the Lady Fisher she has been using.
Looking at the rods we couldn’t find anything she liked (she likes pink) and I wanted her to have a stout 6ft MH spinning for cats. I told her I was watching some on eBay and I would get one of those.
Now we needed a reel. I went to the reel counter and was looking at the “size 30” reels at about $50. I really wanted an Okuma but didn’t see any. That is where my issues started. I asked the first guy behind the counter if he had any Okuma’s - he was wearing a Shimano jersey and I found out later was assisting the Cabela’s staff for the weekend as a vendor rep. He asked me why I would want an Okuma. I told him they are solid reels and I have pretty much switched all my spinning reels over. He then stated he didn’t know anything about Okuma - he asked a Cabela’s employee if they had any. They had one. He went to hand to me and asked if I looked at Shimano; I said no, I’m looking for Okuma. He handed me the reel and walked away.
Next the employee came over and asked me why I would want an Okuma. I explained again why. He then grabbed an $80 Shimano and started singing its praise. I told him it was more than we wanted to pay - he then grabbed a $150 dollar Shimano - I just said no thanks. He then asked me why I wouldn’t even look at the Shimano. I told him Shimano makes good equipment but I’m not a fan of them. He literally rolled his eyes and walked away.
When we got in the car (with our brand new Okuma) Heather asked me why they were pushing Shimano’s - did they miss their quota??
The Shimano guy should have just handed you over to a Cabela’s guy when you said “no”. He tried - you denied, potential sale done if you didn’t want to listen to his sales pitch
I wonder if the Cabela guy was told to push Shimano at the moment. For him a sale is a sale no matter who the maker was
I bought 2 Shimano Curados this past summer when they were on sale and I love them. That doesn’t mean I am going to become a die hard Shimano fan. I love all the reels I have and they are all from different companies. I am by no means brand specific. As long as it is a good reel for a good price that will work well for what I am going to use it for then I will buy it. The only reason I wouldn’t buy a reel or rod from some company is if their customer service is pathetic. So far I haven’t run into that issue, so every brand is fair game
Never a good excuse for bad customer service…show the customer what they are asking for, make comparisons, but let an informed customer decide. Hope this is not common for Cabela’s.
send an email to the store manager and tell him exactly what you told us here. Threaten to never buy from Cabelas ever again. see if you get a reply. maybe he’ll send you a coupon or a small prepaid card.
The Cabelas here is in trouble, they closed the top floor with all their camping and gun stuff.
I wonder if the Cabela guy was told to push Shimano at the moment.
I don’t know - I don’t think so by the replies I’m getting from the floor manager. Like I told the manager, as soon as I said ‘no thank you’ the discussion should have been about Okuma.
I am by no means brand specific.
I am more than I care to admit. Like I told them - Shimano makes good stuff (my brother is a Shimano user, so I’ve used his Citicas and Curados - my Quantums and Okuma’s are better - IMHO).
Hope this is not common for Cabela’s
First time it ever happened to me there.
send an email to the store manager and tell him exactly what you told us here. Threaten to never buy from Cabelas ever again. see if you get a reply. maybe he’ll send you a coupon or a small prepaid card.
Did as soon as we got home. The floor manager has been in contact with me already - no coupon or similar compensation yet.
I’ve noticed that the Cabelas here in Dundee is Shimano heavy too. From rods to reels and also the G Loomis line of rods. I have got to know many of the sales reps at our store and they don’t even try to push Shimano or Daiwa with me. Shimano makes some good stuff but I really don’t think the price point is fair to the product, when other companies make just as good of gear at a fraction of the price. I even got my tournament partner to change from Shimano except his rod choice he still loves his G Loomis rods. Way to stick to your guns and remember the so called expert isn’t always right.
I’ve noticed that the Cabelas here in Dundee is Shimano heavy too. From rods to reels and also the G Loomis line of rods. I have got to know many of the sales reps at our store and they don’t even try to push Shimano or Daiwa with me. Shimano makes some good stuff but I really don’t think the price point is fair to the product, when other companies make just as good of gear at a fraction of the price. I even got my tournament partner to change from Shimano except his rod choice he still loves his G Loomis rods. Way to stick to your guns and remember the so called expert isn’t always right.
Once you asked for Okuma, he could suggest something else but when you said no i want okuma, sales pitch for another brand is over. i would have probably walked out when he kept pushing Shimano. no different than a telemarketer we all hang up on.
I got the same thing at Cabelas Dundee. My experience was in the fly fishing department. I wanted a Pflueger “clicker” fly reel for bass. The salesman said, “No you don’t want that-you want a Ross reel.” It’s a bass not a salmon dude. Here’s the kicker: If I sign up for a Cabelas credit card I can get 15% off my purchase. That made that guy the third person who asked me to sign up for a credit card. Anywho, I’m not a big fan of Shimano spinning reels. I think Presidents and Cardinals do good job. Haven’t tried an Okuma.
I’m kind of shocked they don’t push Daiwa, since Daiwa is usually a sponsor on Cabela’s fishing shows & they made special edition Zillion casting & Fuego spinning reel for Cabela’s 50th Anniversary. Of course, Daiwa has all but given up in the under $200 market, so there’s not much to push in that range anyways. Shimano has snooty pushers everywhere though. I actually saw a guy post in a thread about comparing a couple different reels & he actually posted “get something that says Shimano on it” like you can’t possibly do better than a Shimano.
When you start looking at reels at different price points, they’re all gonna be pretty comparable, with slight mechanical & cosmetic differences meaning different things to different people.
I’m kind of shocked they don’t push Daiwa, since Daiwa is usually a sponsor on Cabela’s fishing shows & they made special edition Zillion casting & Fuego spinning reel for Cabela’s 50th Anniversary. Of course, Daiwa has all but given up in the under $200 market, so there’s not much to push in that range anyways. Shimano has snooty pushers everywhere though. I actually saw a guy post in a thread about comparing a couple different reels & he actually posted “get something that says Shimano on it” like you can’t possibly do better than a Shimano.
When you start looking at reels at different price points, they’re all gonna be pretty comparable, with slight mechanical & cosmetic differences meaning different things to different people.
Thats because Diawa pruducts under 200 are awful…I own 2 shimanos and 3 loomis’. I LOVE the loomis rods don’t get me wrong, but alot of the people who are die hard shimano or loomis fans you would think they own the company or something and if you say something negative its like you just called their wife a ..... well you know. I own a variety of companies more quantums in the reel department and I am in the process of going all loomis, but I’m not gonna tell you you’re a moron if you don’t fish the same equiptment.
I’ve been spending a lot of time on BBC this year. I find it amusing that almost half of the items for sale in the forums are Loomis or Shimano. Just yesterday I counted 19 of the 40 posts in the Rods 4 Sale forum were Loomis. Same goes for Shimano. If they are so great, why is everyone selling them??
Dont get me wrong here, Im not downing on either company. I have Shimano and have owned Loomis, but its not necessary. Some of their fans are just too hardcore IMO. Every combo doesnt have to cost $500-750 to be good.
There are many brands I am loyal to….Ranger, St Croix, Nikon, and Hilton to name a few….but there are loads of good reels out there (and loads of junk !). I have a good number of Shimanos (Calcuttas) and love them, but I have also used the Quantum Energy spinning reel for walleye jigging and found it outstanding too.
I’d write Cabelas (or stop in and see the store manager next time). My advice is BE POLITE and DON’T THREATEN. Most folks get turned off right away when you threaten. In my line of work, our employees get threatened all the time. It NEVER works out well for the customer when they do this. Those who are polite, and state their case in a calm and even tone get results.
I still remember buying my very first NEW Ranger in 1999. I went to D&R in Michigan and actually met KVD (he was great). But their Business Manager at that time, essentially ignored me. I was going to spend around 30K on a new Ranger and this guy (an older fella) treated me like dirt. It cost them a sale. In a company…EVERYONE is in “sales” at one time or another, regardless of their actual title.
I got the same thing at Cabelas Dundee. My experience was in the fly fishing department. I wanted a Pflueger “clicker” fly reel for bass. The salesman said, “No you don’t want that-you want a Ross reel.” It’s a bass not a salmon dude. Here’s the kicker: If I sign up for a Cabelas credit card I can get 15% off my purchase. That made that guy the third person who asked me to sign up for a credit card. Anywho, I’m not a big fan of Shimano spinning reels. I think Presidents and Cardinals do good job. Haven’t tried an Okuma.
Doesn’t matter, if you know what you want a salesman shouldn’t keep trying to shove something else down your throat. once you say no, no more conversation is needed except about the product you asked for whatever that product may be. I haven’t tried Okuma either, but Flyman and BBK swear by them. The only time i go to a Cabelas is to pick up an item(s) i had shipped to store since it is 3 times farther away than the BPS near me. So i don’t interact with the sales clerks.
