Wow never have been belittled like I was today at the Bass Pro Shops here in San Antonio. I actually waited outside for this store to open and couldn't wait to get all my goodies there, today was the last time I will ever step foot in any of their store again. Jacqellin the manager in charged basically called me a liar and said "kayak fishing is a joke, get a boat and join the real world". It all started with a call I made earlier to see if a rod & reel combo (Penn Feirce) I purchased on Febuary 3, 2012 could be exchanged since the gears were slipping and could feel a grinding feeling when reeled in, Nick tells me sure come on in we can get you a store credit with your reciept and you can choose something else if you want. I get to the store and Nick now says to me that the manager (Jacquellin) will not approve the credit cause its been one day over their 30 day return/exchange period, so i throw Nick under the bus and tell that manager that he was the one that told me to go in and that all was good but now he denies telling me that. Instead of saying that her employee was wrong and was sorry that they could not help me she tells me none of her guys would ever tell me that calls me a liar and says I should not make up lies to try and sneak a rod back to them. I'm shocked, but know that has crossed the line and the other customers in line behind me make it known to her, she then sees the kayak bass fishing shirt I was wearing goes on to say its not real fishing. I wanted to call her the four letter c word and demand to speak with the store manager but just grabbed my combo and left for the very last time from a place I had always enjoyed shopping at. I already called customer service and they will open an investigation since 2 other customers that witnessed it had already called and had reported what had gone on, but I will just stick to going to the other places around me and protest with my wallet. Sorry for the long rant, just wanna spread the word as to how I was treated and hope no one has to go through that [censored] ever.

Go up to Buda...THEY WILL take care of you. We have a 60 day return policy...but it does sound like Penn should stand behind their stuff with a warranty?

Sorry stuff happened to you...

I'm with David, stick with Cabelas and you'll be a LOT happier!!!

Wow, always been treated well at the grapevine store. Any way you slice it, BPS is a BIG corporation. Can't understand someone having "tude" about kayak fisherman but that store has a lot of competition for selling yaks around Austin / SA. Maybe that's what is stuck in her craw. I hope they make it right by you. They are generally higher priced on most everything but I like trading there because they have a good selection. Still go to ACK, Academy, CAbelas and on line for what they don't have.

I will be making the trek up to Cabela's tomorrow. I was gonn a get an Abu Vertitas with the credit then buy an ABU Ora sx and a cheap $50 yak paddle since i just sold my carbon one and got a trolling motor. So I'll take my business to Cabela's and not ever step foot in any of the BPS stores again.

Sorry about your luck, I have always hated BPS, the salesmen will tell you a load **** so that you will by some product. I have exchanged products not more than a week old and they gave me [censored]. Cabelas or Academy is the only way to go, in my opinion, plus BPS(SA)is way off the beaten path anyways.

I had a bad experience at BPS about a return that was less than a week old on a $300 rod. They told me no returns or exchanges you have to deal with the company that makes the rod. I now will buy my rods from Cabelas if they carry what I am looking for. never had a problem with exchanges at Cabelas, they are like Academy on returns, no questions asked.

Most rod makers do want you to send the rod in to them to check it out first. I buy all my stuff exclusively from Academy, no questions on returns there.

Go to cabelas man. I work there and honestly makin sure our customers get the right service and leave happy is what were all about. Plus we give better deals

If you cannot get either the store or the manufacturer to stand behind that reel, there are some guys on the forum who do very fine quality work on reels for very little money. I know that is not the solution you should be able to get but it would be better than trashing an expensive reel.

And next time somebody tells you kayak fishing is a joke tell them it is the kayak fishermen who are laughing last at it, all the way to bank because while we are launching, and fishing shallow, inaccessible water to bass boats, they are still lined up at the gas pump.

With the exception of the Gun Counters at both BPS and Cabela's it has been my experience that most of the rest of the employees are near interchangeable with Walmart employees. The newest Cabela's in Allen proves that point.

Academy is the ones that tick me off the most. Particularly at the gun counter. I want to actually buy a reel and the guy behind the counter is measuring d**k size with some yahoo over their respective gun collections.
And there isn't a single person in any of those stores who knows Thing 1 about the Marine dept. Don't even get me started on that.

Obviously I don't know anything about "your experience", but I think that most of the Cabela's and BPS employees are far more knowledgeble than that.

Now I do admit that I have only been in the Allen store one time about a month after it opened and I was not impressed. But I have found that the employees at "my" Cabela's over here in FtW are generally pretty knowledgeble ... they obviously all don't know "everything about everything", but always seems like at least one of them will know something about the item I'm looking at or ideas for a particular situation.

And in the fly fishing departments at both Cabela's and the two DFW BPS stores ... I have found very knowledgeble folks who are both willing to help you and (unless they are real busy) willing to just talk about fishing.

To the OP, I hate to hear about your experience at BPS and honestly, I would find a way to let the "higher ups" at BPS know about your experience. Management should stand behind what their employees have told someone, whether in person or over the phone. And regardless of whether the item you brought back was eligible to be returned or not, for a manager to be rude and insulting is just NOT acceptable.

For the record, in my few time returning merchendise at BPS in Grapevine, I have not had a problem ... and since most of my shopping is done at Cabela's, most of my returns are done there too and they have always gone out of their way to make sure I'm satisfied and happy.

I shop at Academy because they generally have good quality merchendise at very reasonable prices, great sales, and convenient locations. I do not go into Academy looking for advice on fishing, boating, or any other subject. The last time I bought a reel there and had them put line on it, I had to show the employee how to operate the line spooler.

Yeah, that is why I shop there too. But when you need a reel from behind the gun counter you are gonna wait awhile because it seems like every employee is a vapid gun addict who finds fishermen annoying... or you need to find something in the marine dept and you cannot find it on your own you are just as SOL. If I want advice about something I ask my father in law or my friends. I don't expect salesmen to give me advice. It would just be nice if they would stop running their sucks long enough to hand me a reel, or if they knew where the damn fuses were at.