Dick's Sporting Goods Fires In-Store Golf Pros

[zipazoid]

Our area is saturated with golf stores. We have 2 "mom n' pop" golf shops that are owned, operated and solo-staffed by 2 PGA professionals. Then, 10 miles in the opposite direction we have Dick's, Golfsmith and Golf Galaxy. The GS and GG are literally across the street from one another as GS just opened up like less than 2 months ago. This is another problem in my opinion. I don't think we need to have 4 shops within a 10 miles radius.

I, like many others, never knew Dick's employed PGA Professionals so Dick's clearly had no advertising or marketing budget invested into making that a known fact. If you go to GS or GG's website, you'll clearly see a list of each certified PGA Professional with a picture of them - per location. Dick's couldn't even market the fact that they at least employ PGA Pros at their store, so that's a major fail by Dick's in my opinion.

Whenever I did go into a Dick's Sporting Goods store, the golf section was always empty with maybe one person holding a driver and browsing. On the other hand, GS and GG are absolutely packed on Friday evenings and the weekend.

Good luck to everyone affected. I hope you find something more enjoyable, more secure and more rewarding as soon as possible gentlemen.

I wish they'd better marketed the fact that the guys in store were PGA Pros. I honestly had no idea.

I have a rule of thumb when it comes to golf equipment: if I need expert knowledge, I shop at the course Pro-Shop; if I am looking for deals, I buy online. Because of this, the likes of Dick's always passed me by.

Well there you go. Seems there was a lack of marketing on Dick's part. Which is odd given the size of their stores - they couldn't have a poster on one of the humongous windows on the front of their stores with this fact? And I would imagine they were paying these pros more than the typical Dick's employee. You'd think with that investment they would blow their horn loud.

Sounds like poor management to me.

[billchao]

Well hell, if everybody just went to pick the pro's brain, have them help you out, then go buy clubs somewhere else, what did we expect would happen. Dick's can't pay them to be charity instructors to sell equipment to the competition.  That doesn't give them any return on their investment.

Well that's not really what I said, is it? I said Dick's has a limited selection of golf equipment, so I don't buy there. When I shop for clubs, I hit literally everything available. I'm not going to do that at a store that only carries (exaggerating) only TM, Callaway, and Nike, Because what happens if the club that suits me best is a Tour Edge?

[mcanadiens]

Dick's golf commercials always have seemed kind of generic to me. Particularly on televised golf ads, they should have beat up the point about having pros fit your clubs. Instead it was just "every season starts at Dicks" or something like that.

[Dave2512]

Surprising so many missed DSG had in store pros. The SLDR commercials DSG has been running on TGC for several months mention it.

[caniac6]

We used to have two small independent golf shops in our town, and every time I went in, it was like going to Cheers.I knew all the guys, and they knew me and my game. I used to go there to hang out on a rainy or winter day. Along comes GG and Dick's, and those stores go away. I wish those guys luck, but that's business.

[GangGreen]

Certainly the state of the industry and economy played major factors, but based on my own experience in our area, I don't get the sense Dick's did a particularly good job in differentiating itself from any of the specialty stores as the place to go to get your golf equipment. I'm not an online shopper so I always buy my stuff at a retail location and the closest Dick's is within a mile of the local Golfsmiths. Pricing is the same but the selection is just better at the Golfsmiths so I always find myself going there instead (I mean why go to a store that may not have what I'm looking for when there's a good bet their competitor down the road does and then some). Honestly, the only time I purchased golf stuff at Dick's was if I was already their buying other sporting goods for my kids and they happen to have a sale on golf balls or something. Their model seems to be suited to go after the casual player vs. the more serious golfer but, unfortunately, there appears to be less and less casual golfers out their these days.

[zipazoid]

Surprising so many missed DSG had in store pros. The SLDR commercials DSG has been running on TGC for several months mention it.

I think the replies in this post is proof that their efforts fell short. We're all avid golfers & many weren't aware they had pros.

And trust me, this group doesn't miss much.

[Mulligan Jeff]

Dunham's is a smaller player in the industry and yet they have a good selection of golf equipment with minimum wage personnel to assist you. In order to have a competitive edge above the rest companies need to be lean.

[Cool Breeze]

Well that's not really what I said, is it?

I said Dick's has a limited selection of golf equipment, so I don't buy there. When I shop for clubs, I hit literally everything available. I'm not going to do that at a store that only carries (exaggerating) only TM, Callaway, and Nike, Because what happens if the club that suits me best is a Tour Edge?

Well, you said that the pro had always been helpful with you.

You said that having a pro there made the experience worth it for you.

And you said that since the pro was gone, you'd skip Dick's altogether now.

Then you said that their selection sucked so when you were serious about purchasing clubs you went somewhere else.

So yeah, it kind of does sound like that's what you said.  You benefited from the Dick's pro by your own admission, and bought clubs elsewhere.  That doesn't pay the pro's salary, so if that happened a lot, then Dick's wouldn't be able to justify keeping them on the payroll.  They didn't hire a pro for the public's benefit.  They hired him to make them money.

[billchao]

Well, you said that the pro had always been helpful with you. You said that having a pro there made the experience worth it for you. And you said that since the pro was gone, you'd skip Dick's altogether now. Then you said that their selection sucked so when you were serious about purchasing clubs you went somewhere else. So yeah, it kind of does sound like that's what you said.  You benefited from the Dick's pro by your own admission, and bought clubs elsewhere.  That doesn't pay the pro's salary, so if that happened a lot, then Dick's wouldn't be able to justify keeping them on the payroll.  They didn't hire a pro for the public's benefit.  They hired him to make them money.

Ok I'm on my phone, so apologies for the lack of formatting... I said I'd stop in the store and try equipment. I never said I picked the guys brain and purchased elsewhere. I enjoyed the experience with him from a customer service point of view. He was attentive and helpful. Did I benefit from the pro there? Of course. That's the point. I disagree with your assertion that Dick's hired these guys to make money, as opposed to the public's benefit. They hired them to provide a service for their customers. If they wanted to hire someone just to sell stuff, they'd hire salesmen. Dick's didn't provide a broad selection. That's on them. It sounds like they didn't do a good job at making the public aware of their PGA professionals, either. This whole thing looks to me like a management problem on the corporate end, with the consequences affecting the former employees. Point is, you're reading my posts backwards. I'm not skipping Dick's because I can't benefit from the pro anymore. The pro was the only reason I went in the first place.

[iacas]

When I think of a golf pro, I think of the guy at the club giving lessons & running the pro shop; not working at Dick's. In a way, it almost seems undignified for the pro to work in that environment.

PGA Pros can have lots of jobs and still be fulfilling the duties of a PGA member:

http://www.pga.com/pga-america/pga-information/pga-america-member-classifications

Architects, media, rules officials, club fitting, manufacturer management… :D The business operator at a facility.

[Cool Breeze]

Quote:

I disagree with your assertion that Dick's hired these guys to make money

Dick's Sporting Goods is not a non-profit organization.  They, or any other for profit business, dont do things out of the kindness of their hearts.  Every decision they make revolves around dollar signs.  If you don't believe that, you're naive.

[Gunther]

Ok I'm on my phone, so apologies for the lack of formatting... I said I'd stop in the store and try equipment. I never said I picked the guys brain and purchased elsewhere. I enjoyed the experience with him from a customer service point of view. He was attentive and helpful. Did I benefit from the pro there? Of course. That's the point. I disagree with your assertion that Dick's hired these guys to make money, as opposed to the public's benefit. They hired them to provide a service for their customers. If they wanted to hire someone just to sell stuff, they'd hire salesmen. Dick's didn't provide a broad selection. That's on them. It sounds like they didn't do a good job at making the public aware of their PGA professionals, either. This whole thing looks to me like a management problem on the corporate end, with the consequences affecting the former employees. Point is, you're reading my posts backwards. I'm not skipping Dick's because I can't benefit from the pro anymore. The pro was the only reason I went in the first place.

Apologies Bill, you didn't specifically say it and may not realize it but @coolbreeze was right on in his assessment of your use of Dick's. The pro was not there for the public's benefit, he's there to bring in money for the store. So, while it's great that he was helpful and a good guy, if he's not making enough money to justify his salary then he's dead weight and retail chains can't survive using that model, no one can, which is why Dick's pulled the trigger on this. It's a terrible situation for these pro's. And I suspect many will move on to other things. Unfortunately, there just isn't a lot of money to be made in the golf industry. I have probably 5 friends who have been in the industry for many years, none of them are currently.

[billchao]

Dick's Sporting Goods is not a non-profit organization.  They, or any other for profit business, dont do things out of the kindness of their hearts.  Every decision they make revolves around dollar signs.  If you don't believe that, you're naive.

Sorry, it was supposed to say "just" to make money. They didn't hire these guys just to shove clubs down people's throats. Providing good service adds value to the company, too, and does contribute to the bottom line. It's just not as easily quantified as sales numbers. [quote name="Gunther" url="/t/76002/dicks-sporting-goods-fires-in-store-golf-pros/60#post_1025507"] Apologies Bill, you didn't specifically say it and may not realize it but @coolbreeze was right on in his assessment of your use of Dick's. The pro was not there for the public's benefit, he's there to bring in money for the store. So, while it's great that he was helpful and a good guy, if he's not making enough money to justify his salary then he's dead weight and retail chains can't survive using that model, no one can, which is why Dick's pulled the trigger on this. It's a terrible situation for these pro's. And I suspect many will move on to other things. Unfortunately, there just isn't a lot of money to be made in the golf industry. I have probably 5 friends who have been in the industry for many years, none of them are currently.[/quote]Yea I realize there is some ambiguity on my part. Not to take this too far OT, but people seriously underestimate the value of good customer service and customer relationships.

[Rewster66]

I sure hate to see this, I've not been playing golf but just a little over two years but the Pro at the local Dick's Sporting Goods has always been very helpful and informative for both myself and my son. He seemed to be very qualified, but what I liked about him most was the fact that he didn't try to "push" you into certain clubs but instead was blunt and tried to match my son and I with the clubs that best suited us.

He put me with the Callaway Razr X HL irons which really really helped me leave my Burner irons behind. I hate to see so many people lose their jobs.

God Bless!!! Ray

[Gunther]

Not to take this too far OT, but people seriously underestimate the value of good customer service and customer relationships.

Totally agree, it's sadly becoming a lost art.

[Infamous 273]

Not sure how long TM and Callaway can continue this nuclear arms race when clearly the demand doesn't exist.

[cfritchie]

My experience at Dicks was golf seemed like an after thought. the 8x8 small putting green had a rope with a lock on it and you had to ask or get help to try out a putter. The "golf" area seemed crammed into a corner and the selection seems...well somewhat like a Target or Wal-Mart, not like a store that was committed to the golf business.

With that said we have a PGA Superstore 2 minutes from Dicks, and a Golfsmith 10 minutes away. Yes, there is a bit of over-population but if you are not "all-in" then you probably should get out...seems like that is what Dick's did. To blame it on the factors Dicks did..well those are excuses for their own shortcomings.