Do they still have the same customer service issues they have had in the past? I've boycotted them each for over 2+ years just want to know if that's still a good idea or I return business there would I just get more of the same?

Thank you IHTF

Jr's still sucks, until they dump the manager they will always suck! Can't answer on mega as I still refuse to go there for anything

Wasn't in Mega during all the horror stories, but I've been in a couple times since and have had no issues.  Sales people and range people were helpful, no FOID checks at the door, etc.

I had terrible experinces at mega years ago and the last few times I went I had nothing but positive things to say.  I think they finally figured out that being dicks wasn't helping their business.  I would say give them a chance just my 2 cents.

Several purchases at Mega over the last year, no real issues. Less 'gun store commando' attitude than many other gunshops, IMHO.


Larry

Thanks guys I appreciate the incite

Was at Mega over the weekend. Had made up my mind I wanted an LCP. Clerk did his very best to discourage the purchase as he recommended only 9-45 calibers. While I understand the downfalls of the 380, a disability requires something smaller than the 38 I used to carry or any of my 45's. Kinda left a little irritated.

Horrible experience at Mega about 2 weeks ago, I was shooting Tula Brass Maxx(wanted to see if the cheap suff would work for plinking) out of my CZ P09 which has never had a problem with any ammo so far.  After about 20 rounds it fed a round and the slide completely locked.  I did all I could but couldnt rack the slide to eject the oversized casing.  I go to the help desk explain my issue and the guy rudely says "you cant shoot that here", I politely said, "Not trying to cause any problems but another assoc checked and approved this ammo" again he says "well someones in trouble then, i'll call the owner see if he can do anything".  I wait about 5 min for the owner, who walks right past me without saying a word goes out to the range and proceeds to try to clear the slide, after a few minutes he gets it cleared, mind you he hasnt said a word to me yet, then turns around and says "this ammo is shit, why would you even put this in your gun?"  I said "trying new ammos, and just for plinking a FMJ brass cased round should seem to be fine"  He goes on to say "you cant shoot this at my range, go buy more ammo"  He then puts the cap on the Tula can and proceeds to go to "my" range bag and stuff it in there, turns around again and says "dont shoot that crap on my range".  I immediately packed up all my stuff even though I had plenty of Federal and Wichester I could have shot and left.  

Sorry for the long story but end point is I will never ever go to Mega again.  Treating customers with blatent disrespect, while also talking down to me like I was a terrible gun owner for buying Tula (again it was brass not the steel stuff).  If the owner has an attitude like that then I refuse to give him anymore business.

On a side note I'm originally from Bloomington and they opened a new range called CI Shooting Sports, went there last weekend and its easily the nicest range Ive found in IL to date.  Staff was very kind as well.

I see Mega hasn't changed much.  Used to stop there whenever I was in the area.  That was over 2 yrs ago,  about when they expanded the store.  The staff was rude,
seemed that if you knew about firearms they didn't want anything to do with you.  Catered to the uninformed so they can push the high profit items.

Range rules were ridiculous.   Couldn't bring your own targets, had to buy from them.  Not allowed to recover brass.

I go to Rinks.  Smoky, but you're not timed and I can shoot at paper plates.

I really hope these threads get back to the owners of these places.

Why?  Because whenever anyone asks me about ranges, I make sure I let them know about stuff like this.

Exactly.  In the case of Mega its kind of a shame.  Huge layout with a great inventory but fucking assholes for owners and employees and stupid policies to boot.  They'll never get a single cent from myself or anyone else I can prevent from going there.

JR Shooting Sports isn't worth anyones time...

A few years ago I was in Mega wanting to look at a particular AR15.  I showed my FOID to the employee, which at the time my FOID had a cook county address.  The clerk said I can not look/hold the AR because my FOID has a cook county address.  I looked at him and laughed and walked out.  For many years before the remodel I spent a lot there, the staff was nice and knowledgeable and they had good prices.  I don't ever planning on going back and I advise everyone I know to avoid them.

Like most of us, we hate to see gun shops disappear.  In this case, not soon enough.

Good CS would keep them in business. Bad CS will drive customers to newer smaller shops that will ultimately become the new big boys. Cycle of life and all...

Its really a shame too. Mega has an awesome store, but after they expanded the CS definitely went in the crapper.


Rinks, while a hole-in-the-wall, is friendly and where I go when I shoot indoors.

I always tell people if you want to touch whatever you're looking at go ahead to Mega, but buy it elsewhere.

Everyone can have a different experience, but I've been to Mega a few times within the last 5 months, most recently last week, and had absolutely none of the previously described bad CS experiences either at the range, being shown something from behind the counter or getting help with an accessory.  Other than seeing one guy angry he had to wait for a specific sales person to pick up something, no one else seemed upset any of the times I was in the store.

Many of the crazy things I read about e.g FOID check at door, not answering phone, no cell phone use inside, etc appear to be gone.   Other things that remain I suspect are the result of a team of lawyers encouraging them to minimize risk  (I assume they still won't sell some firearms to Chicago residents).

Honestly I have only had positive experiences with Mega... I'm in there a few times a month and have never been Foid checked at the door, never have been told not to use my phone even as I am texting. Everyone I have dealt with is knowledgable, and nice.  Sometimes it does get busy and you may have to wait for the range or a sales clerk, and the prices are on the high side.  That being said since I am 10 minutes away I will pay for conveinence.
I would say give them another try...

Thanks for the info GAT will apparently be my home store its a drive but it's the best place around. RKA isn't bad but they are priced a little high but the range is awesome

Went to Mega tonight to check out a couple carry guns I'm interested in. Younger guy that was helping me out was friendly. Had just checked out a couple Sig 290s, and was talking for a couple mins. Wanted to check out a Kahr as well, but was pretty sure I'd be buying the Sig.

Guys boss calls him over while he's in the middle of helping me, and starts chewing him out. At this point I'm thinking this is pretty messed up, but I give it a few mins. Next thing I know, the guy that was helping me is standing by the front counter, pulling blister packs of something off a rack, and wiping the dust off them with a rag. So I go over & ask if he can help me, and he tells me he can't because has to work the front counter . And that I'll have to wait until someone else is available.

So short version, guys boss pulls him off the floor to chew him out & punish him with a crap job while he was in the middle of helping a customer wanting to spend money. And with no one else available to help me.

I left. Done with that place till they start fixing things.

GAT has actually been quite pleasant the last few times I've been there.  

Sometimes you have to wait a bit, but that is only because their sales guys are busy helping other people when they are packed.

I've said some not so nice things about them in the past, but as of right now for a LGS, they've been the most attentive to customer service and its been noticed.

I hope they continue the trend.

I am about 10 mins from rka and I go there to shoot.  Great range.   Selection? Not so much.  Their prices are a tad high, expected from a store, but sometimes I feel they are trying to pay that building off sooner.  Also, parts selection sucks as well.  I realize they probably would not move much, but they have pretty much nothing.  Out if all of them, I would support rka over any.  I have never been talked down to or treated like shit there.

This has been my experience as well. Very courteous and knowledgable sales people and outstanding inventory. That being said, I have not fired on their range primary because I am a annual member elsewhere, and I agree that their range rules are unacceptable to me, especially as to target use.

I've gone to Mega a few times, but never again. Their used gun prices are as much or more than new guns in other local shops and forget the new guns. If you think they have decent prices then you haven't shopped around enough or have nothing but high priced gun stores in your area. ETA: Also wanted to add that standing in front of cases looking at a gun in an empty store while 4 guys stand behind the counter talking BS instead of asking if I need help is also nonsense.

You can add Gun World / Article II to the shops I won't visit: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_23/470701_Gun_World_is_a_dissapointment_____to_say_the_least___.html

Just going to +1 for Rinks being a great place to shoot. Cheap for range/rentals too. And you get to take home a free cough with every visit

The wife and I shot at Mega today; range was WARM (big deal for her), the rangemasters were actually paying attention to what was going on (politely warned a couple folks not to leave their booths with weapons and such things) and everything on the range actually worked.

Staff was awfully friendly, too; I can't help but wonder why, in all the times I've been there, I've never witnessed the kind of surly staff I keep hearing reported here? I'm usually a bad customer service magnet...


Larry

I think alot of the stuff posted here is bullshit, personally. I havent bought a gun from them in 2-3 years but only because I use a kitchen table guy now. I go to Mega often to fondle my next online purchase and have never had an issue.

I've been going to MegaSports since they were at the little shop down the road... I've known a bunch of the employees.  I've personally been treated like they were doing me a favor by letting me in their store,and also been treated very well. So I'm not surprised to see the varying stories here, and I haven't any doubt the stories (good and bad) are all true.

I had no need to go anywhere for shopping during the "shortage" so did not experience any issues with Megasports. Been shopping there for years, though, without any complaints.

JR, on the other hand, is consistently a PIA. The owner is surly with no  people skills. The counter people it seems try to offset that, but the environment is not at all friendly due to his presence.

Pretty much this. I've been in there before & gotten good service. I remember bringing my mother there 22lr pistol shopping. She's not one to make a quick decision, and the counter guy had a lot of patience with her.

Like most places though, it only takes 1 really bad experience to make you not want to go back for a while. I may give them another chance down the road. There was a point where I wouldn't buy a gun from GAT for anything with how bad their cust service was, but they've gotten a lot better lately. Bought a gun there last week, day after Mega pissed me off.

I was itching to make a purchase, and Mega was the only somewhat local place with what I wanted in stock, so I gave it a shot...I could always walk away.

No asking about FOID at the door.
Asked many times if I needed any assistance while I was just checking everything out.
Typical questions when I asked to handle a firearm.
Only a slight "I'll need to check about the magazines and Chicago residents"

Everything went as smooth as could be, everyone was polite, no issues or attitude.

I'll pickup the gun either on Friday or Saturday, we'll see if I get my 15rds or if they try to give me 10s, I"ll report back.

SSDD

Mega is back to pre 13 standard.  I still refuse to buy a firearm there because of 13, but I'll swing in there to hold all of the merchandise and then have it shipped to breach and barrel and pay the ffl transfer.

I can't help but think that's a bit unethical; if you don't choose to shop there, that's your choice. But using their inventory and location specifically to purchase elsewhere and save money smacks of a very 'convenient' sort of boycott, IMHO.


Larry

Sounds like free market laissez-faire economics to me

Its called "showrooming" and its very common. Electronics retailer like Best Buy have a hard time with this as people go check out the fancy tv and buy it online. I personally have no problem with this at all. We all want to see something we never seen before in person before purchasing, if its possible.

Picked up my P320 today, got both 15rd mags....purchased 4 more standard capacity mags (15 and 12rds), and a couple 100rds of 9mm....no issues at all.  Everyone was helpful, no issues with my Chicago FOID.   I don't know how often I'll go down there, but distance would be my only reason not to.

SSDD

The retailers know this well. If they lower prices they may sell more, but may then end up out of inventory. No inventory, people get discouraged not being able to see anything when they come in. So the prices, while higher, do result in sales from those who want this right now. Not everyone is the type to go out just to window shop and buy elsewhere, but, the retailers are willing to provide the customer service. Obviously Mega is doing quite well for themselves with their business model. While I'd bet they'd love to have all the customers that walk thru the door buy from them, it's never going to happen. Name me any business where it does.

I live about 10 minutes from Mega sports and basically have written the place off. Something about that place just rubs me wrong. I did try to purchase 2 firearms from them in the past and can say that the whole “Mega” experience is consistently mediocre. Never did purchased a firearm from them just a couple of small items. We refer to the place as Mega Assholes not Mega Sports.

Rinks has always been good to go just wear a dust mask when shooting or black crap will flow from your nose for a couple of days.