Working with Customers: Tips from an Archery Pro Shop Icon

In a 20-minute The Hunting Public YouTube video, Mark Wagner, archery manager at Archery Field and Sports in Iowa, helps THP intern Ethan Gooch get a bowhunting setup for less than $500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1mluUEo9JQ

When the video was released, the hunting community responded in a big way. Viewers shared their customer service experiences, and many wished they had a salesman like Wagner, who was patient, helpful and kind, at their pro shop. Don’t take my word for it; see for yourself.

Here are six of the more than 9,100 comments on the video.

- David Stokes: Kudos to that salesman. He was so patient and knowledgeable. He didn’t try to push him one way or the other. That's how you get lifetime customers.
- Mark Midkiff: I've NEVER been in a shop that had someone that helpful and focused on making a customer happy. He needs a raise.
- WoodlandChef: What a salesman. So thorough, not really pushy, very helpful. Would love to have him in my town!
- Dunamis: The guy helping sell the bow had me wishing he was local. I wanted to go out and buy a bow just watching.
- Anonymous: Someone get this sales guy a drink. He’s the definition of professional.
- David Whitaker: Man, I'd love to have a bow shop like this. My experience was I picked “stuff” off the wall and had no explanation, no conversation and learned via YouTube watching slow-motion draws of pro archers.

Hundreds of other people had similar reactions. They liked Wagner, and they yearned for a quality salesperson to assist them in their archery endeavors.

We spoke to Wagner to learn what archery pro shop retailers can do to provide quality customer interactions that create happy, satisfied customers — and leave onlookers impressed. But first, let’s address the elephant in the room: Why aren’t customers nationwide receiving this type of interaction? Wagner thinks some people have the wrong motivation.

“There are quality pro shops out there, but some shops are out there to make a dollar,” Wagner said. “They’re not there for the consumer and for the sport. It’s depressing to see (people saying they had a bad experience). I want to continue to see the sport grow. I take my time and set up customers properly because if someone goes home and smacks their arm with the bowstring three or four times, they’re going to hang up the bow in a closet and never shoot again. You’re going to lose an archer and potential hunter.”

A commenter under the name “Jetski Jay” identified another potential issue. “The guys at my local bow shops seem burnt out and have no passion left in them,” he said. “If you’re new or uneducated, it feels like you’re just a burden to them, and that’s not how an experience should be.”

Whether retailers are burned out or in it for the wrong reason, situations like these create a lot of loss. The customer loses their desire for archery. As a result, the retailer loses a customer, while the industry loses a hunter (and therefore, financial support for conservation).