Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters

Great selection of shoes, clothing and any gear you need to be outdoors. Friendly environment and great customer service by Ian who is very knowledgable about our walk about questions we have had. Good place for the scoop on local outdoor attractions and precautions. Wish they had a reward system though.

Where to begin. I have never experienced such terrible, rude customer service at a retail establishment.
I went into this store with the intention of buying winter boots. When I walked into the shoe section, I noticed several employees standing around. Some were looking at their cell phones, some were talking to each other, some were staring off into space. None of them noticed me. Finally I got a young man’s attention. «Hi, I’m looking for some winter boots,» I said. He reached out his arm and pointed across the store. «They’re over there,» he said. No other communication or offer to be of assistance.
I walked to the boot section. There were many options, but very limited sizes on the shelves. I looked around to see if anyone was working this section, and again I saw employees standing around; one still on his cell phone. «Excuse me,» I said to one of them, an older gentleman. «I’m wondering if you have these boots in a size 7,» I said. He came over and looked at the shelf. «No but I have them in a 9,» he replied. As if that helps?
He walked away. Realizing I was on my own (despite the abundance of employees standing around), I began gathering boots to try on. I brought them over to a bench and began trying them on. A female employee was standing nearby. She stood there and stared at me while I tried on the boots. She did not offer to help in any way, she simply watched me. When it became clear that none of the boots fit, I knew I would need to try another size. Again, no offer to help. The girl began gossiping to her fellow coworker and talking about her weekend plans. I went to get more boots to try on.
Trying on more boots (by this time amassing a pile of boxes of shoes that didn’t fit), I decided to try an experiment. «How are you?» I said to the female employee. «Ugh, ok. There’s nothing to do right now,» she said. I could not believe it !!! Was she serious? Nothing to do? How about helping the person who is here to spend $ 150 on a pair of boots? Perhaps offer to get me another size? Perhaps tell me something about the different options available? But no, nothing.
After I made several trips back and forth gathering more boots to try on, with no help from any employee, I finally decided to call it quits. I stood up. Boldly, I said aloud to the three employees within earshot, «Well I don’t think I’m going to find anything here. You have not been very helpful, so I am going to leave.» They all looked at me indignantly, as though I had done something wrong. The male employee said, contemptuously, «We were standing right here!»
Yes, that was the problem: you were just standing there. I am fairly certain you are supposed to do more than just stand around.

like some other reviewers here i was floored to bring back a christmas gift and be told that i could only get 80% of the value. the folks at the register clearly felt bad for me, and clearly had engaged in this battle before. to their credit they were as courteous as i could expect.
i asked to talk to the store manager, who told me that the owners had specifically told the employees ‘if you don’t like the policy, you don’t have to work here.’ [i’m lucky in that i’m financially secure enough that i’d have told them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine, but i understand that many don’t have that luxury.] i was also told that the only way to get any traction was to talk with the owners.
i got a business card and called the main office. both owners were out, call back, out, call back. .. i’ve now called back 6 times over the course of the month and each time the owners are still out. again every person i talked to on the phone had sympathy and had heard customers upset before, and advised me that i’d have to talk to the owners.
i’ve put in far more of my personal time to this than i should have. to the absent owners of sams, i want you to know, i don’t like your policy and i don’t have to shop there. i’ll be returning my item and rather than buying a new pair of gaiters at your store, i’ll be purchasing them elsewhere. i’ve bought a lot of clothing at sams over the years [i wear almost exclusively carhartt clothing due to my lifestyle] but i’ll be purchasing it elsewhere from now on.

I was blown away when I tried to exchange a gift after Christmas and was told I would only be given 80% store credit toward the exchange. The manager was rude and the staff was helpless. When outfitters like llbean and ems will exchange things for life it was truly amazing that SAMs would not even exchange something with their price tag still on it. The attitude at this store it really lousy and I won’t be shopping there again. Besides, their selection of gear is paltry at best. They mostly sell socks

This store has awesome customer service and prices that are cheaper than EMS. The knife selection is great, they carry guns and it was here that I learned that socks with toes exist for men. Free popcorn awaits you whilst you shop.

This place is great. They have very good service and cheap, reliable items. I got a pair of high quality rain boots here and they were for twenty bucks. I have had them for a while and they are very durable. Downside is that they’re far from Noho. Overall check plus

Overall, I’m pleased. I bought a backpack that ripped during the first day of use. The bag was a POS, and the stitching wasn’t done well. I brought it to the store, and they allowed me to return it with a receipt. I did have to get a manager before they would allow me to return it though… the salesman told me it wasn’t defective so I would have to take it to the manufacturer. In the end, they did the right thing. You can count on them for good customer service, and their prices are fair. I certainly won’t be buying any backpacks from Hideaway again.

I have shopped here about a half a dozen times. I am consistently happy with my purchases, the staff and the prices.

If you live in the Amherst/​Hadley/​Sunderland area, skip the big box stores on Rte 9, skip EMS (and their unimpressive selection), skip the crowds and parking hassle in Northampton and go to Sam’s. This is a great sporting goods store that has a good selection (both in price and style) coupled with helpful, friendly staff. I’ve visited every other sporting goods store on Route 9 and I would never give my business to anyone else but Sam’s. Since moving to the area, we’ve purchased kayaks, winter gear (snow boots, jackets, gloves, etc), hiking gear (for us and our dog). and also Christmas gifts at Sam’s. It is the kind of place that I feel good spending my money at.
And I should probably mention that they serve popcorn. For whatever reason, it is something we get excited about when we visit this store. Check them out! Note: this store also has two other locations (Keene and Brattleboro, VT).