We've been going to Camping World for quite awhile and are proud members of the Good Sam Club Not…read moresure this review will mean anything since Camping World in Bend and general manager Mike Rodriguez have a 2.5 star rating.
Yesterday, I went to Camping World in Bend, Or to grab some sealant and Butyl tape. The clerk as always was helpful and courteous. I went to pay with Apple Pay on my phone. It didn't work right away but eventually gave me a place to sign which is not common. The store clerk told me to sign, and after signing I noticed a card in the reader. I took the card out and gave it to the clerk. The clerk then gave me my receipt. Before leaving I jokingly said, "Did I just get a bag of free stuff?" The clerk said, "No."
While I am driving home the police are called. An officer goes to CW, interviews the clerk, speaks with general manager Mike Rodriguez, and watches the surveillance video. The clerk tells the officer that he thinks I knew I was using the credit card instead of my Apple Pay which is false. Also, if he thought that, he should have done his due diligence and checked the receipt for the last four credit card numbers to see who got charged. This makes him guilty of negligence. The officer views the video, sees that I use my phone to pay. He then sees that I see a card in the credit card machine, I take it out and I give it to the clerk. When I spoke to the officer, he told me that he saw that this was an obvious mistake, but since he was called he had to file a report. At this point, general manager Mike Rodriguez, should have seen that it was a mistake by his employee and a mix-up. Easy fix: refund other customer's money and call me to pay over the phone. But because he doesn't want to be bothered, he instead, inconveniences a police officer and two of CW's customers by having the police officer track me down to set up a payment to the card owner. Turns out the card owner was leaving town and didn't have an online pay option.
Because of this, I reached out to Mike Rodriguez, general manager of CW in Bend. I was told that he was not at the store (I found out later that he was there the whole time but apparently didn't want to deal with this), so I insisted that he call me. Mr Rodriguez did call, and essentially told me that I was at fault for not telling the clerk to check and that it was not his responsibility to refund the card owner's money. He said that I would have to do that even after telling him that the card owner was leaving and had no online payment options. He didn't consider that this would mean inconveniencing me and the card owner-two customers of CW. I expressed my frustration with being considered a criminal instead of Mr. Rodriguez just calling it what it was, a mistake, and quickly dealing with it on his end. During this conversation general manager, Mike Rodriguez, didn't once apologize or take any responsibility for his employee's mistake, making me feel like he thought I did something on purpose. Mike Rodriguez continued to try to make me deal with the card owner, at one point refusing to help me at all. In fact, he told me that I needed to call the police officer to see what he wanted me to do, now inconveniencing a police officer even more, who probably had more important things to do. After this, I decided to take back the merchandise and talk with Mike Rodriguez in person. I thought I might have to make an appointment since Mike Rodriquez, according to his staff, wasn't at the shop. When I arrived to return merchandise, I asked to make an appointment with Mike Rodriguez. It turns out he was there the whole time. I asked to see him, but I was told he didn't need to see me, and that, "All is good." I insisted, and when he came out he, once again, wanted to blame me for his employee's mistake. He never offered any type of apology nor showed signs of considering his customer's position and feelings. Even after I said that he was losing a customer, he just told me, "There are other Camping Worlds." Not sure what that meant, but this is evidence of a poorly trained and lazy manager.
To summarize, getting a phone call from a police officer and being accused of a crime was stressful enough, but then being asked to fix the problem on my own without the aid of CW was disappointing, especially after talking to the general manager Mike Rodriguez twice. He refused to help and made me feel like it was my fault and my responsibility. This is just a poorly trained manager. My wife and I have been customers for a long time, and to be treated like a criminal is hurtful. Mike Rodriguez and his staff need some customer service training if Camping World in Bend, Or wants to stop losing customers, provide better service and maybe raise their 2.5 star rating.