Sometimes bad things happen for the better.
It's amazing how…read morea sporting goods empire came to be from the actions of the boss of an 18-year-old kid employee named Dick, who asked the kid to come up with a list of ideas for products needed to get into the fishing tackle business, and after having been presented with the kid's suggestions, calling him a dumb kid who had no idea what he was doing.
After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Dick's Sporting Goods in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example.
Just the other day a good friend of mine recommended me some comfortable HOKA Clifton 10 sneakers he had bought at this Dick's Sporting Goods store. So after finding those sneakers in their app that I had in my cellphone, I drove to their store today in my pearl white Lexus to try them on.
This Dick's Sporting Goods store located next to the Valley View Mall in Roanoke, Virginia, is majestic in size to the point of being intimidating. After entering their gigantic entrance, it was like arriving to a whole new world where everything sports reigned. Absolutely everything you could think of that had to do with sports, they had in their infinite inventory very well arranged in categories throughout the store. At the end of the store, they had this relatively new and well designed open area where the sneakers department was.
When I arrived, I saw a couple of tables with HOKA sneakers on display. They also had a small, easy to use computer to help customers find the perfect shoe they were looking for. But what I couldn't find was a sales associates to assist me to find the sneakers I needed. An order gentleman finally came out and didn't even greet me. I had to ask him if he could help me find the shoes I needed. He didn't seem too friendly, but he went back to get the men's HOKA Clifton 10 in black size 9 for me, in regular width and wide. He brought the two boxes and laid them on the wide bench where I was seated, not being helpful at all to put them on. I asked if he had a shoehorn and he said not at Dick's, like if I was crazy to ask that question. All the time he was ignoring me and not giving me his attention. It was the worst customer service that I had ever received anywhere, especially here that I thought was a high-end Sports category store. He looks at his watch and tells me it's his check-out time, that the other sales lady could help me. She was a bit kinder and knowledgeable but also delivered lukewarm service.
After trying on the sneakers I had gone there for and feeling comfortable with them on, I walked over to the front cash register to pay for them. On my way there I saw one of the managers and asked if I could take some photos of their store for this review and he told me it was not allowed, that I had to get permission from corporate. I don't understand how a store of this nature could have employees and managers with such poor customer service skills. I guess they remain in business just because they have a well stocked store with a great variety of good quality products nicely displayed. The young gentleman in the cash register was also the same. Very serious and didn't even say thank you for shopping here. What a pitty, all the employees in this store seem to be treating their customers just as the boss of the founder treated him when he was a kid, disrespectful. I hope that corporate reads this review and takes actions in the recruitment and development of their employees, starting from their store managers and down the line. And that they listen to their customers and treat them with the respect they deserve.
