Experience at tn knife superstore

rivertamer

rivertamer

Joined
Sep 16, 2011
Messages
667
I had a rather shocking experience today at the big store in TN........I was there before and bought a couple of Spyderco enduras.....did not have time to shop the whole place.

very cool store......was going to buy a BK5...

I was pleased with the customer service...everyone was asking if I needed any help.............I was headed back to the KABAR counter and a sales dude asked me if he could be of assistance.......this is what transpired:

Sales guy - can i help you find anything?.....I am on the SOG counter but know the whole store....
ME - I am looking to buy a Becker BK5....
Sales guy - Becker? I don't think we carry that one.......
ME - Are you messing with me?
Sales guy - I really don't think we carry that brand.
ME - You do.....on line and I am sure you have them in the store.....the man himself was here for rep weekend 2 weeks ago......they are made by Kabar........I am pretty sure they are up stairs in that section...I'll go check.
Sales guy - Oh yea.....big black knives with black plastic handles.....they are up there I think. near the buck counter.

I have been there twice and this was really surprising........I wanted to start a sales pitch and sell this guy a BK2...LOL

training, training, training.

Oh yeah....left without the BK5......will order online......they would not sell it for online price in store.......looks like I will be calling the smoky smelling place...lol
 
Mecca of the steel world.

Sometimes they do lack on info. Priced kinda high, but man I love that place.

:D

Other than the lack of info (which I'll check on, btw), anything else you didn't like? How was the selection?

Moose
 
Funny you say this. I had a similar experience. I have only been there once to TN on vacation, but went to that store for 3 days in a row. They were all calling me by my first name by the 3rd day & i even was offered a job ! Anyway, while i was there, it seemed that feast or famin was the order throughout the days. At one point there was a dozen people waiting in line near the ESSE area. A few of the guys made it clear that they did NOT want to pay that much, so i kindly suggested that they could check out the Beckers. Well, the looks i got from employee's made me feel uncomfortable, they looked PISSED. Even when i went to the KaBar/Buck area, it just seemed to me that there was a push for anything BUT BK&T. I politely told the one kid that he had no idea what he was talking about. This was confirmed when he told me that the KaBar WartHog fixed blade was NOT full tang. I asked the man himself, Toooj told me it certainly was full tang & the lanyard ring was through the end of the tang. I was NOT impressed at all with the kid working that counter, or of the wicked looks i got when i suggested Beckers are a hard use knife at a working mans price. I will not judge all employee's based on my experience though, to be sure. They had some VERY knowledgeable & friendly people there. I would like to work there after i retire from my current job, sell my house & relocate to TN.

It's like anything else. I have also found that almost all truck salesman know nothing about what they sell either. Sad when this happens.
 
I love the store..... could spend days there..... just really thought the dude was messing with me..... lol
 
Hell the guy working the Kabar booth told Ark they didn't have any Remoras, and a few minutes later we saw them clearly on display hanging behind the counter. I think it is like anywhere else, people working there probably don't know much when they start, then all they learn is what they hear from other people working there or the occasional customer. Mileage may vary depending on the individual and the day of the week, but it is like anywhere else. I actually had a kid at the local Wal-Mart trying to tell me about some of their offerings when I was browsing one day, telling me I couldn't get anything better than (insert random winchester knife in clamshell packaging) to which I had to educate him. Told him to visit bladeforums and get some knowledge.

I will also add that my first time there, I had asked about getting a Benchmade and someone tried to tell me that they were junky knives.
 
I would imagine that the hiring process is like any specialty store, ya can't always get the best help. How many guys here on the forum have a super wealth of knowledge on knives, and then how many of you work in a retail knife store? Kinda like a gun store, some real good ones but how many times you get horrible info from the tools behind the counter?;)
 
they get paid a base wage and work hard to sell pricey items as they get a percentage, I notice the same theme at the house of knives brick and mortar shops up here.
 
I went there a little while back and bought my first Becker, a 14. I went to the Ka-Bar counter and asked where the beckers were. he said he had never heard of a becker. I told him that Becker was owned by ka-bar. He asked another employee and she showed him where the Beckers were. I was thinking about telling him to buy one and join BladeForums, but alas, I did not, and walked away with a 14.
 
Last time I was in the Smokies, we went there 4 of the 5 days. They were great people, never had a bad expeience with them, although the guy at the Case counter tried to steer me to a LE abalone trapper when I wanted a synthetic peanut.
 
I was just there last month I really loved it there except for one thing.When I was not around my wife there was an employee there who followed me everywhere I went to make sure I was not stealing.That really pissed me off.He was nowhere to be found when I payed for 200 bucks worth of stuff and left or I would have gave him the bird.I guess with her around I look less like a criminal.Has anyone else noticed this at there?...
 
I visited the store yesterday. Picked up a reworked Camillus BK9 (rehandled gray micrata scales, with a gray finished blade and tang). I think that I got a sweet deal. I assume this was a blank refinished by a individual. They have two more left! Felt like a kid in a candy store. Quality of the knife is comparable to some semiproduction knives a.k.a. Hogs. I own a couple of the Hogs. Beckers are great knives. I like the width of the Camillus compared to the Kabar. I was surprised to find this knife in stock at this store. BTW 1st post on the forum.
Thanks DOC
 
I have been there a few times, and will be likely heading back to TN in early April for another trip. Haven't had a bad experience yet, just some un-informed employees have some false information. (Steel type, grind type)
 
One of the employees told me to go there the week after Christmas and everything is 20% off. Unless they're on sale most of the prices are too high. I've also had similar experiences with unknowledgeable salespeople. I think they just rotate them around to the different counters and sometimes don't know anything about the counters they're working.
 
I was talking with E today at lunch about it, and I realized something. I been going there long enough to know who's been there for the last 20, and who is new on the floor. :D

I like to go when the old years stock is being eliminated, and everythings down, but there are times I just go and buy, pay tax:( and enjoy the day.

Grab a dog, or some lemonade, grab some snack and just wander. Ah, knives.

There's alot to learn about when you come to work there, but I don't like the idea of folks asking for BKT's and being told they don't know what they are or don't have them. Perhaps I should double my efforts to spread the word of BKT's. You know, do what I do but twice as much and twice as loud.

Perhaps we should all pick a day and call and ask about the Beckers, and just the Beckers. After a few hundred phone calls, they might start to notice.

:D

Moose
 
It is REALLY nice to be able to actually handle the knives you are interested in BRFORE you buy. I will gladly pay a little more for that. I had a few surprises by doing that. Had my heart set on buying a set of 3 hawks by SOG. Once in hand, one was too heavy (the double bit), one was too small, & the main one i wanted was out of stock. Go figure. I had NO intentions to buy the Tops/Buck CSAR-T fixed blade , yet once i picked it up it was all over, felt like it was made for me. I ended up spending around $500. I LOVE that store.
 
I go in there just to fondle the Gransfors mini hatchet and get turned on.
 
tradewater said:
I go in there just to fondle the Gransfors mini hatchet and get turned on.
Click to expand...

GB Hunter. Damn. Damn. Damn.

gransfors-bruks-hunters-axe-2108-p.jpg


Daddy wants.

Moose
 
Was there in June. Asked about the Beckers, and the guy got really confused. I think part of it is the confusion the production history of Becker isn't a single manufacturer, and that Ka-Bar owns them, so Ka-bar guys sell to people that want the "ultimate fighting knife that the USMC uses", and don't know the stock as well as smaller, more boutique brands that aren't made by Ka-Bar. I personally look for the knife I want, unbothered by the salesman until I can point out a particular model "that one, third from the top, 2 from the left.

If it's still there, anyone that makes it over there, REALLY, REALLY, make it to the top floor! WONDERFUL Bill Moran exhibit. And it's free! Any real knife knut will make pay homage to the dearly departed legend.

Also, the people there are just like people everywhere- mostly non-knife nuts. I was working on a convexing project and asked if anyone there knew how to convex. Only guys really into sharpening were at a loss once you took away their grinders. Got some DMT stones, has turned out fine.

Zero
 
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