Well on Monday I received the call okaying my purchase and was told I could come pick up the .38. Today was the first chance I had to go get it. Here is where my real experience begins.
When I got there to pick up my Rossi .38 special, they were unable to locate it. They found my paperwork, but no Rossi. about 10 minutes later an employee came out of the back and told me someone had already sold the revolver by mistake to another customer, even though it was on a back shelf, on hold, for me. Needless to say, I was UNHAPPY. The drive for me to get to Gander Mountain was 2.5 hours out of the way for me and where I was going. The assistant manager wasn't happy either because she had to call the manager at home at 8:30pm (30 minutes before they close) and let him know they had a problem.
They started apologizing and swearing to me they were going to make it right, somehow. Unfortunately, getting another firearm of equal value was out of the question because I would have to get another background check for a new firearm and wait on another delay, and I don't often buy a gun at a store 4.5 hours away from where I live unless I am in the area for work.
By this time, someone had gotten the manager on the line, so the assistant manager went back to talk with him. A couple minutes later, I see an employee come out of the back, grab a brand new Rossi revolver and take it to the back. A few minutes later, the assistant manager came back out and apologized again, and asked me if I would be interested in purchasing this brand new revolver (a Rossi model 352, $429 on the price tag) at the price of the used one I wanted ($179). At this point, all of my frustration flew out the window as I calmly asked to "see what it felt like". As I handed it back to the them I told them I would be happy to do that, but I was going to be in Texas for 5 months and I wouldn't be here to pick it up since they had to run another background check. The assistant manager then informed me that she wasn't going to make me do another background check and was going to just transfer it to me, so I could take it home today and also said "If I get in trouble for it, well, I get in trouble for it."
Everyone still kept apologizing to me over and over again for the hassle this had caused. I politely accepted and let them know I just became a life-long customer. They told me they were going to make it right, and BOY DID THEY EVER!
I highly recommend Gander Mountain to anyone. Overpriced or not, when a company cares that much about it's customers, I will spend my money there.
Oh, and as per my promise in my other thread of a picture of what you can get at Gander Mountain for $179, here it is:
Sometimes the sun just shines down perfectly.
. 
