Big 5 Sporting Goods

I was taken aback when I walked into the store and there in the front IN A GREAT BIG DISPLAY were «Casa Grande Goucho Country» shirts and NOWHERE in the store was there anything for Petaluma High School, not even purple tshirts. Prejudice, stupidity or what?
I try to buy from the smaller stores (even though Big 5 is a chain) but I am reconsidering my decision.

My review is mixed, both good and not so good.
Big 5 is Big 5. It’s the K-​Mart of sporting goods stores, so a person needs to be realistic about the inventory and selection they are getting here. If you need super-​premium sporting goods, go to REI or The North Face. Dick’s down the road is _​slightly_​more upscale, and has a bigger selection for a lot of things.
Some high-​demand things are easier to find here than other Big 5 locations, simply because Petaluma is not a center of commerce. I drove 30 minutes out of my way to this store to get something I couldn’t find at the Northgate store. My first experience at the store was with Elizabeth, a charming sales person and assistant manager who spent more than two hours working with me to purchase a technical product. I spent a good bit of money, so it was time well spent on her part. Throughout the discussion, I felt that she was knowledgeable and very patiently answered my questions. I left very pleased with my purchase. I left the store thinking they should put Elizabeth in charge.
However, on my next visit, I had a somewhat less excellent visit with other clerks. I stood at the counter for a good 5 minutes with a book of customer names, home addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive information was open and unattended on the counter right in front of me. Not cool. They really need to respect their customer’s privacy much more than that.
I’ve interacted with John, whom other reviews have complained about, and he was OK. Not great, but good enough. He was very business like and moved the transaction along, which is fine. He seems to be the go-​to guy for questions the sales people can’t answer. The other clerks I worked with on my second visit were just OK too. Some training on how to handle customers would go a long way for all of them. Just spend an afternoon at Nordstrom’s in the city, guys, and see how they do it. It doesn’t cost anything to treat customers like they are important (News flash: Your job depends on customers: They ARE important).
It seems like they just don’t understand that in the sporting goods business, customer service is a really big deal, and paying a little more to get employees who can consistently give exceptional service would net them a lot more money than it costs. It would also be more fun for everyone, including the employees and customers, and be easier to manage.

I’ve been shopping Big 5 for years. Just recently I went in to update my running shoes, I was greeted at the door by a very cute girl who took me back to footwear. She was patient, and had me try on a few different pairs. After trying on and running around the store I decided on the Nikes. I was really impressed by the level of service I received.

I was talking to the Manager in the guns section about the availability of 22 ammo. He informed of a shipment coming in and what time to be there which I thought was pretty cool considering I’ve been searching for 22 ammo for almost a month and Dicks kept telling me to check back, that its random shipments. Not sure how shipments are «random». But, I finally got my 1k Winchester brick of 22 at the time he told me to come in… except I could only get one box. The Manager was very cool and took the time to answer all my questions about guns and ammo while I waited.
The store seemed somewhat busy and for those guys to take that much time with me, It was a great shopping experience. I got on their rewards program and got a discount on my purchase that day. I will be back there for the next ammo shipment.

I love this big 5! Very helpful staff! Idk what other people are talkin about! Ya they might not knw about everything u ask them but they still try

Well I read the two other reviews and all I can say they are spot on! I went in this evening to buy some .223 ammo. It is very hard to come by and expensive at gun shops. They had three types on the shelf. I was waiting for some help for about 5 minutes. I then walked to the cashier but on the way I saw an employee coming to the gun counter (Her name is Liz). I asked for a box of 50 bullets and I asked how much the other two were. She told me $ 26.99. I then asked if both were the same price. She rolled her eyes back, gave me a dirty look and said“AHH!“and snapped the box off the shelf and scanned it and looked at and said“Like I told you$ 26.99″.
WTF is her problem? Like BelleC. stated she tried to make me feel uncomfortable and uneducated!!! But I promise I will contact her main office and let them know what kind of UNEDUCATED and RUDE employee Liz is. Just goina go to Rohnert Park now.

Very expensive and staff not that helpful. If you know what you are looking for then is a good place to compare pricing to and get a look what is on Amazon.