Absolutely HORRID Callaway Demo Day Experience

[golfware]

Man.. I was so excited that here where I am we were going to have a Callaway Demo Day at a local course here in Sacramento.

 

I was just worried that the local Callaway rep that I've seen the past, was not going to be there, as he has very little customer service skills and very little emotion.

 

So.. I get to the course early.. practice on my chipping and putting and head over to the range to get warmed up with my FT-3 Tour w/ NVs 65 stiff. Mind you, I called earlier in the week to see what would be available.. possibly a LM, possibly plenth of head/shaft combos.. etc. Well, the fellas at the course said yes, there'll definitely be a LM.. definitely lots of clubs to try. Yahoo!!

 

Well... while I'm hitting balls, here comes the same Mr. Personality Callaway rep that I've seen in the past. Yep, he's their local rep alright.. which I simply cannot believe!

 

Man, out comes the stock FT-3's, I think there was one FT-3 Tour with the same shat that I play, and no LM. Sure.. lots of X460's with stock shafts... just simple stuff... and all the clubs were filthy. Just filthy!

 

Man.. the ONLY way Callaway is gaining market share in this area is because of their products.. it has NOTHING to do with the rep.

 

Now, mind you, I've met some GREAT Callaway reps... that were from HQ in Carlsbad. These guys were SUPER friendly, very knowledgeable about their products and wanted to help get you into a set of Callaways. Man, I was playing a set of TM 300 Forged, and the rep was having me hit all kinds of stuff to get into a set. THAT'S customer service for you.

 

I honestly feel like he could care less about Callaway...

 

Wow... I was sorely disappointed. So disappointed that I'm going to write a letter to Callaway. That was ridiculous.

[300_yard_drives]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

[samm980]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

 

I don't understand can you elaborate please?

[Titleist87]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

[ScottWS33]

That's an unusual experience. All the Callaway reps I have dealt with have been superb. Great personalities and unbelievably knowledgable. Sorry you had such an awful experience.

[sergizmo]

What the heck is going on with Callaway? They used to have a fantastic record of customer service, and now you hear complaints about them all the time.

 

It's almost a good thing they didn't have a launch monitor with dozens of Ft-3's. If you had placed an order, it could have taken months to get your club. Their backorder situation is ridiculous.

[300_yard_drives]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

[Sakman]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

 

:man_in_love: ;) :cheesy:

[sergizmo]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

 

The average driver shaft length on the PGA tour is 44.25" - 44.5". I guess they are not "man" enough either. :man_in_love:

 

I gather from your previous posts that you absolutely crush the ball. Correct? If so you should have taken the driver that most closely resembles your current setup and bombed it. Then tell the rep to beat that, and then he can run his mouth. Until then he should keep the smartass comments to himself.

[maguy1970]

I have run into this problem on and off the course. When we had our TM day at my club, the guy who was there was a tool. Actually, given the MWT idea, a tool might be useful to TM, whereas this guy was useless. He had no idea about any of the new stuff that was either rumored or semi-confirmed (i.e. TP ball, new MB's) Now, I have met reps who you can tell are trying to be coy about things they know about but just can not mention, but I did not get that impression from this guy. He seemed like a guy who was given the last catalog and told to go show whatever demo clubs we give you. Even when a member wanted to try a club out, he handed it off and the customer service stopped there. No walking the range chatting up the benefits or technology of a particular model.

Now I play a r7, r7 tp 3 wood, tp dual rescue, tp combo's and two RAC tp blacks. I am a loyal TM guy, but I was put off by this guy.

 

I also have this happen at some of the hockey shops here in my area. They all employ HS or junior kids who think they are the absolute beginning and end of the hockey world. I love seeing the look in their eye when a 32 year old guy buys a composite stick. You can just tell they are thinking "What a waste, some guy has money and buys the gear only players such as myself shoudl use...". Having been a full ride, D1 hockey player with a 4 year career in the minors after school, I can almost guarantee my hockey career went further than theirs will.

 

The difference I see, is that young kids in those hockey shops LOVE to buy the gear from kids they seem to look up to. The situation with the club reps makes no sense. Maybe some reps just think their stuff will sell itself and taht they will meet their quotas no matter what.

[300_yard_drives]

i told him to hit any driver there and i will carry my 3 wood past your ball, but he didn't say anything. Now the macgregor rep is the best rep i have ever talked to. very informative and knew his stuff, while being very sociable.

[sergizmo]

i told him to hit any driver there and i will carry my 3 wood past your ball, but he didn't say anything. Now the macgregor rep is the best rep i have ever talked to. very informative and knew his stuff, while being very sociable.

 

You did the right thing. Usually people who talk smack have the most to prove and little actual game.

 

Why would he act like this? His employer loses a possible customer, and mabye many more when word gets around. I mean, how hard is it not to be a sarcastic jerk to people for a few hours? Not very hard, except to this guy.

[br61]

Man.. I was so excited that here where I am we were going to have a Callaway Demo Day at a local course here in Sacramento.

 

I was just worried that the local Callaway rep that I've seen the past, was not going to be there, as he has very little customer service skills and very little emotion.

 

So.. I get to the course early.. practice on my chipping and putting and head over to the range to get warmed up with my FT-3 Tour w/ NVs 65 stiff. Mind you, I called earlier in the week to see what would be available.. possibly a LM, possibly plenth of head/shaft combos.. etc. Well, the fellas at the course said yes, there'll definitely be a LM.. definitely lots of clubs to try. Yahoo!!

 

Well... while I'm hitting balls, here comes the same Mr. Personality Callaway rep that I've seen in the past. Yep, he's their local rep alright.. which I simply cannot believe!

 

Man, out comes the stock FT-3's, I think there was one FT-3 Tour with the same shat that I play, and no LM. Sure.. lots of X460's with stock shafts... just simple stuff... and all the clubs were filthy. Just filthy!

 

Man.. the ONLY way Callaway is gaining market share in this area is because of their products.. it has NOTHING to do with the rep.

 

Now, mind you, I've met some GREAT Callaway reps... that were from HQ in Carlsbad. These guys were SUPER friendly, very knowledgeable about their products and wanted to help get you into a set of Callaways. Man, I was playing a set of TM 300 Forged, and the rep was having me hit all kinds of stuff to get into a set. THAT'S customer service for you.

 

I honestly feel like he could care less about Callaway...

 

Wow... I was sorely disappointed. So disappointed that I'm going to write a letter to Callaway. That was ridiculous.

 

It's unfortunate that you got this particular rep to deal with. The Callaway rep out of St. Louis is a great guy to talk to and got to play once with him. From my experience, Callaway personnel usually are great to deal with and like all companies, you always come upon few sour apples along the way.

[samm980]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

 

 

Are you being dead serious and is this exactly how the entire interaction took place? Let's face it something here does not add up.

[poppyhillsguy]

What course was this at? (I'm in El Dorado Hills.)

[300_yard_drives]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

 

 

Are you being dead serious and is this exactly how the entire interaction took place? Let's face it something here does not add up.

dude thats how it went down. he was a jerk, and maybe it was because i am a junior so he doesnt think i can afford their equipment or something.

 

it was at arrowhead country club, in san bernardino, cali

[samm980]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

 

 

Are you being dead serious and is this exactly how the entire interaction took place? Let's face it something here does not add up.

dude thats how it went down. he was a jerk, and maybe it was because i am a junior so he doesnt think i can afford their equipment or something.

 

it was at arrowhead country club, in san bernardino, cali

 

I was just wondering if there was anything else said between you guys, even if you are a junior you must admit that something still seems to be missing from the story.

[300_yard_drives]

the rep that came to my course sucks too. he made fun of me because i use a 44.5 inch shaft

 

He is just jealous that your shaft is longer than his.

i asked if they had any 44.5 inch drivers because thats what i prefer, and he said here you go and handed me a ladies driver. then he said i hope the shaft isnt too stiff for you. and started talking how i am not "man" enough to hit a 45 inch shaft.

 

 

Are you being dead serious and is this exactly how the entire interaction took place? Let's face it something here does not add up.

dude thats how it went down. he was a jerk, and maybe it was because i am a junior so he doesnt think i can afford their equipment or something.

 

it was at arrowhead country club, in san bernardino, cali

 

I was just wondering if there was anything else said between you guys, even if you are a junior you must admit that something still seems to be missing from the story.

i know it seems like there is something missing but there isnt. people can be jerks, and it doesnt help being a junior golfer. u dont even want to hear some of the stories i have.

[Road Warrior]

The Callaway reps were pretty bad at a demo day near me. I went with a friend of mine who is a professional and has been trying to get on the Senior Tour but who also knows nothing about his clubs. He also worked at the club where this demo day was. So we go to try to find him a new driver, as he still played an old Callway GBB, and he was open to any brand (it was a big Edwin Watts event with many brands). Once he got off work giving people "lessons" with the swing camera, we started his driver search. There were about 15 minutes left before it was supposed to close, and we go over to the Callaway tent so I can get him an FT-3. I get a driver and start to take it to my friend and the Callaway guy tells me to bring it back. My friend comes over and tells him he's a professional and wants to try the club, and the Callaway guy tells us, "Sorry, I want to get home on time."

 

Needless to say, my friend didn't buy a Callaway.

[samm980]

I am very sorry that so many of you have had bad times with Callaway reps but I will chime in and say that Keith Berg, the rep down here in the Houston area is one of the best reps and classiest guys you will meet not just in golf but in any walk of life.

[sync71]

A couple of weeks ago the callaway guy came and he was great. He was talking to me and my dad about clubs,promotions, benifits for a while. I thought he was great. and he gave me some hx tours. The taylormade guy was just as good and there was 10 juniors there including myself and he did two little compitions which I won one of them. And got some TP blacks. He was also very helpful with my questions and telling me about the clubs.

 

The ping guy was different story. I barley got him to say hello. He didnt come over and talk to me at all. Didn't help me with clubs. He said hi and pointed to some tees cause I was going to try the G5. My friend on the other hand went early that day and got fitted for irons and said the guy was great. But I didnt like him.

[kgk]

I am very sorry that so many of you have had bad times with Callaway reps but I will chime in and say that Keith Berg, the rep down here in the Houston area is one of the best reps and classiest guys you will meet not just in golf but in any walk of life.

 

I can't agree more. SUPER gentleman to deal with.

 

Every big company has their turds. It's unfortunate, but unavoidable. You're doing all you can - write a letter to the Callaway Mothership & hope it ends up in his performance review (it probably will, these things stick with you when you're in sales).

 

Also, Callaway has been making better & better products lately that cater to a larger part of the market than they used to ("players" irons and wedges, highly customizable driver with lots of shaft options, etc). You're going to hear more horror stories than in the past, as more folks are buying their stuff & running into the occasional dingbat. I wouldn't let it color your perception of the greater company unless it happens multiple times to you.

[Asleep]

We should start a brand area representative thread where members rate the local reps. on these events. National Reps. will definitely browse the thread as customer feedback tool, just as they already browse golf forums.

 

Rules would be date and location needs to be posted, personal identification limited to first name initial only (T sat in the clubhouse all day)---the people who need to know will be able to identify the offenders by the date and location. And...???

 

This would allow something potentially positive to come out of your bad experiences.

[gjones77]

I was actually at the Edwin Watts demo day here in Massachusetts a few weeks ago.

 

Most of the reps were alright, nothing reall special, just hanging out really

 

but the MacGregor Sales rep was top notch, knew all about the gear and was doing free fittings.

[ErichZF]

I used to be a demo Tech for Maxfli Golf. Let me say the REPS hate doing Demo days because of all the dumb people out there. I am sure you guys will understand that statement. The Reps sell stock equiptment to the golf stores and usually dont deal with the public. They usually dont know anything about prototypes and tour equiptment because they dont sell that stuff. Us as GOLFWRX's usually know more about the products than they do. Ive talked to the Titleist reps. Corey Pavins brother and none of them knew Tigers putter was GSS when tiger first switched. Scotty Cameron personaly told me. Why? because they dont sell them. Why promote a product you cant sell or want to confuse the public about? See what all these great tour photos do? A new product comes out and we dont touch it until hte proto comes out.

 

That is why most reps hire demo tecs at $100 a day. Its a great job if you get a chance. You get to know the reps and try hard as hell to get equiptment if you can. I had dinner with the Ping Tour Rep once. So you never know who you might meet.

 

I work on cruise ships and on onc cruise I had the Titleist Rep from SoCal on the ship with me. He spent a lot of time with me. Again he didnt know much about tour stuff because it isnt his job. The reps only sell to the courses and stores, not the individual person .

 

So next time you go to a demo day give the reps a break. They dont want to be there they want to be with their families on the weekends. The average male in usa shoots 97. Watch that all day and tell me how you feel. You would want to go home too. People telling you that they hit is 300 when they can hardly hit is 210. It wears on you. People just trying your product for kicks with no intentions of buying. Just kicking the tires having fun on a weekend.

 

Just my rambling two cents.

 

Enjoy the demo days but dont be a pain in the butt.

[broth518]

There are bad sheep everywhere...

 

In NJ and NYC the Callaway Reps are the best they know everything and will work with you.

 

That's how I got my drivers....

[samm980]

We should start a brand area representative thread where members rate the local reps. on these events. National Reps. will definitely browse the thread as customer feedback tool, just as they already browse golf forums.

 

Rules would be date and location needs to be posted, personal identification limited to first name initial only (T sat in the clubhouse all day)---the people who need to know will be able to identify the offenders by the date and location. And...???

 

This would allow something potentially positive to come out of your bad experiences.

 

 

Todd another great idea, you are always full of great ideas!

[tina]

We should start a brand area representative thread where members rate the local reps. on these events. National Reps. will definitely browse the thread as customer feedback tool, just as they already browse golf forums.

 

Rules would be date and location needs to be posted, personal identification limited to first name initial only (T sat in the clubhouse all day)---the people who need to know will be able to identify the offenders by the date and location. And...???

 

i would vote no on this.. this form is about golf clubs not rating how well someone does their job.

I would be pissed if i came on here and found a thread about me and how someone didnt like me.

 

Why not start one saying how good the local rep is and give them some positive feedback

[samm980]

We should start a brand area representative thread where members rate the local reps. on these events. National Reps. will definitely browse the thread as customer feedback tool, just as they already browse golf forums.

 

Rules would be date and location needs to be posted, personal identification limited to first name initial only (T sat in the clubhouse all day)---the people who need to know will be able to identify the offenders by the date and location. And...???

 

i would vote no on this.. this form is about golf clubs not rating how well someone does their job.

I would be pissed if i came on here and found a thread about me and how someone didnt like me.

 

Why not start one saying how good the local rep is and give them some positive feedback

 

 

Then we should probably delete this entire thread.

[Gxgolfer]

I think everyone has bad days and sometimes there are two sides to every story. Also, reps change alot or may not even be directly employed by the company. I think the best way to handle it is to call the OEMs customer service dept. and explain your experience with a local rep. That's the best feedback and you may get a token of appreciation for calling them.