What happened to Dave?

[Cybertecman]

I went to Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare today and found out Dave that fixes the bows does not work there anymore! He was the best and knew his stuff! They did not tell me where he is or what happened!

Does anyone know how I can get in touch with him? I need my bow cables and string replaced!

Dan

[Pinefarm]

Ask, and you shall receive...
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=91175&highlight=jays+sporting+goods

[fairfax1]

Jay's is a tad too far north for me to get to conveniently ...tho I will stop by a couple times a year. I bought my current hatchet-cammed Darton from them 6 or 7 years ago. I had Darton customize it and the staff at Jay's worked with me and Darton to get it done. Dave was an important part of that. Sorry to see him go. Their staff needed him. They've rotated and replaced so much that as a group they are awfullly young and inexperienced.

Before I retired I travelled frequently across the country for my work. Frequently, when in some distant city, and if time and circumstances allowed, I'd haul out the hotel Yellow Pages, find the biggest local archery pro shop and go do a little 'shopping'. Over the years I've been in dozens and dozens of pro shops...hell, probably a hundred of 'em. I always thought that Jay's in Clare was the pick of the litter. They had the space, the committment to inventory, a try-out range, parking,....and most importantly, their staff was, by and large, pretty savvy...even the young retail clerk types. Their sheer volume kept them current with the newest equipment, and best trends.

That has changed in recent years. I surely don't mean to denigrate Jay's ...it's a qualify outfit ...but clearly it seems to have gotten harder for them to find and/or train really knowledgeable archery guys for their retail floor. At least it seems that way to me. Too often in the last two years I've had to hunt up Dave behind the mechanics counter to clarify an issue or a question that one of their younger guys just plain didn't know or answered in a manner that left me less than confident.

For Jay's, I think losing this guy dials-down their archery effort (they are still pretty good compared to a lot of hole-in-the-wall shops)

....and for Dave, well, I hope he gets rich. Be an entreprenuer. It's the American way.

[Cybertecman]

:sad: WOW he IS gone from Jay's!!!

He helped me out so much with me bow and when he replaced the string and cables my sights were so close all I had to do is tweek them.

I too feel that the service and knowlege of the staff is very poor. They are young and do not even know much. I too would ask one of the young guys a question and go back to ask Dave the same thing to make sure I was told right stuf, and most the time I got differant and correct answers from Dave. He always had a smile and willing to help me and others. One day he was working on my bow and he saw a little boy with his dad needing help. He gave he a wink and told me to hold on. He asked what they needed and adjusted the draw for the boy and put cat whiskers on the string. The boy pulled it back and it fit, the boy saw the cat whiskers and went nuts over them. Dad asked how much he owed, Dave said the smile was payment enough. The Dad was happy and had a big smile and gave Dave a big hand shake. It only took Dave less than 5 minuets to fix the bow and went back to mine. It was fun to watch him work.

Then Jay's removed the Repair counter and I felt the service went down fast after that! Not personal anymore and I miss watching my getting fixed.

I will E-mail Dave and go see him! I wish him luck in the near future!

Dan