Academy Sports & Outdoors

Friendly (though little experienced) employees but poorly stocked. Boxing workout materials on display, not on stock. Weight set on display, not on stock.

I took away a star because I was looking for tennis shoes specifically to stop me from pronating. I searched online first. However, in the shoe section no one could really assist me even using their own computer system.
Asides from that, I’m always greeted and I get my workout gear from this location most of the time. They have a huge selection of clothes to choose from. The store is a pretty large location. I haven’t had a problem checking out or experienced any long waits. It usually moves pretty smoothly.

I called to check if an item was in stock. A simple computer check right? Two sales reps later. A 15 minute hold and then an idiot manager who couldn’t look it up after I spelled it twice. I usually try to shop at stores rather than online to support actual stores but experiences like this pushes me to Amazon.

EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYEES! My wife called around and discovered a youth kayak that was discounted 50% at this location. This was our first visit. The store was easily accessible from the freeway and there was plenty of handicap parking with good lighting next to the entrance. Employees Greg and Nate told us that there were actually two kayaks left in stock. After hearing that we were going to let our two grandsons share one, they talked us into buying both of them. (Very good salesmen and negotiators.) They were discontinued models and were in great shape except one was missing paddles. Nate found paddles for us while Greg received approval from management for us to have the paddles. They stayed with us at check-​out and loaded them into our vehicle. ***This review is not really about the kayaks, it is about two young men who together went above and beyond to satisfy the customer. Kudo’s to you, Greg and Nate. I wished others your age were as courteous and professional. I know by the way you acted and by how we were treated that both of you will do well in life. :)

Terrible!!! Employees too busy talking to each other! Had an employee run into me!!! Limited stock! From hunting to shoes was messy and nothing organised!
The worst I have been to! Disappointed for the area its in! Don’t waste your time and money
Clueless employees! Terribly dressed (hood/​piercings)

After numerous emails and my previous Unilocal posting, I was contacted by customer service of Academy Sports & Outdoors and told they were refunding me 15% for my blemished kayak. I find this commendable after my asking for a 10% refund or credit. It took awhile, but Academy came through in the end.

Came here to get some new work out clothes and I was super excited, but upon pulling in the parking lot I was met with disappointment. This academy is under renovation, which I can appreciate, but as soon as I walked in the store I soon realized that the outside was the prettiest and most organized part of this Academy. Going into the women’s section was disheartening to say the least. There were clothes strewn EVERYWHERE! All the clothing items were picked over and there were no sales reps to help me find what I needed. The dressing room was dirty with dust bunnies and hair balls on the floor. To me this is unacceptable especially when I came into this establishment expecting to spend $ 200+ on their workout attire. I’m so disappointed in this store and the nasty unkempt dressing rooms and apparel section will keep me away.

The check out lines are ridiculous, sale racks are no where close to being organized. The employees are just there, not helpful or engaging with customers. I asked a girl where the Nike golf skirts were and she pointed at the general direction of where it would be, instead of walking me over to show me. There was 1 skirt left mixed in with a bunch of shorts. It took me forever to realize that’s where they were. It really bothered me that I had to go find her and when I did she was so unhelpful. I don’t expect someone to personal shop with me at Academy but I do expect to be acknowledged. After waiting in line for over 10 mins the girl apologized for my wait time and made my check out pleasant.

One star for having nauseating music blaring. Guaranteed to run you out of the store.

Called to see if they had a youth archery set and pressed the button for fishing and hunting group. Nobody answered. Then it transferred me to apparel. The lady who answers said she’d transfer me to fishing and hunting. Then someone answered. I asked if they had a youth archery set. She said she’d transfer me to Fishing and Hunting. After a couple more minutes of being on hold, I hung up.

Andre Johnson authentic jersey. Discounted from $ 100 to $ 30 … even though he is gone. still a good price for an authentic. Jersey

This is my go-​to place for workout gear, sneakers, camping things, and workout equipment. It’s really great and the customer service is awesome. Each time we feel lost, turned around, or just unable to find what we’re looking for, someone is always there to help us!
There’s no denying that I’ll be back!

This place has a good selection of workout clothes. Academy is basically the exact same as Sport’s Authority and Dick’s Sporting Goods, but with slightly better prices. I’ve been going to this one for the past month because I like their Under Armor selection and they’re closest to my house. One thing I don’t like is how hard it is to get here. You have to exit Kirby from Hwy 59 going south if you want to get to it from a straight shot. If you miss it, then you’ll have to take several back roads to get here.

To be honest, I usually come here when I’m parking for another establishment that is great for hanging out while watching a sports store that I will not name here. Today, I bought some items here for the first time in a while for good prices. As a sporta store, this is the go-​to place in a great, strategic part of town. I was curious about paying for cash for my purchase while needing to enter my zip code. When given the explanation, I realized how smart this franchise is. The right stuff the right place is right!

Clearance swimsuits $ 3 each piece! Tons of colors and styles! We found several great bargains ;). Labor Day sale rocked my swimsuits off :))
We left as very Happy customers!

Meh, I don’t care if it’s the middle of the season… I’d prefer it if Academy kept Dynamo paraphernalia stocked at all times.
I did manage to score a decent Dynamo Tee for my wife and I. It will do for Sunday’s game against DC United!

Bad customer service experience: I called today to ask if they had France soccer jerseys. The lady on the phone told me they sure did. We got there no less than 10 minutes later and they did not have a single one. Annoying, made me think the lady had probably told me that to just get me off the phone, but who knows, maybe it was a misunderstanding. Don’t want to jump to conclusions.
But just to verify, we checked with 2 other employees who were working there. We told them that we had been told over the phone that they did have France jerseys but did not see any. One of the employees told is «they have just sold out.» Really, in 10 minutes? My friend made the comment that we had driven all the way over there at which point the same employee said «sorry!» In a very rude sarcastic tone of voice. Before we even walked away, they were already whispering and grumbling to each other whole giving us dirty looks. I have worked in customer service and I understand how annoying customers can get at time, but can you please keep your criticism to the back room instead of to our faces? Besides, I don’t know what there is to complain about, we’ve never been rude.
This has not been my first bad experience here. Every time I’ve been here employees have been rude to me, which makes me think the greater problem is the management style and a failure to focus on customer service. But it’s definitely been my last time at this store.

No shirts, no stars.
Went here to try to get a nice Rockets t-​shirt. They only had about two styles and they were both cheap looking and had really thick decals on the front. Those shirts would not be comfortable to wear. It’s the middle of baskeball season, for crying out loud, and this is how you support your team.
I’d say this Academy is strictly remedial.

Yeah, it’s a big chain.
No, they don’t hire experts in any of the departments.
Yeah, they sell about anything you need in the way of sporting goods.
No, you won’t find anyone to help you decide if what you are buying is what you need.
Yeah, if you come in for clothes or shoes you’ll likely be okay because, no, you don’t need any expert sporting goods help with those.
That’s pretty much my take on this Academy — and likely most of the others. But this is the one I go to most often.
The wife and I were invited to a friend’s place on the water for Labor Day. We thought it might be nice to try our hand at fishing for a change. So after asking a friend who knows a LOT about fishing what inexpensive rod and reel combo might suit our basic needs we popped in to pick up the items.
After not finding any of the brand names he mentioned in the aisle we went to the fishing/​gun and ammo counter and asked the gentleman if he could help us. He explained he could not leave the counter to do so and pointed us back down the isle from which we just emerged. I get that they can’t leave the gun counter unattended but he made no effort to call anyone who might give us some advice or show us other options besides those our fishing expert friend mentioned.
That lack of any customer service made us put down all the items we had already chosen to take with us to the water, not buy our fishing licenses there and decide to make the drive to Marburgers in Kemah where they will give us some respect and make us feel as though they want us to spend money with them.
Heaven forbid someone take the time to provide any one on one customer care at these big places. Of course since none of them really know anything about the product (they are clerks who wander around the aisles avoiding eye contact) getting any might have proved a bigger disaster for us.
Oh and their awful selection of optics (binoculars) is a sad state. I am ready to buy a really nice pair for birding and none of the ones recommended by a friend who is a professional bird guide were available in the store.

I have a confession to make: I’m totally in love with Academy Sports and Outdoors. Forget homosexuality being the love that dare not speak its name — the love between a man and his sporting goods store is the real hush-​hush one.
The place is huge with its guns, fishing and camping gear, shoes, clothes, and every other imaginable active lifestyle category. Even the staff (skewed toward younger people) are helpful without being in your face: responsive to questions once you ask them, they aren’t pestering you or giving you the stink-​eye as a possible shoplifter.
Of course, they carry fan gear for any loser team in our town [cough, Astros] but they can be forgiven for this since even masochists have to shop for team gear.
As a Texas-​based operation, I love shopping at my smallest big chain but I’m a smidge saddened to hear that the family owners sold out to the big buyout firm KKR. I can only hope the new corporate overlords will leave a good thing alone. But, if KKR ever brings Academy to market as a public company, you’d better stand back since I might have to elbow you to buy up some shares.
Between this and Best Buy, I think that all guys flock to these stores. Practically guy magnets, I’d hate to see what would happen if you put one of each side-​by-​side. It would be practically a bro convention waiting to happen. See you at Academy, brah.