Gun Shops

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When i first started to visit my lgs the owner acted like he didn't have time for me so i would deal with the lady clerk, she is very knowledgable and helpful, I've now bought 2 rifles, 4 handguns and reloading supplies from them, the owner now smiles and calls me by name as soon as i walk in and i never pay sticker price for anything, sometimes people need time to realize your not a waste of there time
 
Stew0576 said:
When i first started to visit my lgs the owner acted like he didn't have time for me so i would deal with the lady clerk, she is very knowledgable and helpful, I've now bought 2 rifles, 4 handguns and reloading supplies from them, the owner now smiles and calls me by name as soon as i walk in and i never pay sticker price for anything, sometimes people need time to realize your not a waste of there time
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When I was in SW Va the shop that I bought my first pistol was similar to that except it was the owner who was nice and his wife was the cold one, after buying a few guns and lots of reloading gear and components she would be very nice to me and give me a big welcome. So yea, some people are cold until they know you or until they know you will spend money.
 
hdwhit said:
I don't know why people are surprised that the near-minimum wage retail clerks behind the gun counter at the big-box stores aren't gun experts with encyclopedic knowledge of the merchandise.

All I expect of the clerk in a big-box store is that he/she can: 1) get the gun that matches the serial number on the box, 2) provide me the ATF Form, 3) call in the background check, 4) find the manager to verify the paperwork, and 5) process the charge to my credit card. If they can do that and get me out of the store in under an hour, they've wildly exceeded my expectations.
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hehe, good luck in WA. Once at Walmart, 1:15, Once at Cabela, FOUR HOURS! But I had submitted the paperwork, and had to wait, or come back another day. GI Joes/Big 5/Sportsman Wherehouse were straight forward.
 
redneck2 said:
I worked part time at the LGS. If you worked the other side of the counter, you’d understand why some of the workers act like they do.
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I’ve been a salesman and manager at three LGSs over the last 6 years, a large majority of that being full time. And yes, I understand why some LGS workers act the way they do, but that doesn’t mean I condone their attitudes.

An LGS employee’s first responsibility should be to make sure they follow ATF (and state) rules and regulations, but a close second should be to focus on customer service. After all, it’s still retail, and in retail it’s important to know how to deal with customers in a welcoming manner while being polite and tactful, and to help them as much as they need. Being rude or neglectful of customers is bad for business and won’t make them want to come back to your store.

I can treat all customers in a welcoming and friendly manner while also admonishing the customer who whips out his gun and starts to flag everyone in the store before I snatch it from him. And if I do it firmly yet tactfully, that customer will learn his lesson and we can still continue a friendly interaction after I clear his gun and make him put his ammo away.

It’s not “either/or”: you can learn to deal with the idiots while also maintaining a good attitude and good customer service practices.
 
I can’t imagine spending any money at a store where I was treated rudely the first visit.

I’m not a customer that buys my way into what should be a minimum standard of service - being greeted politely and helped with my visit in a way I’m not made to feel like I’m an inconvenience.

The list of places I’ll spend money is pretty short, mostly due to the quality of products. Second is service. Both are necessary.
 
News flash for gun store owners: you're not supposed to wait until someone spends money to treat them like they're important. You treat every customer as if he were a big spender. If you run your store any other way, you're an idiot, and you deserve whatever happens to your store.

I've been to Turnbull & Asser (NYC haberdashery) exactly once. The lady there spoke to me as though I had been shopping there all my life. Called me "Mr. H." Said she was so glad to see me. I've ordered a few items from Ascot Chang. I can still call them on the phone and order bespoke shirts. They keep my measurements on file. There are high-end steakhouses that check their computers to see if you've eaten there before. When you arrive, they say, "So good to see you again." Some places keep track of your favorite drinks and ask you if you want the same when you show up.

I have no patience with excuses. If a restaurant I rarely visit can treat me well, so can a gun store. Some people are too damn stupid for retail.
 
dogtown tom said:
That "associate" may have been in Electronics last week, and Grocery the week before that. If you are asking gun related questions of a WalMart employee you need to rethink your gun buying practices.
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To be fair, SOME of us actually do know a bit about guns; my best friend is the Sporting Goods manager in our store, and knows a bit; if he doesn't know the answer, he comes up to the Vision Center and asks me. But sadly, the fact is Walmart doesn't pay enough to get top people in a field. Many LGS's around here pay on the same level, or less.

stevehgraham said:
I've been to Turnbull & Asser (NYC haberdashery) exactly once. The lady there spoke to me as though I had been shopping there all my life. Called me "Mr. H." Said she was so glad to see me. I've ordered a few items from Ascot Chang. I can still call them on the phone and order bespoke shirts.
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Different milleu. If one walked in Holland & Holland, one would expect such treatment also. But "Fred's Gun N Bait" isn't going to fawn all over you like that. Nor should they. That doesn't excuse poor service, however, whether from Joe down at Fred's Gun 'n Bait, or Sir Nigel at Holland & Holland.
 
I just had to sell one of my guns. I shopped around to the 4 gunshops on my area. I told them i needed the cash so wasn't interested in consignment. My experiences went as follows;

1. Small...very small shop, locally owned, told them i needed some cash they started negotiations off with "How much do you need?"

Now that is a warning sign to me. It's none of your business, and unimportant to the transaction. The honest question is, "how much do you want for the gun?" When you ask me how much I need, i know you are scouring me for a lowball offer, preying upon my situation instead of going by the value of my property.

Of course he gave me a lowball offer, in this case when I said I needed to come up with about $700, he offered $700 for lnib s&w 627-5 AND a 90% colt trooper mk3. I declined.
His guns for sale were reasonably priced but no deals by any means. Top of the market but still reasonable. Low selection but the guy wasn't rude, just lowballed me.

2. Local pawnshop, offered what I considered a fair price for a 586-1, $400 which I almost took because the gun was very well used, to the point the recoil shield face had no finish, there was a lot of frame cutting, a visibly worn forcing cone, throat, and worn rifling, and the stud in the frame keeping the cylinder from falling off the yoke when open was so worn it barely worked. Probably the highest round count of any gun I own. I bought it used that way for less than the pawnshop was offering, so it was tempting.
They also offered $400 for the colt trooper mk3 which I also declined. These guys are friendly and have some great deals and some terrible ones. I do a lot of business there because they like to make money and value turnover enough to offer significant discounts on some guns.

3. Pawnshop that just opened up, almost no guns but had just gotten their ffl and were looking for more. The ones they had were prices reasonably but we're primarily out of the owners personal collection and were nothing special or particularly desireable.

This guy was a jerk. After I brought the guns in, he stated outright that they would pay only half of what he could sell it for, then tried using an outdated pricing guide to value them. We didn't even get to pricing because i told him I wasn't willing to take half his valuation, whatever that may be. He told me "That's how the business works, you want cash you'll have to take half the value for them" i told him the last guy had already bettered his offer and would keep looking.

4. New shop that just opened up, very good selection, lots of guns, very high prices on most guns, astronomical prices on consignments (66-2 no box for $1k, lol)
This guy was actually the friendliest and fairest of them all, and we agreed on $500 for the trooper which was fair given the condition and barrel length.

So i think it's kind of a tossup and varies by individual shop
 
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entropy said:
TDifferent milleu. If one walked in Holland & Holland, one would expect such treatment also. But "Fred's Gun N Bait" isn't going to fawn all over you like that. Nor should they. That doesn't excuse poor service, however, whether from Joe down at Fred's Gun 'n Bait, or Sir Nigel at Holland & Holland.
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Like I said, I have no patience with excuses, and this isn't even a good one. "Different milieu"? What difference does that make? None. I've had lots of people in blue-collar businesses treat me well. It's not rocket science, and good service is no more expensive to provide than bad service. The problem isn't the milieu. It's that some people are too damn stupid to work in retail.

I used to live in a place where there was a great local lumber store. It's still there. Other places got shut down by Home Depot and Lowe's. This place stocked specialty woods. They filled the place with friendly salespeople so customers didn't have to search all day for orange aprons. They give everyone free popcorn. They sell hot dogs and snowcones cheap. They do custom work the big boys are not competent to do. They're doing great. It's a lumber store, not Neiman-Marcus.

A lot of moms and pops who thought they could beat "cheap and impersonal" with "expensive and impersonal" went out of business, and they deserved it. They were too dumb and arrogant to survive.
 
My little local shop is very small. Like a 15x15 room or something. Many times its jammed with people, some sitting on the stools talking to the owners. Great place. Kid friendly. They know my name and are excited when i bring the boy in. If I'm looking at something there's always someone there willing to chase my kid around. They don't freak out when he inevitably ends up behind the counter.
Not a huge selection but i found half dozen .22s on the used rack the other day. I'm probably going to pick up that 512 just because. I think alot of their business is transfers.
 
stevehgraham said:
Like I said, I have no patience with excuses, and this isn't even a good one. "Different milieu"? What difference does that make? None. I've had lots of people in blue-collar businesses treat me well. It's not rocket science, and good service is no more expensive to provide than bad service. The problem isn't the milieu. It's that some people are too damn stupid to work in retail.

I used to live in a place where there was a great local lumber store. It's still there. Other places got shut down by Home Depot and Lowe's. This place stocked specialty woods. They filled the place with friendly salespeople so customers didn't have to search all day for orange aprons. They give everyone free popcorn. They sell hot dogs and snowcones cheap. They do custom work the big boys are not competent to do. They're doing great. It's a lumber store, not Neiman-Marcus.

A lot of moms and pops who thought they could beat "cheap and impersonal" with "expensive and impersonal" went out of business, and they deserved it. They were too dumb and arrogant to survive.
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"Different milieu"? What difference does that make?
It speaks to the different expectations of service from different clientele. Turnbull and Asser generally doesn't have longshoremen coming in for bespoke shirts, nor does Her Majetsy pop into Asda (Britain's Walmart) for a pint of milk. (Or John Courage.;) ) We are in agreement, poor service, no matter the shop or clientele, is never good. And we are also in agreement, good service doesn't cost (much) more. (It does however cost some, in the way of educating you staff on product, and of course, the way you want to do business.) I believe a lot of the lack of good service is rooted in the diminishing <Insert religion here> Work Ethic, and the general malaise towards self-improvement and excellence for it's own sake. Idiocracy, as it were.

Your lumber store example is a great example of a store that decided that better service and offering services that the big box stores don't is the way to thrive, and sought out or developed the people to do it well.

I also agree with your last statement.
 
Perhaps I'm a bit odd when shopping 'in public',,,,

Might be related to current my location, (Houston), and/or my B.F. Rural Iowa upbringing on a small farm outside a small town,,, where everybody knew everybody and your Parents would typically know about what you did that night before you even got home,,, :cuss:

I prefer anonymity.

I don't need (or want) a 'Hello' or a 'Welcome',,, (I get one of those everyday when I walk into a large convenience store, just like the thousands before me and the thousands after me,,,,, Whoopee,,,,,)

Don't care if you know my name. Chances are I won't remember yours,,,,

If I need help/have a question, I'll come to you.Otherwise, please just go away and leave me alone,,,,. There's an extremely good chance I've already researched 'what I'm looking for' as well as a broad range of items all falling in and around the same category.

With that being said, I do not make an attempt to convey those same feelings directly to the Sales people as they are just trying to do their job.

I most often respond to an approach / offer of assistance with a polite 'No thanks, just killing time' type of reply. No need to be rude or disrespectful to anyone*** as again, they are just doing their job,,,,,,,

*** ONE EXCEPTION,,,,,,,, Several years ago, a new car salesman out on the lot that just would not leave my wife and I alone!!! A 'No thanks, just killing time' then walk away response to his spiel apparently fell on deaf ears,,, Stuck to us like gum on a shoe,,, Wife and I even picked up our pace walking away from this guy and he still didn't 'get the message',,,, When confronted, (and without going into detail) none of us left the lot that day with a positive memory of the encounter.

But again,,,,, 'this isn't Kansas',,,,, and YMMV,,,, :D
 
Skgreen said:
I prefer anonymity.

I don't need (or want) a 'Hello' or a 'Welcome',,, (I get one of those everyday when I walk into a large convenience store, just like the thousands before me and the thousands after me,,,,, Whoopee,,,,,)

Don't care if you know my name. Chances are I won't remember yours,,,,

If I need help/have a question, I'll come to you.Otherwise, please just go away and leave me alone,,,,. There's an extremely good chance I've already researched 'what I'm looking for' as well as a broad range of items all falling in and around the same category.

With that being said, I do not make an attempt to convey those same feelings directly to the Sales people as they are just trying to do their job.

I most often respond to an approach / offer of assistance with a polite 'No thanks,
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Same here. I appreciate a "Hello, let me know if you need anything." In fact I'm more apt to buy from a store and sales reps that don't push than ones that are too eager to sell to you.
 
I don't focus too much on the gun stores themselves. Whether the store is nice or shoddy, rude or friendly does not effect what I am looking for. I am fine with buying a firearm I really want from rude people, if they are the only ones who have the firearm I am looking for. What matters most is price and condition of the firearm. If I find a used, beat to crap firearm for double the price of a new one then I am certainly not buying that and likely not from that store ever.
 
There is nothing that makes retail gun businesses any different than any other types of retail stores out there ... I can't understand why we continue to obsess about this.
 
Old Dog said:
There is nothing that makes retail gun businesses any different than any other types of retail stores out there
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When you sell firearms in a retail setting, every single transaction can be a liability, either from a safety standpoint or a legal standpoint. Whether it’s the customer whipping out a loaded gun and flagging half the store with it, or the employee who accidentally transfers a firearm to a customer with an expired drivers license, or the two guys who manage to sneak a straw purchase past a salesman and prompt an ATF investigation and then a subsequent “random” ATF IO inspection.

Yes, it’s still just retail, but it’s retail with more complications.
 
There is liability in almost every business now. Retail gun-shops simply sell tools that are easier to misuse and hurt one's self or another with, and there is a bit more paperwork.

My take on this thread was that the topic was more about pricing, self-proclaimed experts, unsafe people or asshats on either side of the counter, but mostly about the customer service (or lack thereof) aspect. I believe the bottom line to be that good customer service should be a top priority in any business, yet we seem to think that the retail gun business is different. It's not.
 
I shop for guns at one pawn shop, in Crestview, and at gun shows. Any accessories I need I just order from Brownells, PSA, or Amazon. Ammo comes from wally world or PSA.
 
About five years ago a sales clerk in a nice local shop picked up an SKS I asked about (assuming I knew nothing about them) and said in what seemed a pompous voice "An SKS is a piece of junk".
Apparently the clerk was a junk dealer. I had been curious whether the gun hiding in the cheap tacticool plastic stock might possibly be a Romy or Russian...

I don't think that the gun shop owner was around that day, and I doubt that the owner wanted to hear that certain rifles on His rack were categorized as "junk". That clerk who must have felt a strong urge to boost the image of his favorite rifle type? He was working in the Other store in that area a few months later, and he was very humble, and quiet. That middle-aged clerk could have been (just at random here) a combat veteran and very knowedgeable, but I still would never have bought a gun from him.
 
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