Upset with Gandermountain

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I called Gander today looking for #10 percussion caps. The fellow said he had pleantly. When I got there all they had were #11's. So I drove about 35 miles for nothing. I looked at some of their guns and ammo and boy was I shocked at their high prices.

I like Walmart.
 
I'm not a fan of GM, but if you would have called Wally World they would have said, "what is a percussion cap"? Dumber than a rock.
 
Unfortunately the wages at Gander Mountain are not condusive to having a competent and friendly staff. If you are competent in guns (or whatever else GM sells) and have service skills then you will be better paid somewhere else where you most likely can be competent in anything else and friendly to boot.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit does not help either when GM (and WalMart) is given tax credits to hire traditionally inept portions of the population to work for them.
 
I am by no means a GM fan either. I will usually go there and look around, and that's it. I have found one good buy at GM, and that was my Burris FFII scope/bino set for $175 last Christmas.
 
Yep, Gander has terrible service, and most times, a terrible selection. On the other hand, I drove to Wal-Mart the other day (running late and in a hurry to get to an area that the locals shoot at) only to find that they had NO 20 ga buckshot... None - not even in the back. No #2, #3, nothing. Plenty of .25 auto though, for some reason.
 
Hey, I work(ed) at a GM gun counter.
I thought it would be fun...not.
2 hours of 4473 training and turned loose with other empolyees who never handled any firearms.
Firearms manager's prior experience was being a manager at Home Depot and he handled guns like framing lumber.

A new store, and I was there from day one, with most employee qualifications were I really need this job.

What an education that was:what:
 
I hate being hard on places that sell ammo and firearms but I just dont see how they sell anything. Their markup must be crazy, makes you wonder where the money goes obviously not their employees.
 
The thing you gotta remember is Gander Mountain is NOT a gun store. Sure, they stock a few guns and gun related items but it's just one department among many.

Also, most of the employees at the store I frequent are friendly and fairly knowledgeable considering it not being a gun store. If you want guns and gun stuff from A to Z you're going to have to go to a place that specializes in firearms if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. A lot of us don't and that's why Midway and the like do so much business. I don't know about anyone else but I'd love to be Larry Potterfield.
 
When I worked at GM the gun/ammo department carried the whole store after the election and the economy went south.
 
Instead of going to places that do not specialize in special products, why not order online from a specialty black powder house such as Dixie Gun Works or Log Cabin Sport Shop.

I have long ago stopped going to large chains that deal mainly in the mundane.
 
I stopped in a GM about a week ago and they had NIB Gen3 G17s going for $580 :what: Talk about steep
 
Gander Moutain by me (east Columbus, Ohio) has a pretty good crew working in the gun department. Yeah, prices are a bit high on some things, but decent in other areas. Bought Glock mags for about $20 a piece. Nice thing for me is that they offer a 10% discount on non-gun and ammo purchases for Scouts, which helps with other purchases.
 
GM gunsmiths are not that great either. I remember the time I was at the range and got a round round stuck in my Garand. I was not sure if it was live or not, or how to get it out since I could not get the bolt back. (Yeah, I treated it like a live round and it turned out it was!).

I was at GM later and thought I would ask the smith how to get it out. First thing he said was he would look down the barrel with a flashlight and see if it was a live round. I kid you not! Not just the floor sales guy - the GUNSMITH! All I could do was shake my head and run away from there!
 
My friend has some real luck with gander mountain. He has bought no less than three rifles there that were tagged wrong. In NC, you have to sell an item as marked by law regardless of whether or not your staff mistakenly stuck the wrong tag on there. I never get lucky like that.
 
The Gander Mountain near me may not have the most knowledgeable people behind the counter, but that's okay. They are friendly, they let me finger every gun I want, they let me field strip guns for closer looks, and they don't try to sell me on something I may not want. I have bought from them just becase their service was good. I can actually find someone at that store, too, not like the local Bass Pro, where you can never find an employee when you need one.
 
[/QUOTE]Nighthawk
*
I hate being hard on places that sell ammo and firearms but I just dont see how they sell anything. Their markup must be crazy, makes you wonder where the money goes obviously not their employees.
[/QUOTE]

The money is probably lining the CEO the other C's pockets.
 
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Sorry for your inconvenience. But ...

Why be upset with the entire operation instead of a single clerk who didn't have all the facts -- unless you believe that he led you asstray on purpose? This has happened to me in the past, at various retail outlets. I always express my displeasure with the manager of the operation and let him know that he only looks as good as the help he hires. There's not a lot more you can do, unless you believe that it's a conspiracy and that the Gander Mountain Establishment is out to get you. And if that's the case, then we've all got serious problems that stretch far beyond your bad experience at this one particular store on this one particular day.
 
I'm personally a HUGE fan of Gander Mountain. I go there often to look at and handle guns and gear which I later order at my local mom and pop shop for as little as half the price. I got familiar with the Smith and Wesson MP15T and M&P pistols at Gander before I bought them for about $200 less (brand new) at a local family owned business.

I hate being hard on places that sell ammo and firearms but I just dont see how they sell anything.

IF they ever have it, they sell my Federal Hydra Shock ammo (155 grain .40 JHP) for $35 per 20 rounds. I buy them online for $28 per 50 rounds. KMA, Gander.
 
speaksoftly said:
IF they ever have it, they sell my Federal Hydra Shock ammo (155 grain .40 JHP) for $35 per 20 rounds. I buy them online for $28 per 50 rounds. KMA, Gander.

And shipping cost less than $7 right?

That's not a dig at you speaksoftly - simply a reminder to all that when folks brag about those super duper online prices they quite often forget to add in shipping.
 
And shipping cost less than $7 right?

That's not a dig at you speaksoftly - simply a reminder to all that when folks brag about those super duper online prices they quite often forget to add in shipping.

My last order was for 300 rounds and the shipping was about $9 if I remember correctly. The "super duper online price" more than made the shipping a deal. Especially when you consider that buying online saved me the .0825% state sales tax.
 
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