customer service?

[craig]

this has got to rank way down there.
one of my local shops (www.guns4u.net) has reached a new low. he now wants to charge people $50.00 per 1/2 hour to look at his stock,(only $50.00 refundable if you buy a gun within 5 days) or ask advice.
his reasoning is, that since he's $50.00 to $100.00 less than anybody else(he's not by the way) he's now gonna charge admission to his store.
if you haven't bought a certain number of guns, have a discount card, are a member, guest of a member, you have to pay for the privilege of entering his store.
i've heard of cantankerous, gruff, standoffish, and arrogant owners, but this guy takes the cake.
needless to say the wife and i, and my neighbors too, will NEVER darken his door again. this is one guy that i pray goes out of business. rant off.

 

[HighVelocity]

He'll be out of business in less than 6 months if he charges people to come in. I'll bet this new business model of his gets dumped sooner though.

 

[Hazwaste]

Capitalism will regulate his thinking...or eliminate his business.

 

[craig]

i saw it on another forum and thought it was a joke. then i checked his web site and there it was. even if he changes his policy, or grants me "amnesty"(only bought 2 guns from him last year plus some ammo and a holster or two) i'm never going there again. he's an arrogant (blank).

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

Wow...why doesn't he just post a sign saying "new or potential customers not wanted". I do not think this will last long.

 

[M2 Carbine]

What an idiot.

There are gun stores that I haven't gone in in 20 years and they weren't that stupid.

Well, actually I think all of them are out of business.

 

[Ala Dan]

Sounds like an idiot too me~! He will never do well. I hope he has
plenty of food stashed away too feed himself and his family.

 

[Rupestris]

Smells foul to me.

I'd bet he's getting some sort of break on insurance by selling only to "members" in good standing.
$50 probably gets you an "associate membership" good for 5 days.

Much like private clubs that sell alcohol to members only to get a cheaper liquor licence or insurance.

Either way, its not good business IMO.

 

[Car Knocker]

Start saving cash for going-out-of-business sale.

 

[Lupinus]

I would laugh at him

Walk in he rings up the register.

I look arond see no one there and he just kind of stares at me.

One way or another he says thatll be 50 dollars

I just kind of stand there with a dumb look and finaly manage an excuse me

He explains that to look at his stock it is 50 dollars for every half hour of looking

I would literaly laugh at him and walk out

 

[50caliber123]

would walking out after just merely looking at his stock, without paying the $50 be shoplifting?

 

[Zundfolge]

I think this is a bad idea for him since he's an established gun shop, but it does give me an idea.

Clinton did his best to eliminate the "kitchen table" gun dealer ... so what if I was to open a gun shop that was "members only" so that I could get my FFL and not have to actually run a gun shop full time?

 

[Highland Ranger]

way i read it, if you pay the $100 you can use the range for free as a member . . . . seems like a good deal (its more expensive up here)

But yes, his attitude is poor.

 

[Lupinus]

way i read it, if you pay the $100 you can use the range for free as a member . . . . seems like a good deal (its more expensive up here)

But yes, his attitude is poor.

Not considering in about six months he will probably out of buisness.

 

[Psssniper]

I can see his point. I run my business in the same sort of way. My phone is un listed and I don't advertise at all. Referral is the only way to get my number and a referral doesn't mean that you're going to get on my list. And if you're waiting for me to go out of business, it's been 25 years so far, so sit down and relax. Sorry guys but the customer isn't always king. Some people are in a position to call their own shots and maybe this guy is one of them. Vote with your checkbook and go elsewhere if you don't like his policy. Personally I'd check him out and if what he says about being cheaper is true and you can use the range for free as a "member" then I'd sign up in a minute.

 

[Zundfolge]

way i read it, if you pay the $100 you can use the range for free as a member . . . . seems like a good deal (its more expensive up here)

Actually if membership gets you free usage of the range than he'll probably do fine ... sounds like he's trying to become a private gun club instead of a public gun dealer.

I still see prices for the range use of $12/day ($15 for both ranges) but I guess that could change.

 

[DHFirearms]

What an idiot, I belive being an FFL holder your store must be open to the public. Technically my house is. I dunno what the ATF will think about membership fee's to look at his inventory. Either way he's a
Though, at the bottom of his page the "why we don't like reloads video" is quite funny.

 

[craig]

regarding his prices. read his disclaimer closely. prices quoted are only good for that day, not next day or next week. prices on web site are in real time and may change daily. as for being lower he's not. he wants 250.00 i think for a bersa 380 on his web site. you get to the store and it's 275.00 as of yesterday. the local range sells them for 210.00. that's the only one i checked. after his current price of the day and his new rules, i'm not buying anything from him. good luck to him. i think he's gonna need it.

 

[YellowLab]

The world is full of people telling businessmen how it *should* be done.

Funny thing is that he will probibly do just fine. How much more work would you get done without having to deal with tire kickers all day long?

You wanna buy a gun? Point to it, grunt, fill out the papers and give me the cash. Some people WANT that kind of service (remember SATURN started an entire car business with the exact same attitude.. 'shut up and pay THIS price'.)

I ran an ISP for 7 years.. and every day I was told how bad the customer service was, or how bad the system worked etc. Bottom line is that unless people get everything, for free, when they want it, they will bad mouth you. Even if you do give them everything they want, for free, they will STILL complain.

Most of you have nver ran your own business.. untill you do you really have no freaking clue of the BS people put you through.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

I have successfully ran my own gun business for over 6 years and this guys business model sounds like a failure in process.

I run my business by treating my customers exactly the way I wish to be treated.

Of course, he might be independently wealthy and in no need of actual customers - sort of like running his business as a hobby. I'm sure there's more to the story.

But, in the end....it's his business and he can run it any way he wants.

 

[mainmech48]

I can see his point, too. It's on his head (the comb-over doesn't hide it very well). This isn't a consulting firm; it's a retail shop.

Unless he's the only game in town or his primary stock-in-trade is in the rarefied realm of high-end esoterica he's in for a rude awakening.

Personally, I kinda feel like I'm the one doing the favor when I take my hard-earned cash out for a walk and stop by a store. Especially when it's selling stuff that is, essentially, optional. Semantics and philosophical arguments aside, buying another gun isn't the same as groceries or medicine.

As long as there is someone else down the road (even if it's a right far piece) who can supply that product, I'll be damned if I'll kowtow and pay tribute to some pompous jerk in order to see what he's selling. If he wants my cash, let him be the one to do the worth-proving.

I drive seventy miles, round trip, to do my handgun shipping and transfer business now. When our local shop became the only game in town he decided that he was entitled to a 20% cut, plus the max legal transfer fee on anything he shipped (with you paying all of the actual costs, of course) or received. It's interesting to note that he's now working at a local supermarket, too.

 

[orangeninja]

Okay, everyone reading this post now owes me $25.00 (I'm half price because I'm nice)

1.) Glocks good
2.) S&W Sellout
3.) Sig better
4.) 9mm sucks
5.) .45 best


Did that about cover all the advice you'd ever get from a gunstore sales monkey?

That's $5.00 each guys. Cough it up and email your credit card information to [email protected]

Thank you for your patronage.

 

[f4t9r]

sounds like a good time to open a gun shop in that area.
next door would be good

 

[JohnBT]

"We will be overseas March 2006 until end of July 2006, the store and Range will be closed during that time, so buy your guns now because next Spring we won't be around.,Reopening July 30, 2006"

Strange business model.

JT

 

[GhostRider66]

Theoretically, I could buy his story if (and only if) his prices were anywhere close to what he describes. But, at least by his online prices, he's way, way off the mark. I check about 4 or 5 of some of the more commonly found items that I like to use for a reference at gun shows, stores, pawn shops, web sites, etc. and he doesn't beat anyone's price for any of the ones that I looked at. He was at least $50.00 over the average retail that I can find around here and that makes him around $70-100 over the better deals that you can find on the internet, gun shows or Cheaper-than-Dirt (not the cheapest but usually beat most of the local retailers). In any case, I don't know about the prices in Florida but I doubt he would get a lot of business in Texas.