We finished a "gun shops suck" thread not long ago (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=636729). It kinda turned into a "customers suck" thread for a while too. I've had similar experiences to much of what I read in the 200 posts there, but I learned a little as well.
It's easy to be negative; harder to be positive. Even so, I'd like to see if we can talk about some reasons why our LGS doesn't suck (or, at least, why it doesn't always suck). To be fair, I can usually save $50 or more buying online vs. my favorite LGS, and the service there is sometimes great, sometimes not. But that's all the negative I'm going to say here. The rest is about why the place doesn't suck.
My favorite LGS has an indoor range. It's $5 for a lane, all day or until you're done shooting. That doesn't suck.
There's a large selection of rifles and pistols for rent. Pistol rentals are $5 a day, and you can turn in one pistol for another all day long for the same $5. That doesn't suck.
A basic range membership is $125 a year. It covers range time, protective eyewear and hearing protection for two shooters, and one free rental gun at a time. Members also get a t-shirt and hat with store logos (yeah, yeah, free advertising). The Platinum Membership is $250 and provides range time for four shooters and $50 off any new firearm purchase. That doesn't suck.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, they hold Ladies Night. For $30, they provide an all-woman staff to instruct other women in basic pistol and revolver handling and marksmanship. They even talk a little about situational awareness and self-defense. It also includes 100 rds of .22 ammunition and, of course, a free t-shirt. (I took my wife to the range a couple times first, but once she went to a Ladies Night, hardly a week goes by without her asking me when we're going to the range again). That doesn't suck.
Every two months, they have three Red Cross buses in the parking lot. There's free BBQ pork for everyone, whether they donate blood or not, but anyone who does donate gets $50 off any new firearm purchased that day. That doesn't suck.
There is a HUGE selection of firearms here. My wife and I purchased three firearms from this LGS last year. They were a little overpriced, but we talked to salesmen and handled probably 25 or 30 firearms at the counter over the course of the year. We got to shoot similar ones from the rental counter (no charge for range members) before making final purchase decisions. That doesn't suck.
As noted at the opening of the post, this LGS isn't perfect. But on the whole, it just doesn't suck.
What examples will others share? Who else has an LGS that doesn't suck? A small measure of mixed reviews are OK, but if your LGS really does suck, you don't have to tell us about it.
It's easy to be negative; harder to be positive. Even so, I'd like to see if we can talk about some reasons why our LGS doesn't suck (or, at least, why it doesn't always suck). To be fair, I can usually save $50 or more buying online vs. my favorite LGS, and the service there is sometimes great, sometimes not. But that's all the negative I'm going to say here. The rest is about why the place doesn't suck.
My favorite LGS has an indoor range. It's $5 for a lane, all day or until you're done shooting. That doesn't suck.
There's a large selection of rifles and pistols for rent. Pistol rentals are $5 a day, and you can turn in one pistol for another all day long for the same $5. That doesn't suck.
A basic range membership is $125 a year. It covers range time, protective eyewear and hearing protection for two shooters, and one free rental gun at a time. Members also get a t-shirt and hat with store logos (yeah, yeah, free advertising). The Platinum Membership is $250 and provides range time for four shooters and $50 off any new firearm purchase. That doesn't suck.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, they hold Ladies Night. For $30, they provide an all-woman staff to instruct other women in basic pistol and revolver handling and marksmanship. They even talk a little about situational awareness and self-defense. It also includes 100 rds of .22 ammunition and, of course, a free t-shirt. (I took my wife to the range a couple times first, but once she went to a Ladies Night, hardly a week goes by without her asking me when we're going to the range again). That doesn't suck.
Every two months, they have three Red Cross buses in the parking lot. There's free BBQ pork for everyone, whether they donate blood or not, but anyone who does donate gets $50 off any new firearm purchased that day. That doesn't suck.
There is a HUGE selection of firearms here. My wife and I purchased three firearms from this LGS last year. They were a little overpriced, but we talked to salesmen and handled probably 25 or 30 firearms at the counter over the course of the year. We got to shoot similar ones from the rental counter (no charge for range members) before making final purchase decisions. That doesn't suck.
As noted at the opening of the post, this LGS isn't perfect. But on the whole, it just doesn't suck.
What examples will others share? Who else has an LGS that doesn't suck? A small measure of mixed reviews are OK, but if your LGS really does suck, you don't have to tell us about it.
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