Gun show dealers are so polite!

[Mtnvalley]

However, I was and still am looking for a rifle, and nobody except that person wanted to give me the time of day. You could tell they thought I had no money, and was a waste of their time. Instead of trying to help me find something, they brushed me aside, and would either talk to their neighbor, or another customer. I personally cant stand that, and no matter how good a deal the gun is, I won't buy it.

Good for you! FWIW, one of my best friends is a self-made multimillionaire. He and his wife don't dress fancy, or have expensive jewelry etc....and are usually wearing jeans and clothes you'd find at Walmart. (Read "The Millionaire Next Door"...this type is more common that you'd think).

Whenever they get ready to buy a big-ticket item, they always get a kick out of watching commissioned salespeople ignore them (clearly, thinking they can't afford what they're looking at), or even saying "just browsing" to a salesman who is dismissive of them...and then buying the item-plus a few more- from the first salesman who doesn't ignore them or act like he's wasting his time approaching them.

He's the sort of guy who could and would buy a $2000 item without thinking too much about it, as long as he liked the deal and/or the seller...but considers courtesy part of the deal and will happily walk away from an a-hole before coming out with the cash.

 

[wolf13]

^
Im not even close to a millionaire, but if someone gives me the time I feel I deserve, I will go to them even if they charge more. It happens a lot in model cars. Some shops are great, while others aren't. One place is consistently 10 bucks less, but I refuse to buy anything from them because I hate the owner.

Going to a gun show this weekend, so we will see if I walk out with anything.

 

[jkingrph]

Actually, every car dealer I have ever gone to see, has requested proof of insurance before allowing a test drive.

In '91 I came home from a short stint overseas with the USAF in Desert Storm, went and had my wife's car serviced and was driving by the local Ford dealer and saw a nice Lincoln on the used car area . I pulled in and was looking at it when the salesman came out and asked if I would like to test drive. I thought for a minute and said yes, he tells me to park mine and goes and gets keys and hands them to me and off I go by myself.

Now I had never been in there before and did not know the salesman, but I did buy that car and four more since from him.

I had to go out of state, about 100 miles away to process off active duty and back to reserve status and they let me take the Lincoln before the financing was completed.

I'll probably purchase the next one there also.

 

[SteyrAUG]

Not to excuse the guy, but it is hard to sell a "less than new" gun as "new."

And guess what happens when 52 people pick up a gun and play with it for a minute at a Gun Show? And while you wouldn't think so, when a actual buyer does come around he will point out the handling marks and such and expect a discount.

As a result it is good form to ask before you pick something up.

I personally solved this problem by having "display models" and ordering NEW guns when somebody wants to buy. But that won't work for everyone.

And of course, one must also consider that most gun show dealers are former CIA, Navy SEALs, Green Berets and Delta Operators. They aren't used to having to be polite.

 

[Vector]

I can understand what the dealer is saying. If you and three thousand other guys that have no money come in and bang the guns around then the guns looked used and he loses money. People should have the courtesy to keep their hands off the guns they are not there to buy.

I have seen a guy pick up collector NIB Colt SAAs and spin the cylinder like they saw on tv.. I would rather lose a sale than let people ruin my stuff.

Besides do you go out and burn up a bunch of dealers gas to try out cars you have no money to buy??

jj

I do not agree on many different levels. First of all the guy might not have money with him at that moment, but he might later on. Regardless, he might be window shopping and be willing to buy from you the next time around. He probably will return to someone who he feels comfortable with or who treated him well the first time around. Secondly, if the dealer has their guns out and no sign saying keep your stinking paws off of my guns, then he should expect people to inspect them. If other type of dealers took your attitude (such as car dealers), they would go out of business.
Remember the OP pointed out that his father might pay for a gun or be interested in one himself.
Lastly, you need to treat people with respect, so making a shoo sign and that comment was him being a smart a$$. He could have just as easily said please put the gun down as I want others to have a chance to inspect it (or something to that effect). The OP could have lied and acted real interested and wasted the guys time instead of him helping another potential customer.

The bottom line is that when you treat people like you would want to be treated, you get much farther in life.
`

 

[MarshallDodge]

And they wonder why gun show attendance is low? Although the gunshow salesman had a point, I feel that he went about handling the customer inappropriately. How many of you guys go to gun stores and handle guns without any intention of purchasing them?

Whenever I go to the gun store they always offer to show me something new. Why? Because they are good salespeople.

One of the last gun shows I went to about 3 years ago was with my son who at the time was 9 years old. I was looking at some guns at a table when I hear my son ask the guy running the table behind me how much a little pistol cost. I hear the guy say "Why should you care, you can't buy it anyway" in a condescending tone.

I whipped around and asked the guy who he thought he was and why he was treating my son that way. He started on this foolish tirade about guys like me that are the problem, that we vote people into office that pass laws that won't let kids have guns, blah, blah, blah. This made me even more angry and I asked him again what his problem was. I told him that this was the future of gun shows and that he should take a lesson in customer service. He backed down and apologized.
Little did he know that a couple months earlier my son had found a nice little 410 shotgun at a table and came and told me about it. When my son wasn't looking I bought it for his birthday and my wife snuck it out to the truck. We gave it to him a few weeks later on his birthday.

You never know who your customer may be so you had better treat every opportunity with your best impression.

Believe it or not my son still wants to go to gun shows!

 

[MechAg94]

Gun show attendance is not low around here. I handle guns at tables a lot, but most are display models and have those wires on them. I don't remove them from their resting point. Just turn them over and see how they feel in my hand.

On the original post, while the gun dealer was a bit rude, I don't grudge him not wanting self identified non-buyers messing with his stuff. One person's idea of fondling a gun is probably a lot different from another's.

 

[Diamondback6]

That's another related issue: once you have an "OK to handle", how do you do it? Do you baby the thing when testing "heft and fit", then gently place it back in its spot? Or do you "play rough"?

If it's not my gun, I'll gove it the kid-gloves treatment until the seller has satisfied me he's a good sort, then I'll ask, "Is it okay if I perform some tests and checks? Here's the exact procedures I have in mind..."

In these situations, "easier to ask forgiveness than permission" is not the path to follow. Permission first, always!