Gun store employees...they just don't get it.

[OH25shooter]

With my card in hand and in search of another handgun I visited three different gunstores. One local and two in different cities. In short, I found the gun(s) I wanted. But the staff employee had such an arrogant, carefree, and opinionated attitude I left with nothing. I know the 'gunstore employee' problems have been addressed, but what is their problem? Is it just me, or do the stores focus on selling to novice 'first-time' buyers more?

 

[P0832177]

I think that some perspective gun buyers are just as slanted in their opinions as the putz behind the counter. Of course customer satisfaction is not always a top priority, but there some customer service reps are interested in getting the right gun for the buyer especially the noob!

There are many people that are experienced shooters are just out to chisel themselves the best deal. Some are just tire kickers, and they just want to fondle a particular model with no intent of ever buying that gun. I have some mixed thoughts about tire kickers. They suck the life out some customer service reps. They go on and on about this or that feature.

It is simply put a very mixed bag with both the customer attitude and sales staff arrogance!

 

[Henry Bowman]

You say you found the gun(s) you wanted. Was there a disagreement as to price? Were you willing to pay their price but they said , "No, I won't sell you that"? Or did they do the, "What you really want is this..." routine?

 

[R.W.Dale]

I think that for the most part they all suffer from the "Where else are you gonna go" syndrome especally in more rural parts of the country,they just don't understand that good CS is all that is keeping the internet from puttin them out of buisness.

 

[Atticus]

Good for you. Sometimes you need to just walk out. Now give the Mgr. a call and tell him why.
I remember the time when I called around asking if store had left handed '06 bolt guns in stock. Finally found one 50 miles from here that had several brands in stock. He confirmed that he had Rem 700's, Winchester 70's and Savages in stock. I drove there with the money in hand and walked to gun counter. Three idle clerks stared at me, but continued to tell each other jokes and talk about what they were going to do on the weekend. After a couple of minutes of waiting patiently, I told the guy that I'd like to see a left handed Remington 700 and a Winchester model 70. He looked at me like I was from Mars and shouted " REMINGTON MAKES THE MODEL 700 AND WINCHESTER MAKES THE MODEL 70!!" All three clerks burst out laughing. I calmly stated, "that's exactly what I just said". He then told me that I DID NOT SAY that. I pulled a wad of cash out of my pocket and told him, "I just drove 50 miles to buy what I already know you have in stock...but (rhymes with Duck) You. I called the Mgr. the next day and told him the story. I recently saw the same clerk working at Dick's Sporting Goods. How appropriate, I thought.

 

[nfl1990]

I think that for the most part they all suffer from the "Where else are you gonna go" syndrome especally in more rural parts of the country,they just don't understand that good CS is all that is keeping the internet from puttin them out of buisness.

Yeah that and the need for an FFL.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Yeah that and the need for an FFL.

I don't use gunshops for FFL transfers I use Pawnshops unlike gunshops they love to make a quick $10 for 5 minutes of paperwork

 

[c_yeager]

I walked out of a local store today because the guy at the counter was too busy chatting with one of his buddies to actually sell me a gun. He probably thought I was tirekicking, but I had $500 in cash in my pocket and had every intention of walking out the door with one of three possible handguns. While I was handling the second one, the salesman started jabbing with his buddy, I set it on the counter he put it back and just ignored me to talk to the guy. So here I am wanting to look at one more gun before I decide on which to purchase and now he is too busy to help me. I gave him five minutes and walked out.

Firearms are just expensive enough to be a difficult purchase and it doesnt take much to convince a person to change their mind. I have a hard enough time justifying the scratch to add one more to the collection without having to put up with that garbage. The thing that bugs me is that this is typically a pretty good shop and I have previously been happy to spend my money there. Now I feel compelled to make all my future purchases elsewhere just because of the bad taste they left in my mouth.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've been to more than a few gun shops that left me wondering if they weren't just tax writeoffs for the owner. I've even been in shops where the owner not only ignores me, he starts screaming arguments with his staff/family members about unrelated issues right in front of me. There's one store where I've experienced this three times. I finally wised up and stopped going back.

This is why I am always willing to pay more to have good customer service.

 

[Captain]

I worked in a retail gunshop for 2 years, so I may be able to add something here.

First off, too many "clerks" don't have a clue. They are familiar with one or two types of guns/shooting. If a competitive shooter is working there and you're looking for hunting stuff, you'll get very little help....usually.

There's usually one or two "regulars" who hang out there and tie up the clerk with their BS.

Then there's the (arrogant ?) customer. That might be you and I. We are knowledgable in our area of interest (defensive/hunting/target) and know what we want. Then they try to extoll on us their enlightenment in this area. It's very easy for me to get frustrated with these kind of clerks and I feel like walking away. Usually I just buy what I'm there for and smile at them as I leave. It's just not worth the aggravation sometimes!

If I have a persistent problem, then I will usually let the manager know there's a problem. It's happened a coouple times and the problems were always remedied.

Have a nice day!!

 

[Majic]

In short, I found the gun(s) I wanted. But the staff employee had such an arrogant, carefree, and opinionated attitude I left with nothing.

Did you go in the store to buy a gun or make friends?

 

[R.H. Lee]

It's amazing how pleasant the people at the local gunshop became after a second gun store opened up in town. Life is too short to deal with nasty people.

 

[Spot77]

I'm quite fortunate I guess - the local store that gets a lot of my businss treats me like royalty, even when they KNOW I'm not buying anything.

 

[M-Rex]

To hell with them. They get one chance, and one chance only. You should never have to force anyone to take your money.

 

[lawson]

i'm pretty lucky, there are several gunshops within a couple miles of my apartment, and most of them have very friendly and knowledgeable staff. there have been times where a salesperson sees a young guy, and tries to sell me the most expensive thing in the store, but that's a rarety.

it's also nice that it's more convenient to buy ammo at a ma-and-pa gun shop than going to walmart. i like to support local business.

now, the sportsman's warehouse, that's another story. i was in there a while back, and told the guy behind the counter i was looking for a lever action .30-30, and he decides to show me bolt-action synthetic rifles, because apparently, he knows what i want better than i do.

 

[Correia]

I agree with all of you guys.

So that is why I’m opening my own.

 

[Mornard]

M-REX HAS IT EXACTLY RIGHT...

 

[OH25shooter]

Did you go in the store to buy a gun or make friends?

I'm sure not going to drop $500 on the counter of an employee who acts like I'm a bother to him. No, I don't haggle over the price or ask stupid questions. I'm focused on a particular maker, style and caliber. Like many on this forum, probably including yourself, I'm knowledgable with handguns. Especially, a specific brand. When the employee cuts on the maker, design, cost, etc., why give him any cash towards his salary. If he were smart, he'd shut up, take my money, then talk about the sale behind my back. But, he can't even figure that out.

 

[Declaration Day]

Whether it be guns, cars, or equipment for my lawnservice business, I have had salesmen try to sell me things that I did not want.

I think, in some cases, there is an ulterior motive for this. Maybe it's a product that they have too many of. Maybe it's been in stock forever and they really, really want to get rid of it.

This is when it pays to do your homework, because a salesman may try to convince you that the product they want you to buy is superior to another, even though it may not be.

In any case, if the salesman is pushy, I'm taking my business elsewhere.

 

[MrDig]

Most of the Sporting Goods Stores, Cabela's, Gander Mountain, Dicks, Sportsmans Warehoue, don't pay enough to get, let alone retain Knowledgable staff. They are usually idiots who don't know how to find their butts with both hands free. I generally don't spend my money there. A good Gun Store is always better but try to find one without encountering what you did. Once you get through the "Expert" opinions you have found a place worth the mark up from what you would pay at a discount store.
An Ex is a Has Been, and a Spurt is a drip under pressure. Put them together and you get an Expert. The Reason most Expert Opinions are free is that most expert opinions are worthless.

 

[Lupinus]

I agree. It doesn't matter if it is magazines, lawnmowers, or cigs if I am buying I want what I want and I want good customer service. Of those three I have sold two of them. Cigs, I don't smoke personally but I know enogh to knwo the difference between regular light and ultralights, Im polite you get what you ask for if someone was bothering me while I was with a customer I politely told them to shut up. Same with magazines I did a stint with a telemarketing (dont be a telemarketer it is hell) company that sold magazines. Now they had a few decent magazines and a few I recognized but 99% I knew squat about. I answered your questions tried to sell you something and did so in a polite way giving you what you wanted if you decided you wanted to buy after I gave my sales pitch. If you didn't know exactly what you wanted I helped you to the best of my knowlage but was not afriad to say Im not sure.

Point is, you don't have to like, use, or be an expert on a product to sell it. Youu just have to be polite and have a basic knowlage of the product so that you know what someone is talking about. To many though try to pretend they are more knowing then you because they work there and you don't and thats annoying and I will take my buisness elsewhere and esspecialy if it was a big purchese make sure to call the manager afterwards and let them know the sale they lost cause of their idiot employee.

And day-
Why salespeople try to push certian products they sale can be for a number of reasons. When I sold magazines (the reading kind ) there were sometimes magazines we were told to push for several reasons. One of the main one was certian publishers paid the company money to push their product, we read you a list of magazines and would put their magazines at the top of that list. Another was because we struck a deal with the company for a lower rate if we were able to sell a certian number of their magazines so the profit margine was higher because it cost us less per magazine while you still pay the same package rate. Also we threw in a third magazine and often times we would throw in one of the magazines we were supposed to push into the package since we had to pick one anyway a pushed magazine usualy filled the spot. So normally it is either they have paid to have their product pushed or they have struck up some sort of deal that they will lower the price on each item to you if you sell enough of their product.

 

[Kurt_M]

The pendulum swings both ways guys. I work at a locally owned sporting goods store that sells quite a few guns. It doesn't pay well, I've made better money working at Wal-Mart. But I like guns and I get a good discount, so I stay. I go out of my way not to push my favorite guns on customers and to help the newbies who walk in off of the street. I dislike Glocks, but if someone wants to buy one, well a sale is a sale, I'll go get the paperwork. I work with a pushy a-hole like many of you have described, and those guys give us all a bad image. On the other hand, a lot of the customers I deal with make me want to explode. Either they think they know everything and get ticked when I can't follow what they're talking about (sorry, antique guns aren't my thing) or they ask for my advice and get ticked when I tell them you can't buy a quality handgun for $100. Stop and examine your own attitude and behavior sometime before you automatically blame all of your problems on someone else. There's no excuse for bad customer service (if you're being ignored or talked down to you should absolutely walk out and bring it to management's attention) but for every rude and arrogant salesmen there are just as many rude and arrogant customers. Some of us try to do a good job all the same.

 

[Jet22]

Yeah that and the need for an FFL

Thats the attitude my local gunshop has...the all mighty FFL. Thats why I don't buy guns at gunshops anymore. Haven't been in his shop in over two years. There is nothing "new" that I want and if I do it will show up at a gun show soon enough. Do you know how many 500 S&Ws or 300 Ultramags I've seen being carried around at gunshows in the last year??? Those and everything in between. And all you have to do is beat the "FFL holders" trade in offer...which is about half of what they would sell it for. I would rather buy direct and pay the half without the attitude.

 

[Harry Stone]

There are some real winners on both sides of the counter.

Just today I was at a local shop and a guy walks in. No hello, no greeting at all just asks the guy at the bench mounting a scope if he had a 700 in some caliber. Asked him the price, then asked for $25 off. Then asked for a box of ammo thrown in. Again asked if they had it in stock. Bench guy says yeah, right over there in the rack. Customer says "all right" and turns and walks out. Right after he left one of the other clerks said that was the third time he'd come in and asked about that rifle and haggled on the price.

At this same place a couple weeks ago a guy came in while I was there and asked if they had any used rifles. The clerk said not many, and asked what he was looking for. The guy said something cheap for deer, like a 22. The clerk looked at him like he just sprouted a third eye. Clerk says, ".22 rimfire?" and the guy says yeah. I couldn't help it, I said "It's all about shot placement!" The clerk grabbed the counter like he was on a circus ride and it was going to throw him off and explained that .22 LR wasn't only inhumane to shoot deer with but illegal. Eventually the guy left empty handed.

You can buy guns cheaper on the internet than what you can buy them at this shop, and you can buy ammo cheaper at wal-mart. Because of the stupidity they have to put up with, I try to give them a break. Lately I've gone in there about twice a week to see if a gun I have on order is in. I'm usually only there about a half hour and almost every time something stupid like this happens. There's no excuse for bad customer service but I understand how it can happen.

 

[f4t9r]

I think that some perspective gun buyers are just as slanted in their opinions as the putz behind the counter. Of course customer satisfaction is not always a top priority, but there some customer service reps are interested in getting the right gun for the buyer especially the noob!

There are many people that are experienced shooters are just out to chisel themselves the best deal. Some are just tire kickers, and they just want to fondle a particular model with no intent of ever buying that gun. I have some mixed thoughts about tire kickers. They suck the life out some customer service reps. They go on and on about this or that feature.

It is simply put a very mixed bag with both the customer attitude and sales staff arrogance!

Thats the way it works you try to get the best deal. I must be a tire kicker in some ways because I like to look and check out the guns. I do not believe I have sucked the life out of some Rep. I have bought plenty of guns and they sure do not have a problem taking my money. Maybe I took this response wrong but the customer Rep is there to take care of the customer and but up with the good and the bad (within reason) . Thats the way sales work. I deal with it everyday.