Gun Store Experience

[dogtown tom]

Well, DTT, I often do work "by the job" or by the task (and do all the invoicing, etc.), so I certainly understand the bookkeeping aspects of business. With that understood, it is certainly possible that the gunsmithing shop time for that particular establishment is billed at $85 per hour and they may have a minimum charge of 1 hour for any walk-in-and-wait-for-it task.

Then you SHOULD understand the fallacy of your "shop rate" calculation.

If so, it would have been the ethical thing to advise the customer (or potential customer) of those charges. To have just taken advantage of the ignorance of the customer as seems to have occurred per the OP is unethical at least and (IMHO) borders on theft.

Horsehocky.
Absolutely NOTHING was unethical as described by the OP.
Ignorant customers are not the fault of the business.
Theft? Oh good grief.

I never have in my 29 years as a registered professional, conducted business in such an unethical manner nor will I.

Please explain what was unethical.
Is it the price? If so, Five Guys Burgers are wholly and completely unethical. McDonalds serves a hamburger for a dollar. Anything over a dollar is thereby unethical.

There is store with gunsmithing services in this area that I live that I had do a project for me that kind of parallels the one being discussed in this thread. I was quoted an hourly rate and a time for completion. We agreed on the price on a handshake. When I returned to pick up my item and pay for the work, the price had jumped to 2.5 times the agreed price. The proprietor just said, "Well, that's the price."

THAT IS unethical. It's also stupid. And not in any shape, manner or form the situation described by the OP.
But its not always so.........often while doing a repair, additional issues are discovered. Those issues may involve additional time, labor, parts, etc. Typically, the person performing the repair will notify the customer of the problem and get their approval before proceeding. If the customer (or patient ) declines....then the repair is completed as agreed.

As I mentioned above, a range of pricing should be discussed with the customer before hand. The OP doesn't know if the kid had called and discussed it earlier and if he didn't he sure as heck seemed okay to pay that fee.

My point is you accuse others of not knowing the principles of mathematics and business while you express a disdain for those that dare conduct business honestly and ethically. Why?

The "principles of mathematics" has nothing to do with anything in this thread. You conjured up a calculation of a fictitious "shop rate" to make a feeble attempt to show that the gunsmith was making exorbitant profits off his work. Again, junk math. It proves nothing but you misunderstanding what a "shop rate" is.

Not one word was written by me expressing "disdain" for business ethics. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS NO EVIDENCE that the gun shop or the clerk was dishonest or unethical in any way.
Was the kid lied to? Nope.
Was he mislead? Apparently not.
Was the shop charging outrageous fees? Nope.
Was the kid ignorant? Possibly.
Was the OP so outraged that he complained to the clerk about the injustice? Nope.

 

[AK Hunter]

I don't like being gouged for a service I can't do myself but I realize I'm paying for the lack of knowledge or the lack of the tools to do it myself. This puts a price on the ability of doing it myself. If I'm going to continue with this hobby & going to need this service done again I had better get busy to learn to do my own work.
Another way you can look at this problem is if you got a cold & go into a convenient care. The Dr or nurse only sees you for a few minutes to write you a prescription but charges you & or your insurance a few hundred dollars. That money is to pay for the years of schooling & work put in to learn this healthcare profession.
Remember when dealing with professionals you are paying for the money they paid out to get into that profession.
If you don't like the price learn to do it yourself.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Can't see how it's "unethical" for a shop not to quote a price when it's not asked for. When I got my first 1911 and somehow reassembled it incorrectly and got the slide stuck. I couldn't for the life of me get it to move. Took it up to the LGS and showed it to the gunsmith. He said "just a second" and went in the back. Five minutes later he came back with my functional 1911.

At that point I asked "how much."

"How about 10 bucks?," he said.

He accomplished something I did not have wherewithal to do at that point. Could a stranger off the street do that? No, he had years of experience not to mention the correct tools. All of that has value.

Was he unethical? Absolutely not. Did I get taken? Not a bit. Would I do business with them again? Just bought a new CZ-75 Compact from that shop.

That's a good counter-example. Thanks for sharing.

I think most reasonable people expect to pay something for a service performed. At the same time, a business can avoid a disappointed customer or one who says, "I wish you would have told me it was going to cost that much?!" by being transparent.

Ethics is a matter of individual perspective. Using your example, would you have still gained a favorable impression if the gunsmith returned and charged $100? How about $500? How about $1,000? How about $1,000,0000? Obviously, I'm exaggerating to illustrate that everyone has a different threshold. I suspect most people would feel $10 is well spent to get a 1911 back in action, but as the cost climbs and the cost isn't disclosed in advance, more and more people's thresholds will be met and may find the non-disclosure of cost in advance to be unethical.

 

[Howland937]

Some industries require a quote up front. Some don't. Some customers ask for a quote up front. Some don't. I'd heard tell of restaurants with no pricing on their menu and the understanding that "if you have to ask, you can't afford it". In the absence of an up front quote, whether provided or requested, don't be surprised if you're surprised what it costs. If you have a budget in mind or limited funds, better square that before the work begins.

 

[Bazoo]

I see the OPs points, and I agree.

I’m a carpenter. So once this guy comes in with a countertop and asks to have it cut to length. So I fire up the 14” radialarm saw and oblidged the gent. Had to turn it end for end and cut from both directions as it was huge. Charged him nothing.

Glued some guys dresser drawers back together once, charged $10.

Cut some guys rifle stock off 1/2” to make it right. That took a bit to set it up to get it right. Didn’t charge him nothin. He gave me and the other guy that watched a 20.

One time my boss charged me $10 to use his truck to move a yard swing I got from a yard sale up the road from that job. Bout 10 miles one way. So 20 miles.

When the same boss locked his keys in his truck and needed a ride to his house 10 miles there and 10 back to get the spare, I took him for free.

 

[buck460XVR]

Without being there in person, it's pretty hard to really know what went on. Since the shop seems to be well established and quite busy, I would suspect their business practices are fairly well known. Seeing how they do a lot of custom work and deal with firearms worth tens of thousands of dollars, I'm gonna guess they are a tad pricey. The discussion between the store and the man selling the guns, while maybe an exceptional experience to the OP, may be the norm for the store. Unlike buying a car, I have never gone to a private room to discuss a gun transaction. As for the charge to the young man, I'm surprised if he was not informed of the approximate cost, that he did not ask. Could have been a customer previously, or maybe had no concern. Just because he has a cheap scope, does not mean he has no monies. Maybe it was just his ignorance of guns that made him buy a cheap scope. The OP did not state the young man was upset with the cost, so, I'm guessing he was alright with it.

 

[Robert]

Retail ethics, gun shop or not, are not on topic for THR. Retailers can charge what they want. Shops can charge whatever labor charge they want. We can choose to pay it or not. Simple as that.