At first I thought that this was just an isolated incident, but the more gun stores I visit, I can't help but notice that many of the employees that I encounter have very poor customer service skills. Some are outright rude, like you're wasting their time by shopping; others are so arrogant that if you dare question what they say, you get talked down to like you're an idiot. In most other customer service businesses, it's very professional with a customer-oriented attitude, but it seems like people that work at gun shops feel that they are somehow above it all. Has anyone else felt like this?
Gun store rudeness?
- Thread starter jimmy0622
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Joe Demko
Member
Too many people who work the counter at gun stores work there because they like guns, not because they like people. In the end, it is a retail position and you are entitled to the same politeness you'd expect from any salesperson. Don't let them buffalo you that because they sell guns instead of shoes that they are entitled to be rude. If you find one where the counter people are polite, patronize it in preference to the others and let them know why.
Chemist
Member
Yes, but I'm a woman and I'm told this is normal.?.
Do you have chesticles too? LOL
Do you have chesticles too? LOL
svtruth
Member
Local Gun Stores
There are three within 10 miles of the house (four if you count Wal-Mart) my experiences in all have been positive. The employees have been helpful and the prices fair.
There are three within 10 miles of the house (four if you count Wal-Mart) my experiences in all have been positive. The employees have been helpful and the prices fair.
PX15
Member
FWIW:
I've bought several firearms from MissionEssentials in Hinesville, Ga. and always left the transaction with a smile on my face, both from the reasonable price of the firearm, AND the professional manner in which I was treated by the folks behind the counter..
MissionEssentials has the main store in Hinesville,Ga., another store soon to open in Savannah, Ga., and they sell online thru GunBroker, etc.
I would recommend them to anyone looking for a fair price and good service the next time you are shopping for a new firearm.
I like to spread the news when I am MIS-treated, but feel the obligation to share my experiences equally when I am WELL-treated.
I was WELL-treated at MissionEssentials.
FWIW I'm not related to anyone at ME, I have no stock in ME, and I have no connection to ME other than my personal experience over several firearm transactions..
Jesse
P.S. And FWIW, it seems ME has as good a selection of guns as any other gun store I've ever been in, and a better selection than most..
I've bought several firearms from MissionEssentials in Hinesville, Ga. and always left the transaction with a smile on my face, both from the reasonable price of the firearm, AND the professional manner in which I was treated by the folks behind the counter..
MissionEssentials has the main store in Hinesville,Ga., another store soon to open in Savannah, Ga., and they sell online thru GunBroker, etc.
I would recommend them to anyone looking for a fair price and good service the next time you are shopping for a new firearm.
I like to spread the news when I am MIS-treated, but feel the obligation to share my experiences equally when I am WELL-treated.
I was WELL-treated at MissionEssentials.
FWIW I'm not related to anyone at ME, I have no stock in ME, and I have no connection to ME other than my personal experience over several firearm transactions..
Jesse
P.S. And FWIW, it seems ME has as good a selection of guns as any other gun store I've ever been in, and a better selection than most..
At one store by me, I was flagged by an employee pulling a rifle off of the rack, magazine inserted & bolt forward; I had no idea whether it was loaded or not so I backed away from it, he then turned around and looked at me and said "what are you backing away for?" so I informed him that he just flagged me with the rifle and he sort of snickered to himself and shook his head like I was a moron. I decided not to buy from them that day. Call me crazy, but I've always been of the mindset to treat every weapon as if it was loaded.
This is just one of the many things that happens every time I go to the gun stores.
This is just one of the many things that happens every time I go to the gun stores.
Deltaboy1984
Member
I have a great one I got to all the time and one I shoot at because it has an indoor range. They are both pretty nice but I have shopped enough to have ran into several PIB in Gun Stores.
LibShooter
Member
This kind of "smarter than thou" attitude has always been pretty common in specialty stores. My past hobbies include photography, computers and woodworking.
Back in the pre-Walmart era even little towns had a camera store. Like shooting, it required specific, often complicated and expensive equipment. Many camera store guys worked there to support their costly habit and KNEW the knew more than the "idiot" customer. They felt insulted when you dared to doubt their advice in the least. And if you think Glock fanboys are mouthy... go back to 1985 and get into an argument between a Nikon guy and a Canon guy. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I worked at a camera store and I was a Minolta guy. We were really weird.)
You heard the same thing back when there were computer stores.
The only hobby in which I never experienced Newbie-beating was woodworking. Those gentlemen and ladies were always polite and helpful.
Back in the pre-Walmart era even little towns had a camera store. Like shooting, it required specific, often complicated and expensive equipment. Many camera store guys worked there to support their costly habit and KNEW the knew more than the "idiot" customer. They felt insulted when you dared to doubt their advice in the least. And if you think Glock fanboys are mouthy... go back to 1985 and get into an argument between a Nikon guy and a Canon guy. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I worked at a camera store and I was a Minolta guy. We were really weird.)
You heard the same thing back when there were computer stores.
The only hobby in which I never experienced Newbie-beating was woodworking. Those gentlemen and ladies were always polite and helpful.
I worked in a shop in the mid 90's and tried to be polite to everyone I dealt with (even the idiots), but there were fellow employees that acted like complete a-holes to customers...I guess that is why the never sold anything. On the other hand, there are definitely some rude people at some shops I visit...usually it is from some mall ninja special operator wannabe behind the counter that thinks anyone that doesn't carry a 1911 or doesn't own an AR platform rifle is a moron.
qajaq59
Member
I've only hit one. It's was a Dick's sporting store. As I left, I told the manager that as far as I was concerned that store no longer existed. To this day I've never bought another thing from them.
Hawthorne2k
Member
OH HECK YES.
When I buy locally, I drive to a small pawn shop that's a good 20 miles away, even though there are three dedicated gun stores much closer to me.
Why?
Because those other three stores have rude and unfriendly people behind the counter, that's why.
Check that: They will be friendly to you, as long as you're one of their friends. I can't tell you the number of times I've gone into a store, picked up an accessory off the rack, walked up to the counter with money and item in hand and then had to stand there waiting for the owner/counter help to stop jawing about their latest shooting exploits, some esoteric bit of firearms data and/or the general state of the world. The pawn shop I frequent may not have the range of accessories or latest bangbang that a gun shop would have, but they have good prices and people willing to walk me thru a sale, and that's why I shop there.
Memo to gun shop owners: You run a retail gun store, not a message board. The High Road doesn't sell guns, and you don't run a chat room. Kapeesh?
When I buy locally, I drive to a small pawn shop that's a good 20 miles away, even though there are three dedicated gun stores much closer to me.
Why?
Because those other three stores have rude and unfriendly people behind the counter, that's why.
Check that: They will be friendly to you, as long as you're one of their friends. I can't tell you the number of times I've gone into a store, picked up an accessory off the rack, walked up to the counter with money and item in hand and then had to stand there waiting for the owner/counter help to stop jawing about their latest shooting exploits, some esoteric bit of firearms data and/or the general state of the world. The pawn shop I frequent may not have the range of accessories or latest bangbang that a gun shop would have, but they have good prices and people willing to walk me thru a sale, and that's why I shop there.
Memo to gun shop owners: You run a retail gun store, not a message board. The High Road doesn't sell guns, and you don't run a chat room. Kapeesh?
Lonestar49
Member
What - !!!? lol
Not often, as the learned key is simply keep control, politely, of the conversation, but:
I had one memorable experience at a gun store I frequent a lot - 5 guns bought from them, there, within the year this occurred.
But I had brought my Beretta Px4 40 back because I thought it had a problem and my clerk/bud was with another customer so I motioned - take your time - to him and went to the Beretta section and was looking at other Px4's when this huge huge man, deep deep voice, basically yelled at me.. "Can I help you?" I said, "no thanks, but thanks anyway, waiting for Eric.." Then he yells, "is there a gun inside that (gun rug) fully closed and locked, in sight, laying on the counter in front of me and him.. I said, "yes, it's a Px4 I bought here from Eric and I have a question about it for him.."..
He then yells: "IS it loaded..?" I say: "no", he then says: "Open it up and let me chk.." So I unlock the carry case, un-zip it, drop the mag, without lifting it up at all, just as it lay there. He grabs it racks it open with it pointing at my head.. and then puts it back down and proceeds to try and sell me a Glock/s..
After I tell him, for the third time, not a Glock buyer, I semi-yell at him, twice, as he didn't hear much of anything I ever said, "you've shot a lot in your life-time and your hearing is not so good..?" He yells back.. "ya got that right"
He didn't last the month.. lol
Ls
...
Not often, as the learned key is simply keep control, politely, of the conversation, but:
I had one memorable experience at a gun store I frequent a lot - 5 guns bought from them, there, within the year this occurred.
But I had brought my Beretta Px4 40 back because I thought it had a problem and my clerk/bud was with another customer so I motioned - take your time - to him and went to the Beretta section and was looking at other Px4's when this huge huge man, deep deep voice, basically yelled at me.. "Can I help you?" I said, "no thanks, but thanks anyway, waiting for Eric.." Then he yells, "is there a gun inside that (gun rug) fully closed and locked, in sight, laying on the counter in front of me and him.. I said, "yes, it's a Px4 I bought here from Eric and I have a question about it for him.."..
He then yells: "IS it loaded..?" I say: "no", he then says: "Open it up and let me chk.." So I unlock the carry case, un-zip it, drop the mag, without lifting it up at all, just as it lay there. He grabs it racks it open with it pointing at my head.. and then puts it back down and proceeds to try and sell me a Glock/s..
After I tell him, for the third time, not a Glock buyer, I semi-yell at him, twice, as he didn't hear much of anything I ever said, "you've shot a lot in your life-time and your hearing is not so good..?" He yells back.. "ya got that right"
He didn't last the month.. lol
Ls
I worked behind a gun counter for a while. I was, am, polite and helpful and very friendly. When asked my opinion I gave my honest opinion. But after a while it becomes very difficult to not be grumpy. In my experience "gun people" know more about nothing than "non gun people". I have found that because they "know" everything about firearms, even when it is wrong, you can not make a recommendation or observation. Now, I will not dispute that many, many people that work at gun stores can be down right rude. But so can we as customers.
People on THR sometimes get rude when the same question gets asked again and again. I can't imagine working in a gun shop and hearing the same ridiculous crap, day in and day out, that I hear every time I'm in there. This is no excuse for rudeness, but to a degree I can understand it. At the same time though, how can they not see that they are losing customers?
Corporal K
member
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- Sep 24, 2007
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Jensen's in Loveland, Co is great. So is Specialty Sports in Colorado Springs. Great people at both and good prices.
Hawthorne2k
Member
I worked for a few years in a professional-level camera store in college, so I understand the frustration salesmen have with clueless noobs and overeducated wannabes.
We had one guy who'd show up in the shop at the same time every Saturday: He'd park outside, open up the trunk of his car, put on a photovest, walk in to the store and then grill us for an hour on the differences between a Canon F-1 and the Nikon F3 (which should tell you when I went to college
), and then walk back out to his car and put away his vest without buying anything.
That's right: He put on a photographer's vest just to talk about cameras with us. And you thought mall ninjas were bad
I get the frustration caused by moronic customers, but they're a fact of life in retail: Deal with it.
We had one guy who'd show up in the shop at the same time every Saturday: He'd park outside, open up the trunk of his car, put on a photovest, walk in to the store and then grill us for an hour on the differences between a Canon F-1 and the Nikon F3 (which should tell you when I went to college
), and then walk back out to his car and put away his vest without buying anything. That's right: He put on a photographer's vest just to talk about cameras with us. And you thought mall ninjas were bad
I get the frustration caused by moronic customers, but they're a fact of life in retail: Deal with it.
Enachos
Member
If the OP lived in Charlotte, NC I would assume he had been talking about Hyatt's Guns Shop. They have the rudest salesmen behind the counter. I've only met one guy that I actually thought was helpful there but I can't remember his name.
guitarman531
Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2009
- Messages
- 30
I took my CCW class from Ray (who works at Jensen Arms) and bought my Comp-Tac Infidel there! Great people.
CoRoMo
Member
There are a couple shops in the general area here, that are run by some of the most impolite and disdainful personalities you could imagine to stand behind a counter. I can hardly stand to enter their stores, but I do visit them from time to time. They are two of the only places that I've actually bought guns from locally, because those rude people actually know what they are talking about when they do the talking, and their prices have beaten everyone else around.
I've recieved similar treatment many times at a variety of 'specialty' retail establishments (firearms or other sporting goods, cars, electronics, etc.). Rudeness behind the counter is usually a strong indication that I should take my money elsewhere.
R
R
The main reason I started doing my own research and finding out about guns was because of rude people that thought I was just a "stupid kid". When I moved to Iowa, it was like night and day. The owner of my local shop is a great guy and is always helpful. The people at Scheel's are helpful, but a bit too pushy when it comes to buying a gun.
I'm pretty fortunate. The two gunshops that are convenient to me are staffed by friendly guys who never put on the hard sell. There's a place across town where the attitude is 180 degrees off, though. Bunch of sour old ex-military (I'm ex-military, too) types who act like they're doing you a favor to take your money. Their stuff is all outrageously over-priced, too. I wonder how they stay in business.
loadedround
Member
With all the negative comments about gun sales people and gun shops, I have to respond with a postive one. I have been dealing with a small gun shop in Perkiomenville(Montgomery Co), Pa called Barbers Firearms, operated by Chuck and Kimberly Barber. Chuck is an extremly pleasant individual, experienced in firearms sales and service, and also will order any non-stock item for you if he can. His prices are the best around and also has a great inventory in new and used firearms. BTW, I have no horse in this race except as a very satisfied customer for more than several years. Try him after being harassed at French Crook Firearms.
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