How do these people even keep their job...

[WarMachine]

I try to support my local shop whenever possible as they're prices are actually pretty good. Anyway, not too long ago I picked up an M44 they had for sale.

To make a long story short, the guy at the counter asks me where I'm going to find ammo. I ask him if they carry any 54R, and he replies with a snobby No, and talks about how scarce the ammo is becoming since no one really buys these things. So I till him that I will probably order a can from online or something or look around for something local to save a bit on shipping if I possible. He then goes on to blabber about how you can't order ammunition online, and that you need an FFL to do so. Of course, I am completely shocked at this point. When I ask him just what he is talking about, he says that they must use their FFL when ordering new ammo for the shop, and it is illegal for non-license holders to do so.

His pompous attitude had already pissed me off before when I've been in the shop. He acts like he's doing me a favor by simply answering a few of my questions. I usually don't show up unless I'm serious about buying, so it's not like I just there to waste his time. I go on to fill out the form, pay, and leave without him saying so much as thank you for your time (not to mention money).

I know most gun shop owners have to deal with all kinds of ridiculous characters, and I feel for them. But this guy is obviously misinformed, and I can only imagine what kind of garbage he as been shoveling the novices that come and go. I would think someone actually employed at a such an establishment would have at least basic knowledge of this kind of stuff.

 

[iamkris]

While you are right that gun store workers probably have to deal with a bunch of tactical noobs, this doesn't sound like this was the case with this guy...just the opposite.

For some reason, the gun world seems to attract a small (?) segment of arrogant, Rambo-wannabee, blustering know-it-alls. Sometimes they actually get jobs and give our sport a bad name.

 

[Car Knocker]

Why would you think that gun store clerks would necessarily be any more knowledgeable than any other retail clerk? Like any other retail business, employees often run the gamut of expertise. Some of them are even legends in their own mind.

 

[Mr White]

That guy sounds pretty bad. Maybe along the same lines of a waiter who doesn't know that you can buy food at a grocery store.

If he was the owner, I'd be seriously suspect of anything I buy there. If he's just an employee, I'd probably have a word with the owner about his clueless, arrogant worker.

 

[mountainclmbr]

Sounds like a government employee to me. Are you sure this was not an ATF agent in the store going through the paperwork?

 

[WarMachine]

Why would you think that gun store clerks would necessarily be any more knowledgeable than any other retail clerk?

Well, I don't expect him to know everything. However, he did bring up the ordering of ammo to keep their current inventory up so I would think that he would have at least been familiar with the process.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

If he wasn't the owner, I'd have a word with the owner. If he IS the owner, I'd ask him how much the FFL transfer fee per-round is string his pompus rear along for a while, see how far you can take it into rediculous-land.

 

[dixierifleman]

yea, what Doubletap said. for some reason, i love jerkin around people that think they know what theyre talkin about.

 

[Prince Yamato]

For some reason, the gun world seems to attract a small (?) segment of arrogant, Rambo-wannabee, blustering know-it-alls.

EVERY field attracts know-it-alls. A friend of mine when I was little once said, "everywhere you go, you'll always meet an a-hole" and you know what? It's true.

 

[Zen21Tao]

I would go back and ask him about buying the ammo online again. When he tells you, once more, that you need to have an FFL to order ammo, call AIM Surplus (or Natchez, Ammo Man, Ammunition Store, etc.) on SPEAKERPHONE so he can hear you and place an order over the phone for 500-1000 rnds of ammo. Then just smile at him and walk out.

In all seriousness, I can't stand gun store workers that think just becasue they stand behing a counter and make sales that they know more than those of us that study and research firearms. People like this NEED to have their BS called, otherwise they'll just continue to spew it on people that don't know any better.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

LOL, the infamous gun-shop misinformation customer service saga continues......


You're not the first, and not the last to deal with that. This is a daily, universal occurance.

 

[expvideo]

I can't stand some of the gun shop people. Some of them are nice, but I don't like the ones that act like they have better things to do than help a paying customer.

My least favorite recent experience was asking if they knew where I would be able to find a threaded barrel for my P226. The answer was "why would you want that, silencers are illegal".... I didn't ask for legal advice, I asked where I could get the damned thing. They aren't just used for that, but that's not the point. Anyway, it bothers me to never get a strait answer, but instead to get a mix between opinion and cheap legal advice.

My other favorite was "open carry is illegal" (while he was open carrying). It's not a big deal that he feels that way, but I think that it's important to know what your talking about if you work at a gun store, because a lot of people will (mistakenly) consider you to be the authority on firearms, and they expect you to know what you're talking about. It's the same in any other sales job. When I sold cell phones I had to know everything about them. I wasn't a monkey running a register, I was a salesman. Gunshop salesmen should be salesmen, not cashiers.

 

[cmidkiff]

Every time I read one of these threads, I just have to shake my head, and thank God that I've got a friend running a gun shop.

If you are ever in the Kansas City area, stop by Moore Outdoors in Smithville. It's a small store, but the owner is honest, and intelligent.

 

[Manedwolf]

To make a long story short, the guy at the counter asks me where I'm going to find ammo. I ask him if they carry any 54R, and he replies with a snobby No, and talks about how scarce the ammo is becoming since no one really buys these things.

Since 7.62X54R is pretty much THE cheapest and most ubiquitous surplus round there is, that's pretty funny. What a moron.

Guess he's never heard of Dragunov rifles, either, which use the SAME FREAKING AMMO.

 

[shermacman]

I certainly don't think that they should know everything, heck I don't (yet!).
I might even give him a pass not knowing about 54R ammo in an M44. But basic fundamentals like buying ammo through an FFL? Yeah, I think he should know about that.

 

[mbt2001]

There is so much misinformation going on with Guns in general...

The Anti's are out there talking about cop killers, gun show loop holes, "flamming" tip bullets, "heat seeking" bullets....



If he is under 25, then I can't fault his stupidity, the most accurate information he has gotten on guns comes from the Looney Toon reruns he watched at 5.

 

[MD_Willington]

Simple Answer

Never shop there again, tell everyone you know to never shop there again...


Let them dig their own graves...


And people wonder why no one supports the "Mom & Pop" shops anymore, they tend to be their worst enemies...


MD

 

[MachIVshooter]

If he was the owner, I'd be seriously suspect of anything I buy there.

If he was the owner, I'd stop in every single day and cruise the used items. Someone that ignorant and arrogant is sure to let a valuable peice of history slip out the door at next to nothing because he was too proud to bother researching it.

I have found exactly this to be the case on more than one occassion, and wound up with some really neat firearms for pennies on the dollar.

 

[Wesson Smith]

Wow. If it were me, I'd go back and ask the owner for a job.

I'd convince him I could run circles around that jerk!

Personally, I'd quit my job in a heartbeat (and for less pay)
to work in a 'mom-and-pop' gun shop. The perfect job, IMO.