Received poor service at a gun store. (Formerly "not really a gun discussion...")

[9mm+]

Here is an excellent case of what some customers can expect in their "experience": Just last week, I was finishing up qualifying my students in their CCW range portion when I overheard the store clerk discussing a handgun purchase with a petite lady in her mid to late 40's.

Lady: "I need a handgun for home protection. I am not very experienced, so I need something I can handle."
Clerk: "You need a .45 ACP."
Lady: "A what?"
(Clerk hastily grabs a Taurus 1911, verifies that it's clear, and then hands it to her.)
Lady: "That feels very heavy. My friend suggested that I get a 38 Special. Do you have any of those?"
Clerk (gruffing): "No, you need a MAN-STOPPER!"
Lady: "You mean a 38 Special won't do the job?"
Clerk: "Well, you can use that if you want, but don't be surprised if an attacker still rapes you if you have a 38."
(Lady returns the 1911 and leaves the store.)

I kid you not. I hear this crap frequently. It pisses me off. If I wasn't teaching my class that night, I would have run after that poor lady and helped her.

 

[ForumSurfer]

The jerks are not all on one side of the counter.

Amen. I bumped into a friend at my LGS last weekend while waiting for my spot in the range to open up. He was there with a friend, who was giving him advice. My friend asked excellent questions and before I could answer them, the "adviser" would cut off every sentence, one by one and interject with "yeah but an HK can blah blah bah." The guy also kept cutting off the counter guy anytime he spoke.

I finally told my friend to just rent what he thinks he likes and shoot it. Or to come back when they call my name, and he can be a guest on my lane. I had a 38 spcl revolver, 2 glocks and a 1911 that he could fire off a magazine or two with and I wouldn't charge him...that way he could rent something else if he wanted.

Of course the adviser said "Yeah! and rent an HK like mine so you shoot it right off and feel what a real gun is supposed to feel like."

The guy was aggravating and the type who steps in close and talks loud. I had a shoulder bag full of about 1000 rounds of 9mm, 45 and 38. I was very tempted to accidental drop it on his toe, but self control got the better of me. :/

 

[USAF_Vet]

"oh no I don't have time for that."

Right, because jockying a cash register at walgreens on a slow Sunday morning is such a time consuming job.

If I had a clerk say something like that to me, I would take a considerably long time in finishing my business there, and then just before handing over the cash, decide I didn't need these things after all.

Clerk: "Well, you can use that if you want, but don't be surprised if an attacker still rapes you if you have a 38."

reminds me of something I overheard a while ago.
Clerk: "If someone shot me with a .380 and I found out about it, I'd go kick the guys @$$."

Being ignorant of a subject doesn't make you a jerk. Being a rude, obnoxious, overbearing jerk makes you a jerk. I try to be nice and civil to people, but if treated poorly, I'll give it back in kind.

 

[Hendiadys]

Instead of dwelling on the jerk, if there is someone more pleasant to deal with in the establishment, very pointedly, only deal with the pleasant person, to the point of obviously ignoring the jerk.

 

[Bubba613]

Lady: "I need a handgun for home protection. I am not very experienced, so I need something I can handle."
Clerk: "You need a .45 ACP."
Lady: "A what?"
(Clerk hastily grabs a Taurus 1911, verifies that it's clear, and then hands it to her.)
Lady: "That feels very heavy. My friend suggested that I get a 38 Special. Do you have any of those?"
Clerk (gruffing): "No, you need a MAN-STOPPER!"
Lady: "You mean a 38 Special won't do the job?"
Clerk: "Well, you can use that if you want, but don't be surprised if an attacker still rapes you if you have a 38."

I hear stories like this but I guess I don't get out enough. Closest I came personally was a lady who called asking if we had .41mag ammo (I didnt). I thought that was a little odd but OK. I talked to a friend who works at a different shop and told him this and he told me the story. She had gone to a pawn shop (because all the great deals are there, right??) to buy a gun for home protection. She didnt have much experience and they sold her a Ruger Blackhawk in .41mag (or whatever the model is). She asked my friend "is this a good gun?" How do you answer that? Yes, it's a good gun. Just not for a petite female not into gun looking for somethingn to keep at home.

 

[NMGonzo]

Well ... whatever you do don't try to buy a high end bicycle.

You may experience similar service.

 

[BENBRU]

Yep... I've gotten to the point I will no longer buy from Specialty Sports (Yes, I'll name drop all day) in Colorado Springs because a couple of the employees will tell you what you need to buy instead of what you want to buy. I don't know how many times I was told while looking at a Sig 229 that I should save myself the money and the weight and just get a Glock 19. As much as I appreciate being given options and information repeatedly telling me the Sig is inferior to the Glock, after handling the glock and deciding its not what I wanted, is just a slap in the face. So... I like to go into Specialty get my meat hooks on all their toys, decide what I want and say something like "Well Sportsmans has it for less, or I'm sure they'll get it for less" and leave.

I'm tired of hearing stories like this... it makes me sick. So I just decided that I'd waste their employees' time and money... and buy somewhere else. It may not be the best way to make friends but they have the best inventory in town... worst prices and worst service but the best inventory sooooo I do my shopping there and buy elsewhere.

 

[gaijin6423]

While I have certainly experienced the above conditions, I find myself in the enviable position that my local stores are pleasant to deal with. With minor exceptions, of course. But hey, they need to make a living, too, and I won't begrudge them trying to talk up a certain rifle over another, similar one.

I do try to take the time to build a rapport with the stores I frequent, but more than that, the folks around here are just genuinely nice and appreciate your potential business. I guess it helps that I shoot better than half of them at our local USPSA matches, and that I convinced the other half to come out and shoot.

Regardless, I would be lying if I said that the local shooting community did not influence my decision to turn down a few jobs elsewhere when I left the service. I definitely realize how good we have it around here.

 

[Art Eatman]

"Full of..." No, not hardly. "Some", yeah, we've all seen them or met them.

Enough.