Response to: The customer is always right?

[neviander]

I didn't want to hijack that thread (http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=331759), so I thought I'd start another one to make my point.

I totally sympathize with you guys on the "iggernot" customers. People want their cars, computers, lawnmowers, whatever to work every time, all the time and when they stop working and they ask someone that KNOWS something about said malfunctioning item and they tell them something they did not want to hear, they freak, and treat the expert like some sort of pleeb that's trying to rob them blind. Those same people think they can step into the world of guns and just guess their way to safety *sigh*

I know everyone isn't like that, but sometimes, it seems, the majority is.

 

[Just Jim]

I live with this moto, "never give advice, wise men don't need it and fools won't heed it."

Men always want to take the easy way and ask others about a topic rather than learn for themselves. This lazy way of doing things can get costly because there are alot of people with alot of different opinions.

On the other hand learning by yourself can be costly too. So if a person must have advice he should get advice good enough that he pays for it like from a good recognized school. If you pay for it then it kinda sticks with you.

Men are lazy by nature and cheap. They look to the others around them for advice when in general the men around them don't know anything either. Cheap advice I guess is what they want.

jj

 

[mainmech48]

Jim, IMO folks who indulge in "opinion shopping" are generally not only intellectually lazy, but also closet subscribers to the "democratic fallacy" that one person's opinion is as valid as anyone else's - regardless of the subject.

I'd also agree with you that, in the words of the late, revered Neo-Pessimist philosopher R.A. Heinlein "Anything free is likely to be worth what you paid for it."

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

"never give advice, wise men don't need it and fools won't heed it."

I like that.

 

[Ash]

I rather prefer the notion "A Wise man learns from the mistakes of others."

How does one discover that Hesse/Vulcan should be avoided? How does one discover they are bad beyond reading the experiences and opinions of others? It cannot be intellectually lazy to learn what can be learned about a product by asking the opinions of others.

Otherwise, everyone will believe the sales literature printed by Barska, BSA, Special Weapons Systems, Vulcan, and others.

So, getting an opinion is valid and, frankly, wise, in many cases. Asking what people like better, red or blue, is not, and there are many times when asking for an opinion is the timid way out. Yet, asking others their experiences with RG revolvers is not. And, reading on the Internet will produce only the opinions of others. If you read Pistols of the World, you will not learn that RG is nearly worthless. You will learn that they are inexpensive - hardly good information. A Hyundai is inexpensive. A Yugo is crap.

Ash

 

[Brian Dale]

"A Wise man learns from the mistakes of others."

True. I do that in hopes of one day becoming wise. I don't have the time, the money or the extra lives to discover everything that I need to know by means of first-hand trial and error.

 

[Just Jim]

So, getting an opinion is valid and, frankly, wise, in many cases.

Opinion shopping for guns is riskey if you are just asking joe average for his opinion. Damn few men have much exspearience with enough guns to know what he is talking about. That is why you buy a real opinion from people who know what they are talking about.

People are funny. Be it guns or religion or what ever, they don't look into the product they are buying but ask opinions on it's quality from people who are now involved with the product.

Be it a junk gun or junk car or religion it all depends on the opinion of the user. However most users are depending on what others say rather than to look deep into what they are doing.

I could tell you that the Smith 17 is the best 22 ever built and that would go down in your book as one opinion. If enough people say it is then you might buy one. Does that mean it will work well for you? Maybe or maybe not but it doesn't change alot of opinions that the 17 is the best 22lr. Colt Diamondback 22lr owners would surely dispute the claim.

Opinions or advice should only be asked from a person who's opinion or advice is truly valued. Would you ask Chuck Taylor or Mas Ayobe about a gun or the local gun clerke who is trying to sell you something? Either way you might have to pay for what information you except and still it doesn't mean the gun they like will fit your needs.

jj

 

[Just Jim]

True. I do that in hopes of one day becoming wise. I don't have the time, the money or the extra lives to discover everything that I need to know by means of first-hand trial and error.

Men will always have a list of priorities in their lives. Being unwise cost more than most men will ever make and it can cost your life.

jj

 

[redneckrepairs]

Brian you said

I do that in hopes of one day becoming wise. I don't have the time, the money or the extra lives to discover everything that I need to know by means of first-hand trial and error.

and that is a no ****ter lol . life goes on and some of us learn . IMHO you cannot jump ahead of the line for basic learning , for one thing you have to do it , and for another it is different from when i did it . I am a grandpa nowadays so a lot of things i handle by " GO AWAY BOY AND BOTHER ME NO MORE ' . i dont handle new music well , and i dont handle the new " respect " well at all . call me dog or dawg , or whatever and i think you call me as some kind of sub human . My customer will never be right with a canned response , hell my best friend is gay with a partner he cannot marry in his state . Dont mind they have 9 yrs as a couple lol .

 

[oneshooter]

I prefer this one " Free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it" it has helped me lo these many years!

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[bogie]

Accuracy costs money. More accuracy costs exponentially more money. And painting something black generally doesn't do much more than increase the price....

 

[Telumehtar]

As someone who works with customers on daily basis in a very technically complex occupation, allow me to illuminate the rest of the saying.

"The customer is always right, for a price.".

The sense of entitlement that pervades this culture unfortunately means that people think they can pay some low cost and expect the best service.

NEWS FLASH: It don't work that way!

As for opinion shopping on guns(or anything else for that matter), if that is all the researcher is relying on then they shouldn't be surprised if they are disappointed. But it is a good place to start. There is a certain level of wisdom found in the opinions of many. But if that is all you use to determine your purchase then you run the risk of being disappointed because not everyone has the same comfort level, needs, desires as everyone else.

Even the most broadly accepted product won't satisfy everyone, and as such, alternatives will be useful for some. Case in point, Apple's IPOD is by and large the most popular Music player in the world right now, however enough people dislike some functionality on it, that competitors like Zune, and SamDisk have a niche market to cater to.

Being that I am myself in the process of researching which gun to buy as my first purchase, I am experiencing first hand a number of data points for consideration involved in guns. And while I value opinions, I value opinions backed up with facts/numbers more than opinions of just "Brand X gun in Y caliber is the best hand gun EVAH!".

 

[Brian Dale]

I value opinions backed up with facts/numbers more than opinions of just "Brand X gun in Y caliber is the best hand gun EVAH!".

It seems that you're on the right track, Telumehtar. Welcome.

 

[Poper]

Bogie wrote:

Accuracy costs money. More accuracy costs exponentially more money. And painting something black generally doesn't do much more than increase the price....

Of course, if you put "Tactical" in the name, you can double the price again!

Poper

 

[Old School]

"tell them something they did not want to hear, they freak, and treat the expert like some sort of pleeb that's trying to rob them blind"

Oh my goodness that is a fact. I was in the auto repair business for many years and it got to the point where I never brought up cars and avoided the topic outside of work.

I often wondered why people didn't just say: "I have a potentially expensive and problematic situation, would you please tell me some good new that will make me happy?"

 

[glock530]

Isn't opinions on a subject kinda the point of forums like these? If no one asked for an opinion or gave one it'd kinda slow the traffic here to nothing.

* Just my opinion...

 

[ctdonath]

The customer rarely knows what he really wants; he will all too often tell you what he wants, then blame you when his choice reveals the flaws in his expressed requirements.

 

[3KillerBs]

The customer rarely knows what he really wants; he will all too often tell you what he wants, then blame you when his choice reveals the flaws in his expressed requirements.

People generally just don't want to spend the time and effort to think their way through a problem step-by-step.

Unfortunately, salespeople and customer service reps end up taking the heat for the customers' mental laziness.

 

[gregthehand]

The customer is not always right, but the customer is still the customer.....