Sexist gun dealers

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Mastrogiacomo

Mastrogiacomo

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I went to Galayans last night with my father. He was talking about the "boxy" look of some guns so I thought I'd show him the Sig 220 and the Walther P99 to see how he liked him. (He left his Class B permit at home). First we picked up some gun oil and Flitz that I needed. The sales guy from the gun department jumped out and said "Can I help you sir?" to my father. Looked at me but but ignored me just the same. The I went to handle the guns and put my permit on the desk. I asked to see the Walther and the Sig and he said without eye contact "One at a time...." Took his sweet time handling the permit, looking at it and then slowly gave me the gun. All had gun locks on them so I couldn't try the trigger out or get a real sense of the weight of the gun. Stupid...

I've been here twice before and each time I tried the gun counter, I was completely ignored in favor of the men customers. I get the cold shoulder like I'm lost and asking for another department or they treat me like a little lady looking to step up to the big boys game. If I need something, they act I'm bothering them or pulling them away from someone more important. Obviously, I'll never buy any firearms there; the guns are way over priced and the selection is lousy. It shouldn't come as a surprise why I prefer the Four Seasons gun shop or another local store to this. Any other women here get treated this way?

Laura
 
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What most gun dealers refuse to accept is that women today are buying a lot of guns and even if they are not they control what their husbands buy.

My wife ran our gun store for years. She would get the reverse guys would come in and not want to speak with her and ask for a man. She knows more about guns then 90% of men I know.

Try to find a gun store in your area that was smart enough to hire a women . You will get much better service.
 
I suspect that women are treated that way in many other situations. My sister and I went to the tobacco shop a few weeks ago, and she got that sort of treatment when she went to select a cigar. I saw sales guys acting that way when I worked at Best Buy years ago. Not to mention how women were treated when I worked in an auto shop.

Not giving them your business is the way to go. One of the basic precepts of good customer service is the understanding that all customers are the same, and should all be treated with respect and dignity. Any place that treats you otherwise probably has other issues as well.
 
What gets to me is that they never even smile, say hello, or any "How can I help you, miss?" It's the cold shoulder every time. Honestly, I never planned to buy any of the guns I looked at -- there. I just wanted to handle them. I typically buy at the Four Seasons which beats them in selection and price but I was curious to see how they felt. What jerks really. I own four handguns and a long gun -- if they had treated me with more respect, they might have had a good customer. Their loss.....
 
You'd think most retail business people would have figured out by now that women control the money in most homes. You spend at least as much time and attention on the woman as the man whenever a couple shows up. You don't know their relationship, who "wears the pants", who has the cash in their hand, etc.

Except car lots. With cars the woman will be making the final decision and I have a bad habit of ignoring the man. :) He's just there to get on the ground and make certain nothing is hanging off the undercarriage while talking about the really cool wheels. :) His wife/girlfriend/significant other/eye candy/whatever will be making the final decision and counting out the long green. Does that make me "reverse sexist"? *LOL*
 
Not look Tallpine, handle. You can look all you want but you can't touch a gun unless you present your permit first -- and then only the guns you're permit allows. That's why my father couldn't handle the Walther -- it's a ten capacity gun. If he had his permit, he could have handled the 220.
 
I don't usually get treated any different. Actually much of the time they jump on the chance to help me. I mean guys will come from the other side of the store just to see what I am handling. The gun shops around here often recognize me and know what I've bought before or even what I was looking for before.

I haven't gone to Cabelas a lot so I'm not sure if they are any different. When I did go I said I was just looking and they left me alone which I wanted (since I didn't have a lot of time). They did seem to be surprised I was even in that section since most of the people there were guys. They were suprised the one time when I knew exactly what I was looking for, but it was only cause it was for dad and he told me exactly what it was and they helped me and were very nice about it.

I'm not sure, maybe it's cause I might be a sight for sore eyes, but I don't know. :neener: :rolleyes: They don't get a lot of girls there so who knows. Not sure what's wrong with the guys you talk to.

Gus
 
Ok, sorry - I meant "look" as in the clerk takes it out and lets you handle it.

As in a couple days ago, the clerk at Big R says something like "see anything there you'd like to look at?" Well, heck - I'm already looking through the glass.

And yes, I looked at a Ruger GP, SP, Bearcat, and Single Six (and maybe some others - I don't remember).
 
I'm not Pam Anderson but not ugly either -- I hope....:p but this is the only shop where this has happened. Walmart treats everyone just as bad as the last guy. Most shops recognize I'm a good customer and I never experience this often, thank God. I'm just a wee bit surprised the store wouldn't train the department employees better or that they wouldn't have picked up on women being the new power shoppers in guns these days.
 
BTW, when I used to work at a gun counter, I treated ladies the same as men (well, maybe treat the ladies a little nicer if they were cute :) ).

Customers of either sex, I might get ones that didn't know the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto to ones who knew way more than I did.

You don't make sales by treating ANYBODY rotten.
 
Mastrogiacomo-do you have any pics of you online. I wasn't saying you're ugly (I personally don't find myself attractive, but the catcalls I get sometimes make me think some guys like me, but even then I'm looking around trying to find the hot girl they are whistling at;))and no one is Pam Anderson. I'm sure she doesn't even look like her when she wakes up. I read a quote from Cindy Crawford. It went something like this: The Cindy Crawford you see is after several hours of make-up/hair and lots of professionals. Even I don't look like Cindy Crawford when I wake up in the morning.

I think guys in stores should know better that women control finances and should treat you better. Oh well. Stupidity should hurt.

Gus
 
That's why my father couldn't handle the Walther -- it's a ten capacity gun. If he had his permit, he could have handled the 220.
Click to expand...

You mean the only guns that can be handled are specific to the permit that you have??? That is the strangest thing I've ever heard in my life. When I was a kid the grocery store had a gun counter (a very nice one at that). I spent all my time over there while my Mom bought groceries, handling as many as I wanted. Heck, I was only 11-12 at that time.

I don't there are enough words in the English language to convey how I feel about this. It's a concept so foreign to me that I am experiencing a loss of syntax. :what:
 
Gus, I haven't allowed a picture to be taken of myself since high school -- in fact, there are no pics of me in any school year book, including college. No family photos either. For the past several years, relatives and family have been wondering about this. The on-going rumor is I'm involved in the Witness Protection Program -- and they missed all the drama...:D

Stupid is right about Galayans -- their loss is the Four Season's gain...;)
 
Wingshooter -- I don't mean to add insult to injury, but click on this link:

www.fsguns.com

It actually shows a list of what we can't buy along with the news that Glocks are again banned here. This may be the top college state but most folks in state politics are idiots.
 
This is one of the many symptoms of what I see as the major problem with gun dealers ... I call it The Curmudgeon Factor.


It seems that too many gun dealers don't want any of the following people to develop an interest in firearms (and wonder why 1. their business is shrinking and 2. our gun rights are disappearing).

  • Women
  • Blacks
  • Jews
  • Homosexuals
  • Men with hair longer then the average Marine
  • Men younger then 30 who are college educated
  • Men younger then 30 who are not in the military or law enforcement
  • Men younger then 30 who don't hunt
  • Anyone who doesn't agree with them 100% on politics and choice of firearms
  • Anyone who "bothers" them (this usually means you interrupted them watching TV or reading a magazine to ask them a question)
  • Anyone who knows more about firearms then them (especially if they disagree on anything)
  • Anyone who knows less about firearms then them (damn idjuts ... interrupting me while reading SOF to ask some asinine question about Glocks)


Now clearly this is not the case with all gun dealers (we have several here in this forum who are not inflicted with The Curmudgeon Factor) and it is those who embrace "non-bubba" types that will still be in business (and creating a larger force of gun owners to counter the antis).

But The Curmudgeon Factor is probably a greater threat to the future of gun rights and "the gun culture" then VPC, Sarah Brady and DiFi.
 
Jeeeeeeeezzzzzzzz...and I thought that it was bad here in California.:rolleyes: :banghead:

My sincere condolences.

Sawdust
 
I don't have it happen to me at any of the gun stores that I visit as they all know me... I have also seen how they treat women they don't know and the only big differences is they don't say: Hi so and so, hows the family?"

Years ago at the local home improvement store I used to get the "she can't possibly know what she needs" attitude until I corrected them enough times... :D

The best though was the auto parts store when I was doing a lot of work on the Mustang... Now mind you these guys KNEW me and I still got it... Went to get a carb. rebuild kit and they refused to believe that the carb. I was telling them, was on my car... Hey, I didn't put it there, it came with the car... I ended up having to go get it and bring it back to prove it... They NEVER questioned me again... :D
 
I like Tom Givens' philosophy at his RangeMaster range/training facility/shop in Memphis...

He bought real furniture for his classrooms and break room, had the classrooms and break room carpeted, arranged with a local designer to do custom posters that didn't appear to be crayon drawings or dripping testosterone and made sure that half his training staff/salespeople are women. By stated policy, anything that smacks of sexism is not tolerated. Period.

Here's a shocker...almost half his customers/students are women!

Imagine that.

As an aside [WARNING! Blatant commercial plug follows...], my SHOOTING GALLERY episode on the top women competitors airs this Sunday at 10:30PM Eastern on The Outdoor Channel.

mb
 
I often have trouble getting gun counter help and getting taken seriously because although I'm 28 I look much younger and people often don't think I'm even 21. It's probably not as bad as a lot of females get treated though. That stinks.

brad cook
 
I'm afraid that Zundfolge got it right about far too many in the gun retail industry. I've gone into the small shops on teh way home from work, in a suit and tie, and gotten the cold shoulder. Mention I'm a lawyer, and it get's colder. Mention I'm a prosecutor, and I might just as well leave. Took a female co-worker to look at a pistol (something smaller than her full frame Kimber .45), and it was as if she became invisible when we walked through the door. When the guy finally agreed to show her pistols, he pushed towards the stereotypical ladies guns (small frame, small caliber). Told her how a Beretta .25 would be the perfect self-defense gun for her, and got his miind blown when she mentioned she had teh Kimber for home defense and was looking for a smaller .45 for carry. Loved the look on his face.
 
I don't want to come off as too "doom and gloom".


Here in Colorado Springs I haven't seen The Curmudgeon Factor as bad as other places.

Actually, there's a gun shop near downtown called "Paradise Sales" that's basically run by two women.
 
My local gunshop is great. They treat everyone with respect and are very helpful to my wife (who admits she knows nothing about guns) when she stops in to pick something up for me. The shop is Virginia Arms in Manassas.

The other extreme is Dick's in Manassas (appropriate name). The idjit there tried to tell my wife the other day that cartridge boxes for the 44mag or 25/06 were fine for 357mag/38special since the cartridges would fit in them (he even demonstrated for her).

Chris
 
If I get passed over it is normally in favor of the white customers. Too much aZn + $2K in my pocket at a gunshow sometimes = ignore. Oh well, I'll just spend the money elsewhere.
 
I would agree with you about Four Seasons. I always try to patronize local merchants over the chains as often as possible. In this case it's a great choice price wise as well.

The other reason is that Carl the proprietor and I share the same middle name, Ettore, (Italian for Hector). Both of us had a grandfather with that first name.

See - if I didn't have to show my permit just to fondle a .45, I would never have made this connection.:barf:
 
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