The Customer Is Always Right?

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"Guy walks into the shop at opening bell. A little agitated, and apparently in a bit of a rush. Says he wants to buy a gun.

"What kind"

"The cheapest one ya got."

"The cheapest one here is this used RG .38 Special."

"I'll take it."

"Well...It's cheap beause it's not really a high-quality gun. You can't shoot it an awful lot, or...."

"Don't matter. It's only gotta work once."

He didn't get his gun..."

lol, great stuff, but most likley he did indeed get his gun
 
Ok, I can add one. I was waiting to purchase a spotting scope at a sports authority. (back when they sold guns) I'm looking things over, waiting my turn when the next fellow in line asks to see a "GAUGE"
salesman: what kind of gauge?
customer: you know a 12.
salesman: oh, which one?
customer: a good one.
salesman hands over a remington 1100, shows him the features and what-not.
customer: (trying to pump the action) it's stuck.
salesman: not a pump, it's a gas operated, semi-automatic.
customer: (looking gun over intently) where do you put the gas in?
I had to walk away for a bit :)
 
I don't know how the guys at my local shops can put up with some of the asinine things I've heard asked over the years.

I've heard salespeople take phone calls, and only heard their side of it, but swear that the guy on the other end can't understand a thing. Stuff like:

"Yes sir. You want a scope, a mount, rings... which? A mount, okay, what kind of rifle? No, no, what's the make and model of your rifle? Okay, what's the make? Who manufactured it? Winchester - okay. And the model? What is the model number? It would be on the recei- near the trigger. Model 70 - okay. What's the caliber? What kind of round does it shoot? What caliber round do you buy when you go to the range? Never? Okay, look at the barrel - does it say something like three oh eight Winchester? Yes? Is that exactly what it says? Okay, then we can sell you a mount. The price varies, depending on what kind of mount you want - cheapest is $50, most expensive is over $150. No, no, if you want a whole scope package, you're probably going to spend more than $150. Depends how you use the rifle. Why don't you bring it in, unloaded, and let our smith take a look at it. Sir, I have customers in front of me right now, and I can't tell exactly what you have without seeing it. Please - what? You'll need to bring the rifle to us anyway, if you want the smith to mount it for you. Please bring it in. We're open until..."

This went on for almost 10 minutes.
 
I'm not a gun dealer, I'm a consumer. I would say that the vast majority of the time, I've been treated courteously by gun store employees. One of the things I've learned over the years about any product category, and not just guns, is to preface a question about something on which I'm either not sure, or don't know very much about, with, "this might be a stupid question, but can you tell me...." You would be surprised how many shop owners are OK with a customer's ignorance if the customer is willing to admit their ignorance right up front.

What has happened to me over the years is that the gun stores I've frequented (I favor the small businesses over the larger ones) have become hangouts where I've gotten to know the employees or owners a bit, and we've wound up just sitting around, shootin' the s*** and talking about guns. I've come to think of them as friends. But in doing so, I've always been scrupulous to stay out of the way when another customer walks in and needs attention. Shootin' the breeze is one thing, but getting in the way of another man's livelyhood is quite another.

...AND , I do actually buy a gun once in a while or have some gunsmithing done.

But all of that being said, some people, including some gun store people, are simply ass hats and they do talk down to customers. Those places I just stay away from.

Sorry I butted in. You may resume talking about us consumers behind our backs. :D :D :D
 
I had one the other day that was UNBELIEVABLE!!!

I talked to an old guy and his wife, and they had a gun, that they didn't know what it was chambered in. I told them to bring it in and I would look it over.

Gun was brought in and the guy is repeatedly telling me its worth $6,000. I said OK I will be careful. I mike the barrel, mike the chamber, find some writing on the barrel, look on the internet for some info, pull out a cartridge book and find some specs, the whole nine yards.

The gun actually comes out to be a Newton Rifle Co. Rifle, chambered in .256 Newton, (most of you probably haven't heard of it and neither did I). Guy thinks its great that I found what its chambered in. Now the rifle hasn't been made in over half a century, and neither has the caliber, but he proceeds to ask if I can find ammo for it. I tell him it hasn't been made for a long time. He then asks if I have any on the shelf.

Me: No I don't
Customer: Will a .270 fit in it?
Me: No, it will not
Customer: Will a pistol cartridge fit in it then?
Me: No, you need the proper chambering?
Customer: OK
Me: its close to a 6.5 x 06 so you can size the brass down, reload and with some work, make cases.
Customer: Could we just put a 30-06 in it?
Me: NO, I found some original ammo for it thats $300 a box.
Customer: You don't have any here?? (He was being serious)

By this point I am really getting annoyed. I did not have the heart to tell him the gun was worth $1,200 in 100% condition. But I almost did when he told me this.

Customer: One of my friends said it might be a such and such caliber (I forgot) so I bought a box, and it rattled around in there a bit, but it fired ok, but accuracy wasn't that great!

Me: I almost flipped. I politely wrote down a couple of companies that he could get ammo for it through, and left it at that.

But I could NOT Believe what some people DO!!!!!
 
These stories just go to show something I've said for a long time...

For many people (mostly guys) there are a few things...usually guns, cars and sex...that the vast majority know little about, often have wild misconceptions, but feel they must act like they know everything...

And most of those people end up working behind the gun counter at Bass Pro Shops.
 
I was at Bass Pro buying my SIG the other day, and was looking for bulk packs of .40 S&W. I found some Remington UMC 250 round cases under a big sign that said:



SALE! $72.99
COMPARE TO $46.99



I knew ammo costs went up a lot lately, but sheesh!

The guys at the counter got a kick when I pointed it out.





For the record, working at the gun counter at a Bass Pro (which is basically a Toys 'R Us for rednecks... even though I'm a redneck) has got to be a chore. I have a classmate that works there... I feel so badly for him.
 
Yeah he bought a "cop glock" and whenever he shot the last bullet the magazine goes flying.
Click to expand...

You know, if someone can design an on/off button for a similar feature for a 1911...

And as far as customers... I didn't witness the exchange, but...

A few years back, I knew a guy, who could be a little "difficult" at times... Well, one day he scored a Hawken repro at a yard sale or auction or something... Went to a local gun store to buy "bullets" for it.

Came back with a box of balls, some patches, caps, and a pound of Bullseye...

I just wonder what he did or said to the clerk that prompted the guy to sell him the fastest burning smokeless powder pistol powder for a large black powder rifle... er... grenade.

Oh, and this past fall, my favorite Knob Creek customer...

"What's that thing?"

"It's a delinker."

"What's it do?"

"It delinks."

"Oh."

I swear, by the end of that show... Day One was people actually buying stuff - those were folks who'd generally travelled for the shoot and the show. Day Two was mostly locals - "Do you sell any AK-47s?" - "No - you don't see any on the table, do you?". And Sunday, well, can you say "ghost town?"
 
customer: (looking gun over intently) where do you put the gas in?
Click to expand...

Classic! Okay...I got another one. (Edited to save bandwidth)

Guy looks over the display case and asks to see an "automatic."

"Which one?"
"That one."
"Oh. That's a revolver."
"It ain't automatic?"
"Nope."
"But when ya pull the trigger, don't that thing go 'round by itself?"
"Yeah, but it's still not an automatic."
"Okay. Lemme see it."

Fiddle-faddle

"Where's the safety?"
"There's not one."
"Why not!!??"
It's a revolver. The safety is automatic."
"So...it's an automatic."
"No. Just the safety."
"What if I want to put it (the safety) on?"
"You can't."
"What damn good is a gun without a safety? What if I shoot myself?"
"Don't pull the trigger and you won't shoot yourself"
"But what if I pull the trigger"
"Then the gun will fire if it's loaded."
"Ya'll are stupid!"

About a dozen people in the store were completely spellbound by the exchange. One guy stopped eating his Three Musketeers in mid-chew.
 
"What damn good is a gun without a safety? What if I shoot myself?"
"Don't pull the trigger and you won't shoot yourself"
"But what if I pull the trigger"
"Then the gun will fire if it's loaded."
"Ya'll are stupid!"
Click to expand...
LOL... I've had the same questions. Must be the same guy.
 
LOL! I love these stories. I used to work retail in musical instrument sales and had some good ones too. Glad to see it's not just limited to (so-called) musicians in New Jersey.
 
I've lost track of how many hunters come in and buy their hunting ammo based on the weight of whatever they first zeroed the rifle with. So long as it's the same caliber and grain, they just want the cheapest ammo possible. I gave up trying to explain that they're not all going to shoot to the same place...

Had a guy come in a couple months ago, and ask us if we had anything capable of a 4,000 yard shot. Didn't seem to believe me when I told him that a .50 BMG wouldn't be enough, and that he needed to be looking into field artillery.

Not long after that, I had someone ask me for a semi-automatic hunting rifle capable of taking game at 1,000 yards, chambered in something heavier than .308. I showed him a BAR in .300 Win Mag for the hell of it, but then he added that he didn't want to spend more than $500.

Got a phone call one day from someone who wanted to know if we had some obscure S&W target model that went out of production ten years ago. I told him that it wasn't in production, that we didn't have any, and suggested he check Gunbroker. Apparently that wasn't the answer he wanted, because he kept requesting that I check to see if I could somehow acquire one for him. I found out later that he had called several times already that day, asking other employees the exact same question, and each time refusing to accept that it had been discontinued. Apparently he must've figured everyone was lying to him, and that eventually someone would 'fess up and admit that we had one for sale. Perserverance is a virtue, unless you're an idiot.
 
Lady tells salesman

"These bullets are to big. I need some smaller ones."

He asked her about her gun she had and she said she wasn't sure but the bullets she had were to big.
She had a box of .25 so he sold her a box of.22.
Told her if they didn't fit to write down the type of gun she had and come back.
He also told her to NOT bring her gun in for a fitting.:)
 
About twenty years ago I was helping out my buddy who owned a gunshop. An old timer brought in his Winchester single barrel .410. He wanted to trade up to a pump but before he let the owner give him a price he stated he had a confession to make. You see he was out hunting squirrels with out much luck and out of desperation he took a 60yd shot. He said he new it was too far but he couldn't resist. He said he strained the barrel ! Derned thing hasn't hit anything since.

My buddy's eyes lit up for a second and then he came back to earth and offer the gentleman a fair price. He told the old man he could get it fixed cheaply and since he was a good customer he'd eat the cost.

Everybody was happy. Nobody laughed until he left.
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I'm betting the old gentleman had a few chuckles himself when he left the store.
 
When I worked in a gun shop, I had not one, but two ladies assure me they didn't want “those big guns that might kill somebody. What have you got that'd just... you know? Kind'a like... make them go away?"

I explained to the second lady those of us who keep and bear arms for self-defense don't shoot to kill, but stop crimes.

She brightened considerably. "Oh. Okay. So it's okay to just sort of like... make them leave me alone?"

I tried to suggest she not buy a gun, but sign up for the introductory class, for which she could use one of the rental guns, et cetera. She smiled and thanked me and blithely went on her way.

I still have no clear idea what some of the ladies were actually looking for, but am glad at least one found it. Almost without exception, I found if I could get a non-shooter to take the introductory cours, he or she would catch on to the general idea of shooting guns for assorted purposes. The non-shooters who couldn't be troubled to learn anything were sometimes a bit troubling.
 
Lady walks in, a very large woman indeed, and asks if we rented guns. I said we did not, we did not have a range, she was quite upset with this.

Looking around she was upset that most of the handguns in the store were quite expensive and told us that we were not getting much business by keeping prices so high.

Again she asks if we rented guns. I said we did not, I was sorry, but XXXX up the road had a range and would rent guns, her reply, "But dammit, by the time I catch the 5 bus all the way up there and back, the sonova-two-timing-mutha-xxxxx will have talked that Loreesha into giving him a ride in her car and a ride on her bed..."

I decided that it was a good thing we were not in the business of renting guns.
 
Arfin:

Oh, Gawd, can't breathe!
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Good thing you weren't there. You'd have needed CPR. The straight man behind the counter was the star of the show. He was one of those poker-faced types, and his expression never changed from the start until the guy roared out of the lot in his car. He watched him go...still stone-faced...then cut his eyes slowly at me, and raised his eyebrows. That was where I lost it.
 
Not quite as funny as some of these, but the other day one of the guys in the showroom was telling me that a guy came in wanting an ankle holster for a Glock 17. Not a 27 but the full size 17.

I had a guy call up wanting a semi automatic Bolt Rifle. He was dead serious and swore that he saw one on Remingtons Web site.
 
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