The Walmart Ammo Counter: The dumbing down of America

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dukeofurl

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I decided to peruse some prices....

"Sir we cant sell ammo after 9PM"
"Why's that?"
"Federal law prohibits us"
"I dont see that posted anywhere"
"Because its not"

And it gets better!

"Why cant you sell ammo after 9PM?"
"Because the computers shutdown and we cant do background checks!"
"You need a background check to buy ammo?"
"Oh yeah, the computer asks for your ID"
"I wasnt aware you had to pay $5 to get an FDLE check to buy ammo"
"Oh, we dont charge $5 to do that..."

In conclusion: We can blame all the nonexistent federal laws on guns that people repeat at the gun show on Walmart sporting goods employees. That is all.
 
I have to chime in on this one.

A friend of mine (He is 19) was at walmart late one night (My buddies make mid-night runs to get the new DVD releases) he was buying ammo for his 22. rifle they asked the standard question "Is this for a handgun?" to which he replied "No",well the younglady couldn't use the register at sporting goods because she didn't have the key for it,so they had to go to electronics,after he had bought the ammo the cashier (I wasn't there so I'm a bit fuzzy on this part) either took the ammo out of his hands or was trying to take the ammo out of his hands,when a guy walked up to him and asked him if he was 21,when warren said no the guy told him it was against the law to sell him the ammo.

I'm sorry but when did this change all of the sudden? Because if I rember the limitations on being 18 or under 21 when it comes to buying firearms or ammo, You have to be 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun,but you have to be 21 in order to buy a handgun.

W.T.F. was is up here?
 
Typical visit to Wal-Mart to buy ammo:

May I help you?

Yes, I would like a Winchester White Box 100 round value pack of .40s

No, I need 40s not 9mms

Down, left, down, right, over one more...ok thats it :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
The inferiority of Wal-Mart service pokes up its head in spporting goods, more than anywhere else in the store.

I've asked clerks who were standing behind the counter for help, and got a dirty look, and "I'm on break!" more than once. Seems to me that should be a firing offense.
 
There are over 20,000 gun laws on the books, and you get mad that the poor dork behind the counter at Wal-Mart doesn't know them?

I mean, federal gun regulations are so byzantine that we have an entire section of the forum here dedicated to answering such questions- and there's often much contentious debate as to what, exactly is legal. Can you really fault some Wal-Mart worker drone who probably is more interested in Pokemon than shooting for not knowing the law?

FWIW, it's not a law, but at some Wal-Mart stores their policy is not to sell ammunition after 9pm. IIRC, this should be posted somewhere near the Sporting Goods counter.
 
"Can you really fault some Wal-Mart worker drone who probably is more interested in Pokemon than shooting for not knowing the law?"

Certainly. Well, not the actual clerk, maybe, but someone at WalMart (the sporting goods manager or even a WalMart lawyer) should have gone through all the applicable local, state, and federal firearms laws and boiled them down. The laws relating to retail sales are not *that* complicated, even in California.

Tim
 
it's cheap

you want cheap you go to Walmart, you want gun laws and knowledgable staff you go to a real gun store. Oh wait! You guys hate them too right? All the braindead dorks, mall ninjas and supercilous gun "experts"? :)

Seriously though, you can only get so mad at so many places. We all have bad retail experiences when buying all kinds of things.

I think we should be glad that Walmart sells firearms and ammunition. If you have a particular problem definitely take it up with the store in question. Management usually does actually care about such things.


G
 
Personally, I've had decent luck at Wal Mart buying ammo. Of course, many times I have to point the clerk to what I want. But, most of the times I hit my local Wal Mart, the gentlemen working there have been shooters, and I found them to be fairly knowledgable about the subject. May just be lucky. Of course, Gander Mountain is just across the street...
 
does it somehow make people feel better about themselves to make fun of some mimimum wage guy that allows them to get things cheaper and have more money left over?
 
does it somehow make people feel better about themselves to make fun of some mimimum wage guy that allows them to get things cheaper and have more money left over?
Click to expand...

My wife manages the local Wally World grocery competitor. In this county it's basically Us or Them, with a few tiny grocery stores scattered around. As such I get to see up close the current quality of cutomer service and the difference is striking. Both groups are around minimum wage but the Wally Wart crew is surly, at best. That's not a function of pay, it's a function of attitude and training and management's concern for employees and customers.

The minimum wage guy in the end gets to make a choice of how he presents himself and when so many do it so badly as is standard with Wally World yes, it is fun to poke fun at them and their apparently equally incompetent employer.

Shop where you want to shop....
Click to expand...

I used to, but then Wally Wart arrived and ran them all out of business...shortly before raising prices higher than the competitors it put under...
 
Just bought 3 Winchester bulk boxes of 9MM. Once I found the clerk, no problems.

Never really had a problem at mine, except one day when they were out of 45ACP.
 
Ya want cheap prices and then complain about the help. What do you expect?

These complaints about Walmart are just dumb.
 
Complaining about the quality of service at Walmart is like complaining that there is no Filet Mignon on the menu at McDonalds :rolleyes:
 
I've never had any problems at my local store. I just point to the box I want and that's it. I'm just there to buy ammo, not be educated by anyone or to educate anyone. Just let me pay for my ammo so I can leave! :D
 
Really? I've been in retail a long time too, and I'd have to say that comment is dumb. If the service is going to suck then why have the reps? Why advertise friendly service? Why pay those wages when they could simply stuff the shelves and leave customers to find it themselves, like the "Grab and Bag" grocery stores do?

So yes, if you're going to staff the floors then I expect the employees to be reasonably knowledgeable and reasonably courteous. Auto Zone manages it. Parts America manages it. Local retailers manage it. But WalMart can't and wondering why is dumb... OK, I'll try to keep that in mind.
 
The answer is 42
Click to expand...
But what is the question??? ;)


At least the last time I was in Wal-Mart and asked to look at some 7.62x39 ammo the clerk told me flat out... "I am a fishin' man myself. You'll have to help me out a little when it comes to ammo."

I did and everything was OK.

(I didn't know they carried 7.62x39). The local stores here never have!
 
No problem purchasing ammo at our local Wal-Mart.

I did notice at a Walgreens that when you buy cigarettes the register asks if the purchaser is over 40. If not, it asks for birthdate. :rolleyes:
 
Perhaps it's time THR added "Wal-Mart Bashing" and "LEO Bashing" forums so we could get back to pertinent gun-related discussions in General Gun Discussions and L & P.
 
You get what you pay for. Its sad, but if you want good service nowadays you probably have to pay the $2/box more somewhere else. They have to cut the costs somewhere- and the ammo is cheap.
 
As far as I know Wal-Mart is the last of the big box stores that still have a decent supply of ammo.K-Mart only sells shotgun and rifle ammo,Target sells no guns or ammo Meijers has a very limited variety. You go to Wal-Mart for the price not knowledge of firearm laws.
As to "You have to be 18 to by paint at wall mart enough said."
This applies to glue, propane cylinders,white out,fuel injector cleaner, etc. The babysitters in Washington want to make sure the kiddies aren't huffing it.
 
When we talk about our "line in the sand" we're usually referring to government intrusion into out personal business. In fact, we all have several "lines" in several different areas.
One of mine is at the door of Wal Mart. I live in Oregon and I won't go into a
Wal Mart to get out of the rain! Those low prices just cost too much!
 
I love the guy behind the counter at the walmart I shop at. I start asking for different kinds of ammo, and he gets a slightly confused look on his face, and says, "would it be OK if you just come over here and point at what you want, and then I'll take it out of the case?" This method leads to zero confusion and all parties end up happy.

Once I heard someone ask him about which shotgun to go with, and he said he didn't know much about them and recommended that the gentleman write down the model names and go home and do some research online and then come back and make the purchase. This seemed like much better advice than I've heard in some gun stores.

Some people might say they should hire someone who knows more about guns and ammo to work the gun counter, but I am very happy with someone who knows both their limitations and how to treat a customer.
 
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