fjolnirsson
Member
That's a fine idea, IMO.
The Walmart Ammo Counter: The dumbing down of America
- Thread starter dukeofurl
- Start date
- Status
That's a fine idea, IMO.
Try this:
Fill up one of those hand baskets with anti-histamines and lithium batteries.
Carry it back to sporting goods, sit it on the counter and tell the clerk you want all the 9mm ammo they've got.
One of two things will happen:
1) The clerk will attempt to delay you until the cops show up or
2) He'll say "You want to pay for that here or up front?"
If you do this, let us know how it worked out.
Fill up one of those hand baskets with anti-histamines and lithium batteries.
Carry it back to sporting goods, sit it on the counter and tell the clerk you want all the 9mm ammo they've got.
One of two things will happen:
1) The clerk will attempt to delay you until the cops show up or
2) He'll say "You want to pay for that here or up front?"
If you do this, let us know how it worked out.
No_Brakes23
Member
+1
I find it ironic that here in Draconian Cali where the Wally World doesn't even have firearms for sale, I have had mostly good experiences at the ammo counter. In fact the biggest problem ever is when there is no one there. The last 2 100 round value packs of .45ACP I got there was sometime around 10:30pm.
As for the handgun round issue, I try to be a little understanding. It's not really the clerk's fault that the law discriminates against 18-20 year olds. And it is easy to forget that some rifles chamber handgun rounds. For all I know that person at the counter may have been instructed to not sell certain rounds to people under 21. If it really bothers you that much, then go local, go online, or start reloading.
Honestly with all the tinfoil hub-bub about Wal-Mart selling our souls to China, I can't believe that the curmudgeons among us are shopping there anyway. I just try to avoid Wal-Mart altogether, except for certain items that I can't get elsewhere.
Taurus 617 CCW
Member
One night when I was buying ammo at the local Walmart I had an incident. The ammo selection and purchase went fine. She asked me for ID and I fished in my pocket for my DL. I realized that I left it in my windbreaker, out in the truck. I found my CCW permit in my pocket and gave her that instead. She said that they don't accept CCW's as a valid form of ID 
I was informed that they only accept DL's and passports. After picking my jaw up off the ground, I had to run out to my truck and get my DL. I made the comment that the banks prefer the CCW permits because they are harder to get than driver's licenses. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Well we aren't a bank."
I am amazed at how anti corproations like Walmart are becoming. If it weren't for their cheap .40 and 9mm I wouldn't shop there.
I was informed that they only accept DL's and passports. After picking my jaw up off the ground, I had to run out to my truck and get my DL. I made the comment that the banks prefer the CCW permits because they are harder to get than driver's licenses. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Well we aren't a bank."
I am amazed at how anti corproations like Walmart are becoming. If it weren't for their cheap .40 and 9mm I wouldn't shop there.jacketch
Member
I found that if I take in the end flap from the last box I purchased, they have a much easier time finding what I want.
itgoesboom
member
Jacktech, thats a pretty good idea.
I went to wally world on Friday, needing to pick up 2 bricks of .22lr and 2 value packs of 9mm, and had absolutely no problem. Clerk found the last 2 boxes of the 9mm, and had to scavange around to find the .22lr that I wanted, but was friendly and helpful.
Compare that to the experience I had earlier that day at Bi-Mart (it's a chain store up here that has good prices and a bunch of stuff....like a miny walmart).
Asked for some .22lr bulk packs, and the guy who worked the ammo counter tried to sell me .22 hornet.
It just went downhill from there.
I finally found what I wanted, but decided that I would have an easier time with less frustration if I just went to Wal-Mart. :banghead:
I.G.B.
I went to wally world on Friday, needing to pick up 2 bricks of .22lr and 2 value packs of 9mm, and had absolutely no problem. Clerk found the last 2 boxes of the 9mm, and had to scavange around to find the .22lr that I wanted, but was friendly and helpful.
Compare that to the experience I had earlier that day at Bi-Mart (it's a chain store up here that has good prices and a bunch of stuff....like a miny walmart).
Asked for some .22lr bulk packs, and the guy who worked the ammo counter tried to sell me .22 hornet.
It just went downhill from there.
I finally found what I wanted, but decided that I would have an easier time with less frustration if I just went to Wal-Mart. :banghead:
I.G.B.
cracked butt
Member
I must be one of the only ones here that has never had a problem at Walmart's sporting goods counter?
calzoom
Member
See the dummy
I saw this in a hardware store several years ago. Posted under a small mirror
at the service counter. "If you think I'm stupid check here."
Never forgot that and a LOT of customers had to have a look. Maybe someone could drop that in WallyWorlds suggestion box.
I saw this in a hardware store several years ago. Posted under a small mirror
at the service counter. "If you think I'm stupid check here."
Never forgot that and a LOT of customers had to have a look. Maybe someone could drop that in WallyWorlds suggestion box.
jefnvk
Member
Always loved the 'We check ID if you are under a certain age' line
It would sound like most of you simply want Wal-Mart to stop selling ammo. If you want knowledgable people, don't go to a big store. Heck, don't even go to some gun stores. They employ the same caliber of people at the local gun range.
And it probably doesn't help that its seems that some of you are probably not helping the situtation much either, with your actions against the person that came over to help you. It is not a good business decision for Wal-Mart to hire someone to stay at the ammo counter all night. Most people that run to Wal-Mart at 2 in the morning are not going to be buying ammo. Give the person that is trying to help you some slack, don't sit there all mad at him because he doesn't know the difference between FMJ and JHP, or he is asking you if it is for a rifle or a pistol.
I get about the same quality of service in getting things out of locked cases in the Electronics. It is not a plot to disarm you. It is a lack of employee's caring.
If it bothers you that much, buy online. Better deals, anyways.
Tom Servo
Member
I have three WalMarts in my immediate area, and they seem to operate under three different "company policies." The one closest to where I work only cards me occasionally and lets me take it up front to pay. The second cards me every time, asks me what kind of gun it's for and insists that I pay at the sporting-goods counter. The third (and I won't go there again) asked for my ID, and when I showed it, the clerk asked me to take it out. I wasn't thinking, so I took it out and handed it to him, and he started typing my DL number into the terminal.
I reached over and took it back and asked him what he was doing. He said that "company policy" required tracking of all customers who purchased handgun ammo. I replied that this was not the case at other locations, and that while I could understand my age being verified, I would not consent to having personal info taken. He then said that this was Federal law. I asked for a manager, who arrived after five minutes, and the manager told me that it was STATE law. Not in Georgia. I took my license and left.
I called a corporate number that forwarded me to a regional manager, and I told her the situation. Her first reply was, "HANDGUN ammo?" She hemmed and hawed and told me they complied with all local laws and such, and I informed her that there were no such laws in Georgia. No luck. She claimed that all locations were supposed to do this.
I'm not going to whale on somebody getting $5.25/hr, but if it's that much of an issue, local management should at least have some idea what the law is, and they should pass it down to their people. They don't need to be experts on gun-control laws; all they're selling is the ammo, and the only restriction is age.
I agree that you get as much service as you're willing to pay for, and at WalMart, you're not paying much, but still, I'm not asking much.
I reached over and took it back and asked him what he was doing. He said that "company policy" required tracking of all customers who purchased handgun ammo. I replied that this was not the case at other locations, and that while I could understand my age being verified, I would not consent to having personal info taken. He then said that this was Federal law. I asked for a manager, who arrived after five minutes, and the manager told me that it was STATE law. Not in Georgia. I took my license and left.
I called a corporate number that forwarded me to a regional manager, and I told her the situation. Her first reply was, "HANDGUN ammo?" She hemmed and hawed and told me they complied with all local laws and such, and I informed her that there were no such laws in Georgia. No luck. She claimed that all locations were supposed to do this.
I'm not going to whale on somebody getting $5.25/hr, but if it's that much of an issue, local management should at least have some idea what the law is, and they should pass it down to their people. They don't need to be experts on gun-control laws; all they're selling is the ammo, and the only restriction is age.
I agree that you get as much service as you're willing to pay for, and at WalMart, you're not paying much, but still, I'm not asking much.
Cool Hand Luke 22:36
member
No, it's more like complaining that the food at McDonald's is usually stale, or cold, and the lines take forever to get through; and finding that enough people are sick of the poor service at McDonald's to put a considerable hurt on the profitability of that company.
That's exactly what happened at McD's, and the company has moved strenuously to turn things around, Why?, competition, and that's what's missing in the Wal Mart equation.
I refuse to shop at Wal Mart unless it's a dire emergency and I need something at 11:30pm.
Cool Hand Luke 22:36
member
Good point, but when the sporting goods counter has nobody manning it, and it takes 35 minutes to get someone there, and they're out of .38 special, and then take another 35 minutes to check out, at that point I decide it just simply wasn't worth my time to visit their store again.
GunnyBob
Member
I've a cousin who is a Personnel Manager for WalMart, and have often asked her questions concerning the seeming lack of employee knowledge, and not just in Sporting Goods. Apparently, every worker is given rather voluminous information, called CBL or Computer-Based-Learning, pertinent to their departments. All Sporting Goods employees, for example, are provided information, then tested, but problems often arise when the "unwritten" WallyWorld policies conflict with the actual letter of the law. District Managers will flat out demand that certain ammunition sales be placed under scrutiny far beyond what the law requires, others will stress simply following the actual statutes.
Bottom line: Confusion reigns in an already confusing area that DOES require a certain level of expertise. Personally, I use the local Super Center only to purchase inexpensive range ammunition, and try to be as calm and understanding as possible. No sense getting angry with a kid that is trying to balance what he or she has learned with the oft times conflicting policies that can literally change from day to day.
Bottom line: Confusion reigns in an already confusing area that DOES require a certain level of expertise. Personally, I use the local Super Center only to purchase inexpensive range ammunition, and try to be as calm and understanding as possible. No sense getting angry with a kid that is trying to balance what he or she has learned with the oft times conflicting policies that can literally change from day to day.
2nd Amendment
member
Why? As Luke pointed out, questioning lousy service has the potential to force the improvement of that service. As I noted earlier, other retailers manage better, even excellent, service paying the same wages in the same areas. Why can't Wally World?
Think of it this way, if you got the kind of service from a waitress making a lousy $3.00 an hour(yeah, tips may make her much better off but there are no guarantees of this) that one usually gets from Wal Mart(disinterested, at best) would you tip her? If you get that same service repeatedly would you continue to go there and also never say anything about it AND tip her? I doubt it. Same deal here.
simon
Member
ROFLOL!!!!
The only wallyworld I've been in, in Lancaster,Ca., went in told the clerk what I wanted, payed for it, and carried it all through the store to the exit.Very easy..
Go to Wal-mart.go up to counter. under paid worker-can I help you sir? me -I need a box of 45's.-under paid worker- here you are sir any thing else? me - no thank you - under paid worker-have a nice day sir..-me - pay for 45,s and leave. what can I say,come to Texas have fun/good luck
38SnubFan
Member
Nope. I've never had problems either. Then again, I try to stay calm about these things. If they want a DL or CCW to verify something, I produce it.
The local Wal-Mart where I live (actually, there's three - all at about equal driving distances from the house) has never given me a problem. The personnel I deal with there are just as much of a gun nut as me, or have been taught by the gun nuts. Thus, nary a difficulty.
Only once when asked for ID, one employee noticed my CCW permit and asked if she could see it. She never said why, but I didn't see the harm and handed it to her. She handed it back to me along with my change, receipt, and Driver's License and told me to have a good time at the range.
I guess Wal-Marts where you guys live need to step up to the plate and learn a few things from the stores around where I live.
-38SnubFan
2nd Amendment
member
Maybe we should define "problem". While I've had hideous problems in Automotive, I've never had a "problem" at the sporting goods counter, per se. I have always had to walk the counter person thru what I wanted, whther it be ammo, knives, binocs, whatever. THAT is what I see as a problem here...
If you are hired at Auto Zone they train you. Sure, they want someone knowledgeable to start with but it doesn't always work that way, so they make you knowledeable. Back to that reasonable customer service standard. That's all I want from Wally World. A guy who can pull out the right caliber, the right knife, etc without me having to direct him every step of the way. A guy who has some basic knowledge of what the law is: yeah, you're the right age, no the set hours are just company policy and not "the law", etc.
If you went to NAPA and had to pretty much find your own parts for the counter guy would you be pleased?
If you are hired at Auto Zone they train you. Sure, they want someone knowledgeable to start with but it doesn't always work that way, so they make you knowledeable. Back to that reasonable customer service standard. That's all I want from Wally World. A guy who can pull out the right caliber, the right knife, etc without me having to direct him every step of the way. A guy who has some basic knowledge of what the law is: yeah, you're the right age, no the set hours are just company policy and not "the law", etc.
If you went to NAPA and had to pretty much find your own parts for the counter guy would you be pleased?
cortez kid
Member
In PA, you just have to pay at the sports counter. My complaint is that their selection/ supply really stinks. Last time I looked, every caliber is used in a rifle of some sort. Also their prices aren't always that great. Can't get cheap .44 anywhere, but I usually beat wally worlds at one of my local dealers. Same with .38. In my case, I have to go to three different places to get the best prices on ammo in the area. Saving up for a reloading rig to get the "best price".
good shootin
kid
good shootin
kid
Guns_and_Labs
Member
Seems reasonable to me. They already have a training problem, based on the other comments in the thread, why sign up for more training problems? If they accepted other forms of identification, they'd have to train the clerks what they're supposed to look like. Hereabouts, no one knows what they look like, and they don't look particularly "official".
I'd guess you might cause vapor lock if you tried to use a passport...but they probably can't legally exclude them.
NAPA is an auto parts specialty store....apples to oranges I think.
It's certainly understandable if the counter guy is not an ammo expert...there is probably only a customer there every half hour...the rest of the time he's in back incorrectly assembling bicycles with a pair of pliers or sticking price tags on skateboards. They sell golf balls too but I don't expect them to know which ones will spin less off a 7 iron at my swing speed. I don't get upset by them....I manage to get what I need without getting my blood pressure up.
What's not acceptable is for them to not know the law, the company policies and which is which.
It's certainly understandable if the counter guy is not an ammo expert...there is probably only a customer there every half hour...the rest of the time he's in back incorrectly assembling bicycles with a pair of pliers or sticking price tags on skateboards. They sell golf balls too but I don't expect them to know which ones will spin less off a 7 iron at my swing speed. I don't get upset by them....I manage to get what I need without getting my blood pressure up.
What's not acceptable is for them to not know the law, the company policies and which is which.
Guns_and_Labs
Member
Maybe they need to upgrade their Computer Based Learning...hire a few video game designers...put the program on Gameboy cartridges. I don't know about Walmart, but our computer-based policy manual is way too boring for the Nintendo generation.
kaferhaus
Member
I buy some ammo from WalMart because it's close by and usually cheap (I only buy the white box stuff there anyway). The clerks are not helpful, I always have to "steer" them to the correct ammo.
They are usually cheerful and polite.
I live in a area with a dozen or so gun shops.... ammo is outrageously priced in all of them, the idiots behind the counter (ok some of them are ok guys..) are not much more knowledgable than the Wally world zombies... but most all of them are "commando wannabes" and imagine themselves as "all knowing".... and most are arrogant on top of it.... They all close at 5PM monday thru friday and are only open 11 or 12 to 5PM on saturday.... I like many people work until 5 or later and by 10 or 11AM on saturday, I'm either already at the range or have already gotten involved with other projects... I spend almost no money with these local shops.
They're poor business people who don't cater to the needs of their customers and make them feel less than welcome..... I owned a gunshop in central Florida for 15yrs and made a damn good living from it.... I sold it to "retire" and move back "home" as my elderly parents needed care and we (siblings) refused to put them in a "home". The fellow I sold it too had to do nothing but leave well enough alone and be nice to folks..... he bellied up 3yrs afterwards....
Although I never opened on Sunday, I was open noon to 9PM Tuesday thru Friday and 9am to 5pm on Sat.... I did 80% of my business from 6PM-9PM Tues thru Fri!!
Always had a fresh pot of coffee in the showroom and plenty of gun rags laying about the counters..... amazing how many guys picked up a magazine and ended up ordering something that I never would have invested inventory money in!!!
Local gunstore owners are their own worst enemy.... WalMart's poor service and lack of selection should be making these guys wealthy....
They are usually cheerful and polite.
I live in a area with a dozen or so gun shops.... ammo is outrageously priced in all of them, the idiots behind the counter (ok some of them are ok guys..) are not much more knowledgable than the Wally world zombies... but most all of them are "commando wannabes" and imagine themselves as "all knowing".... and most are arrogant on top of it.... They all close at 5PM monday thru friday and are only open 11 or 12 to 5PM on saturday.... I like many people work until 5 or later and by 10 or 11AM on saturday, I'm either already at the range or have already gotten involved with other projects... I spend almost no money with these local shops.
They're poor business people who don't cater to the needs of their customers and make them feel less than welcome..... I owned a gunshop in central Florida for 15yrs and made a damn good living from it.... I sold it to "retire" and move back "home" as my elderly parents needed care and we (siblings) refused to put them in a "home". The fellow I sold it too had to do nothing but leave well enough alone and be nice to folks..... he bellied up 3yrs afterwards....
Although I never opened on Sunday, I was open noon to 9PM Tuesday thru Friday and 9am to 5pm on Sat.... I did 80% of my business from 6PM-9PM Tues thru Fri!!
Always had a fresh pot of coffee in the showroom and plenty of gun rags laying about the counters..... amazing how many guys picked up a magazine and ended up ordering something that I never would have invested inventory money in!!!
Local gunstore owners are their own worst enemy.... WalMart's poor service and lack of selection should be making these guys wealthy....
George S.
Member
The local Wally World sporting goods section ca't seem to keep anyone in that section for any length of time. There is usually one person who works the entire section so he deals with golf clubs, fishing gear, camping stuff and anything else that remotely resembles "sporting goods".
The biggest problem I have at Wally World is finding somebody to wait on me. Sometimes I think that if somebody is at the counter where the ammo or guns are located, the clerk goes and hides. You would think that I might have money to spend at their store so why shouldn't I be waited on?
The last guy that was running the section was a hunter and the assistant store manager shoots at the same range as I do. When I bought a Marlin 917 last year, and waiting for the clerk to go thru the paperwork, the assistant manager came over (to take the rifle out of the store per the policy) and I wound up talking with him for a half hour. Nice guy and both him and the clerk were very helpful. Both are gone now.
I have pretty much quit buying ammo there as the local monthly gun show has an ammo vendor with cheaper prices than W-W. And I now reload almost all of my pistol ammo so there is no real reason to go to W-W for anything.
And FWIW, the prices at Wal-Mart aren't really that much cheaper than other stores. When the local store opened, I wrote down some prices of stuff I usually buy at Target and compared them about 6 months later. Wally World had raised their prices when I went back and looked again. They advertise cheaper prices but if look and compare, there's an awful lot of stuff in a Wal-Mart that is not that much cheaper.
The biggest problem I have at Wally World is finding somebody to wait on me. Sometimes I think that if somebody is at the counter where the ammo or guns are located, the clerk goes and hides. You would think that I might have money to spend at their store so why shouldn't I be waited on?
The last guy that was running the section was a hunter and the assistant store manager shoots at the same range as I do. When I bought a Marlin 917 last year, and waiting for the clerk to go thru the paperwork, the assistant manager came over (to take the rifle out of the store per the policy) and I wound up talking with him for a half hour. Nice guy and both him and the clerk were very helpful. Both are gone now.
I have pretty much quit buying ammo there as the local monthly gun show has an ammo vendor with cheaper prices than W-W. And I now reload almost all of my pistol ammo so there is no real reason to go to W-W for anything.
And FWIW, the prices at Wal-Mart aren't really that much cheaper than other stores. When the local store opened, I wrote down some prices of stuff I usually buy at Target and compared them about 6 months later. Wally World had raised their prices when I went back and looked again. They advertise cheaper prices but if look and compare, there's an awful lot of stuff in a Wal-Mart that is not that much cheaper.
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