Uneducated employees at gun shops...

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eventer289

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The other day I made a call to a local store that sells ammunition and other hunting/firearm related items. I was calling to see what they had in stock in 30-06 165gr (Walmart was sold out of 30-06). A college age girl answered the phone (I currently live in a college town). I told her what I was looking for, she paused and was like, "Well it looks like we have it in 1165 gr," to which I responded, "Ummm....I beg your pardon?" Then she asked me to wait a minute and said "Well we've got a bunch of 20's but not a lot of 30's." At this point I was like what is this girl talking about and I politely asked if there was anyone available that was more familiar with ammunition.

Granted, maybe it wasn't her department, but it would've been nice if she at least would have transfered me to someone that was familiar with ammo instead of continuing on for 3 minutes confusing me even more with something she knew nothing about.

Has anybody else had any memorable experiences like this at a outdoors/gun shop?
 
once a gunstore employee told me that the ar15 i was looking like had a 1 in 9 twist.

i said really?

he said yes, the bullet spins 9 times in 1 inch.

i said, "its a screwgun?"
 
I was at a local gun store the other day. An older fellow was asking about 22mag derringers. The clerk told him they weren't being made anymore.
 
Gun store employees are sales people. Sales people are not required to be experts. Some sales people are knowledgeable but not even close to all of them or a majority in larger stores. It'd be nice if they're in a field they're interested in but that isn't always the case obviously. I doubt most Mercedes salesmen are driving Mercedes. Some people just need a job and a gun store happened to have an opening.
 
a guy at cheaper than dirt tried to tell me that i should buy a ps90 because they shoot "armor piercing rounds". i told him that they don't sell that ammo to civilians and he didn't say another word.

that's the only thing that comes to mind right now, i usually have about one "***" moment at the gun store every week so i'm sure i'll add more later.
 
I was up at Cabelas by Chicago and was asking the guy about high powered scopes for a 22 target rifle. I told him what I already had and that I wanted something bigger. He kept suggesting scopes with less magnification then what I already had and I told him that those were smaller and that I wanted bigger but he didn't understand.

Cesiumsponge, sure that Mercedes salesman isn't driving one of his products but he knows one model from another.
 
I consider everyone an idiot until proven otherwise. ESPECIALLY low paid help at retail stores. I usually know more about the things I'm buying than the seller....
 
It's not just at the gun shops. I usually do not ask for help at any of the stores. If I need to research something I do it before I go to the store. This is true of the home improvement stores, Electronics stores, and obviously gun stores. Although of the three, in my experience most gun store clerks are better than the clerks in the other types of stores.

Maybe they could sell guns at Lowe's! THAT WOULD BE GREAT! ;)
They wouldnt even have to re-train their staff....why start now :D
 
This is like most big auto parts chains. It happens everywhere. I just try to have patience.

I have heard allot of stuff at auto parts that sounded allot worse then the descriptions in this thread.

At least the guy was close on the 1 in 9 twist. He was half right.
 
i actually had a great one today

i got a call from my gun guy alan he said my xl7 was in

so im waiting for him to finish with a customer(im a friend so i get to wait :( ) and his co worker ashley came out .....long story short i left with plans for dinner and a movie saturday :) !!!

ummm another time a guy at a gun show tried to tell me that a 9mm high point was more powerful than an 8mm k98 and that a .45acp was more powerful than the both of them

i asked why the 8mm was 10x the length then he said it was an older cartridge and it was using old technology

i just said "your new arent you" and left
 
We were at Sportsmans warehouse a few weeks back and had an older guy behind the counter waiting on us.
As we looked at various pistols I lost count at how many times we were swept with the muzzle.
He then told us of his fast draw skills.
Telling us that he likes to have people stand with their hands at chest level... about 8 inches apart.
Facing him while he draws.
When he says go they are to clap their hands together... and supposedly he is quick enough that they clap on the barrel of his sixgun.
Personally... this thought scares the hell out of me.
We went down the counter looking at other items... looked back and he and another customer were conversing... both with black plastic gun in hand... casually pointed at each other.
Finger on the trigger.
I want my own shop... so I can properly train and monitor my employees.


Jim
 
BigBlock said:
I consider everyone an idiot until proven otherwise. ESPECIALLY low paid help at retail stores. I usually know more about the things I'm buying than the seller....
Click to expand...

I was one of those low paid help at retail stores for almost 8 months.

I may not have known everything, but I was more than willing to look it up and listen to the customer if they happened to know more than I did.

Which, I might add, is more than you're doing by assuming everybody that happens to work a crappy job, taking crap from customers like yourself, getting crapped on by managers constantly, is an idiot.

Judge not lest ye be judged, All-Knowing One.
 
I was also a gun counter jockey for a while, at walmart even. I can honestly say, when I first started I knew very little, but, I didn't mind finding answers or helping anyone with any questions. Seems lately you just don't get that kind of service. If people don't know...they make it up. If you aren't willing to listen to their pitch and buy what "they" want you to buy...they walk off.
Maybe it is just my experience, but I always go "window" shopping with my husband, and the counter jockeys in most places act as if I don't exist...and couldn't possible know what I am looking for, let alone know what I am talking about.
This doesn't seem limited to just the gun sales business though, seems customer service and knowing how to do your job is a lost art every where.

Caryn
 
I will admit, I never cared for forcing a sale. I always directed people to CHL classes and go to the range and rent something if they couldn't find something they liked.

Or take a safety course, or hunter's education if it was a shotgun or rifle and they wanted to go hunting with their buddies for the first time. Some of the guys behind the counter acted like they were on commission.

But still, I get where people are coming from when they complain about bad help. Bad help is bad help. Sometimes though, I resent being lumped in a group with others that didn't satisfy somebody and they feel that all low-level retail people have IQ's smaller than their shoe size, bad manners, and a lack of responsibility.
 
I stripped a pistol with polygonal rifling in a shop one day and handed it, along with a bore light, to a friend who was with me and had never seen one. I simply said, "Check it out the smooth bore". After he laid it down, the person behind the counter picked it up and looked down the barrel...eyes got really wide as they rushed off to tell the owner that the pistol was worn completely out. If the owner hadn't known better, I could probably have bought a nice little 9x18 for 10 bucks.
 
Oops!!

I used to be a ski patroller at Cannon Mt. in NH. We had these old femur splints called a "Thomas Half-Ring" that was basically a long hoop of metal (kind of like a really thick coathanger but shaped to fit the leg) with a leather half moon shaped brace that goes under the butt to essentially pull traction against, thus relieving tension on the femur muscles to prevent further damage.

"Cheaper Than Dirt" firearm supply/co. had them for sale in the consumer catalog AS WORLD WAR II ERA MILITARY CRUTCHES!!!! Yes, much of our modern emergency medical care started in the military, but you really missed the mark on this one boys!!!!!

I got a good laugh out of that one...
 
This happened to my brother-in-law:
At walmarts ammo counter once my brother-in-law was trying to buy 12ga. shells. The clerk asked "Are these for a rifle or handgun?". He responded "Neither, there for a shotgun." This went on for 2-3 min. untill the other clerk said "Just sell them to him."

I laughed my a** off when my brother-in-law told me about this.
 
I was one of those low paid help at retail stores for almost 8 months.

I may not have known everything, but I was more than willing to look it up and listen to the customer if they happened to know more than I did.

Which, I might add, is more than you're doing by assuming everybody that happens to work a crappy job, taking crap from customers like yourself, getting crapped on by managers constantly, is an idiot.

Judge not lest ye be judged, All-Knowing One.
Click to expand...
I didn't say ALL low paid help is crap, but the truth is, most of it is. Yes, there are a few good ones, but generally, people who work for minimum wage, barely deserve it. Sorry if the truth hurts. Just a few hours ago I went to Wendy's. I ordered a double cheeseburger. I got chicken nuggets. This is exactly why I say I assume everyone is an idiot until proven otherwise. This does not only count for low paid employees, but everyone, up to and including the president. There are a lot more idiots out there than non-idiots, unfortunately.
 
I don't have a problem with people that don't know things.


I have a problem people who don't care or try to their job.
 
I don't have a problem with people that don't know things.


I have a problem people who don't care or try to their job.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. There's a big difference between "uninformed" and "clueless".
 
This knife cuts both ways. Think for a while about some of the customers/gurus that gun store clerks have to deal with.
Sometimes its more fun to listen to some of the wild tales from both sides of the counter than to fondle the guns.
 
I don't have a problem with people that don't know things.


I have a problem people who don't care or try to their job.
Click to expand...

That right there is my problem also. Laziness runs me up a wall, be it mental or physical. You get paid for a job...do it to the best of your ability.

Caryn
 
svxapeal said:
If people don't know...they make it up.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. There is really only one gun store I go to with any frequency. I'll stop at others sometimes, but my preferred place's prices are hard to beat and if they are slightly better somewhere else, there is something to be said for loyalty. The folks there are very knowledgeable and I couldn't be happier with their service.
This is the kind of place where you here a person say "I wouldn't even sell you this gun."

Ammo, I still buy at walmart and the people there are usually pretty good about stuff. If I go after hours there won't be a regular at the sporting goods desk, like tonight.
So when I ask for a particular ammo the lady helping me kindly said she had no clue about that kinda thing and if I could just point it out to her.
And to avoid the confusion that KC's bil faced they simple ask "is this for a handgun?" every time. and I just answer yes or no.

I've only had a somewhat negative experience once at walmart.
 
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