Uneducated employees at gun shops...

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A few weeks ago the salesman at Dick's Sporting Goods told me a Mossberg 590 didn't exist -- just the 500.
 
I was a salesman for a long time. So I don't talk to salesmen, at least not to the point of letting them try to sell me something. I will talk to a cashier and let them ring me up. The fact of the matter is that the same salesman who will tell you that a Bulgarian 5.56 AK is the best one week will also tell you that the Romanian WASR in 7.62x39 is just as good and that Bulgarians are overrated the next week if the WASR is what they have in stock.

I was a salesman long enough to learn that the best product is the one you have in stock. Which keltec sub2000 is the best, the one that takes 9mm glock mags, or the one that takes .40cal beretta mags? Let's see... the .40cal is in stock, so I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is the better of the two.

The fact of the matter is that if you really want to get the right product, you have to do the research yourself. The gunshop guy isn't concerned with getting you the perfect gun for your situation. He is only concerned with getting you to spend money. And he wants you to spend it today, not next week, so he will always recommend the gun he has in stock over the gun that you would like to order.
 
I tried to buy some ammo at Dick's that seemed to be a good deal recently. I had to find someone in another department to come over to the gun counter and help me.

He stated right up front that this wasen't his area, and he didn't really know much about guns/ammo.

I was frustrated that he seemed pretty confused about 9mm vs 9mm "parabellum," and I think people might sometimes get pretty inacurate info or miss out on a deal in a situation like that.

All that being said the guy was honest about his lack of expertise and wasen't a jerk.

If I worked at a big box store I might know a bit about the gun counter, but if a customer dragged me over to the golf department I'd be a fish out of water.
 
If I worked at a big box store I might know a bit about the gun counter, but if a customer dragged me over to the golf department I'd be a fish out of water.
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That's a good point. Just because there is a gun counter at the store doesn't mean that we should be expecting everybody in the store to be a gun expert. It's not a realistic expectation. Now, if you're going to a gun store that is dedicated to selling guns and nothing else, you can have an expectation that the salesperson will at least have a basic knowledge of firearms.
 
Some people just need to be taught and trained, as they are new to firearms and the like. Some people are just lazy, but EVERYBODY showing even the slightest interest in firearms or firearms safety deserves patience and understanding while being "informed" about such things. One thing we all have to remember is that ALL of us were once "wet behind the ears":cool:
 
OK so I went in to a gun store that was just refinished. I was looking for a new pistol. As I walk in I am greeted by a small, pregnant, vietnamese girl about 30.

As I am looking at the pistol selection they don't have anything that I am interested at the time. The woman starts asking me questions about what I am looking for.

About this time all I am thinking is I really dont want to try to explain every little thing I am looking for to this woman (I assumed that she didn't know much). So I say simply that I am looking for a CCW. She starts giving me all kinds of good suggestions. She goes on and on, then offers to give me a discount if I want to order thru her. She then starts asking me about what type of ammo I am planning on using and holsters and the whole gambit.

So I left the store feeling really impressed and a complete idiot for assuming she didnt know much. Needless to say I have brought two weapons from her at a very good price, and I plan to keep going back to her for most of my weapon needs.
 
Is this really any different than hardware, auto parts or any other kind of store employees who don't know anything about the products they sell?
 
I got into an open carry debate with a gunshop owner who was completely adamant that it was illegal for someone who is under 21 to carry a handgun in any way. He informed me that his friend who happens to be a Sheriff AND a Lawyer(what a champ!) told him so. :banghead:
 
I will say, working in a gun store, I was more than happy to learn what I could about anything. By that same token, If I was asked about something I didn't know about, I pointed them toward someone who did. This wasn't to pass anyone off, but to make sure that they got the service they needed. I had plenty of 1911 and Glock questions sent my way, so I was happy to send muzzleloading and reloading theirs.
 
expvideo,

No offense meant, but if that was your approach to sales, then you were not a good salesman.

Any good salesman is going to ask the customer questions about what they want, how they plan to use, budget, etc. Once a good salesman gets a feel for what the customer is looking for then they can make suggestions. Those suggestions will never be based on what is in stock.

Like a lot o other people have mentioned, there are bad sales staff at just about any store you go into. But these are some funny stories.
 
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Some people just need to be taught and trained, as they are new to firearms and the like. Some people are just lazy, but EVERYBODY showing even the slightest interest in firearms or firearms safety deserves patience and understanding while being "informed" about such things. One thing we all have to remember is that ALL of us were once "wet behind the ears"
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truer words and all that...
 
You'd like to think that all gun owners are great people and you would love to have a conversation with them, but some people are totally ignorant when they're being as rude as you can get while "discussing" something with an employee that has a handgun in hand, has leverage, and well within arm's reach to receive a barrel imprint on their forehead. Amazing restraint, I tell you.

People, ain't nothing new about service. It's a two-way street. Be courteous, and receive like treatment. Have a little patience. Not everybody is as quick on the draw as you may be.
 
The last time I had a female salesperson at the gun shop it caused a HUGE fight between me and the Ol' Lady !

I was so amazed that there was such an intelligent, well articulated female gun person, I was accused of spending too much time talking to her. I did ask her how she got into the sport and knew so much.

The Ol' Lady said "did you get her number a**hole ???!!!?"..............

Don't make mountains out of molehills, you're just wasting precious energy on BS................
 
LOL, I cant say that happened...my wife got me my last pistol from the girl at the gun shop.
 
This is not about a gun shop employee, but he could be. A freind of mine found a classified ad for a Browning High Power in 9mm for $375. He calls the guy and asks if he still has it. The guy tells him that he does and he gets directions and drives about an hour to pick up his prize. When he gets there the Hi Power is a Hi Point. Sad thing, the guy told him that he paid $375 for it and was just trying to get his money back.
 
Not just salespeople. I recently had a simple question about what was printed in a Ruger instruction manual (I wasn't sure if the caliber information was a typographical error, since it appeared to have contradictory information on different pages). Neither the manual nor the website have an email address, so I called the phone #. Six automated options, and none of them have anything to do with a customer with questions. So I picked one, got routed to 'technical support', cajoled the poor lady into using the internet to find her company's website, and then the manual, and then the page I was interested in, and then spent 2 minutes getting her to find the paragraphs I was interested in, and after she read aloud several times, she finally agreed that there seemed to be a question. She was very nice, offered to find out and call me back, and did in fact call back.
 
At the local Wal-mart the sporting goods guy has me come behind the counter and point at what I want, because... I guess he can't read the boxes himself?
 
I called around once to gunshops looking for 7.62 Tokarev ammo. One guy told me he had 9mm Makarov and it was the same thing.

Went to Dick's once where they had 9mm ammo on sale. Told the clerk I wanted a dozen boxes so he counted out 10.

I notice a lot of these threads (not all) deal with big box stores. People who work at big box stores generally aren't hired because of their whizz-bang knowledge of all things gun. Some are probably good. Some are really bad. And most are in the low-paid middle.
But if you're looking for low prices, don't expect great service.
 
expvideo,

No offense meant, but if that was your approach to sales, then you were not a good salesman.

Any good salesman is going to ask the customer questions about what they want, how they plan to use, budget, etc. Once a good salesman gets a feel for what the customer is looking for then they can make suggestions. Those suggestions will never be based on what is in stock.

Like a lot o other people have mentioned, there are bad sales staff at just about any store you go into. But these are some funny stories.
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Actually I was a very talented salesman. You sell the customer what fits their needs, and explain to them why it fits their needs. But you sell them what you have that fits their needs. If they need a small concealed 9mm handgun with a polymer frame, and all you have in stock is a Taurus, you'll point them toward the Taurus over ordering a Glock. I'm not saying that you would point them to a 6" .357 instead. I am saying that you take their needs and find something in stock to sell to those needs. While the glock might be the prefferable handgun to sell, the Taurus is pretty comparable and it is in stock. If you recommend a Glock instead, then you might lose the customer if they want to purchase a gun today instead of waiting for the order. They might shop around and find a better price.

I'm not saying that a good salesman recommends garbage to the customer either. A good salesman will try to satisfy the customer. If the salesman has determined that the glock would be far superior to the Taurus for that particular customer, he may gain a repeat customer by explaining why he would recommend waiting for it to be ordered.

I sold cell phones and I was one of the top rated salesmen in every company I worked for. Taking care of the customer is always #1, and customer satisfaction does generate business. But you have to deal with what you have on hand most of the time.
 
reading the above post, I'm reminded of one of the first rules of selling: SWAT (Sell What's Available Today). It's one of the reasons (after working in electronics sales for years) that I'll never go to a commissioned salesman unless I have to.:scrutiny:
 
FOMOGO - "He [the gun saleman] 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."
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That guy has quite obviously watched his DVD copy of "The Magnificent Seven," far too many times. ;)

L.W.
 
The folks at Wal Mart don't have to have a lot of gun knowledge, but I expect them to be at least literate. When they can't tell the difference between "Winchester White Box" and "Blazer Brass" from the colors of their containers (mentioned in the name) and the words written on them, that makes me wonder how they're allowed out in public. I knew what colors and shapes were in pre-school, so "white box" would seem pretty easy. When they start trying to hand me different calibers it annoys me too. Again its a question of literacy. no part of "9mm" contains the numbers 4, 5, or 0. I'm not asking for anything that isn't printed right on the box, usually in pretty large print.
 
At Eighteen

I worked in a Sporting Goods store. I sold many firearms, but I wanted to be a travelling firearms salesman. I applied and was accepted, until that company discovered I wasn't twenty-one and unbondable at that time. Somehow I entered the fishing boat market in a BIG way. Selling over a million dollars a year worth of fishing boats, I left the firearm industry that I loved so much. I'm OMC and Mercury Certified, but I never lost my interest in firearms and handloads. In 1974 I discovered I was a top jewerly engraver, although Weatherby wanted to hire me as a gun-engraver, I already established my engraving studio. I'm now retired, so all the other possibilities have eluded me due to my decisions. cliffy
 
Generally speaking, the gun shop employees I've encountered are knowledgeable. Except for the ones saying that the Taurus Judge loaded with .410 birdshot makes the ideal home defense gun, or that if you shoot a badguy between the eyes with a 9mm it will only make him mad, but hit him with a .45 and it will throw him back 10 feet. :rolleyes:
 
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