Uneducated employees at gun shops...

[tim71]

At a fairly small gunshop the othe day I asked if they had any 5.45 X 39 and he asked, "what's that used in?" and said he's never heard of it and I was the first person who asked for it. I had just purchased 3 boxes at another gunshop across town.

Tim

 

[gga357]

If not for some amount of profit why would anyone put them self through ownership of any business? If I as a business owner do not make a profit then I don't pay employees or my bills, vendors, utilities. The big boxes spend a much smaller portion of thier gross on employees. In the hardware busness your independent True Value, Ace and Do It Best are price competative with the big boxes.

Training takes time and although I do not pay as much as some of the big boxes. I have much better employees. I have a couple of part time retired gentlemen that have decades of knowledge. I have a female employee that has been with us for 25 years.

I can say that as a store owner if you have a problem with a sales person please let me know. I can't fix a problem I don't know about.

 

[chuckusaret]

I don't do any follow up business with stores that I find have idiots for sales people. Buying over the phone is hard enough without having to do business with a person that knows nothing about a gun or ammunition. For stocks etc I go to Choates, for misc. stuff I go to Daves Guns and for the purchase of guns I depend on the gun shows and private sellers. I found it is cheaper in the long run not to buy weapons off the net, the transfer, FFL and shipping far exceed the normal savings in most cases. The gun stores in my area of Florida normally set their products prices above the MSRP and negoiate down to the MSRP with the buyer. Customer thinks he is getting a good deal. The last three pistols I brought at the gun show averaged $75 to $100 cheaper than the local dealers.

 

[aka108]

Seems almost all business's that don't have a automatic answering system will put the least paid most recently hired person in the organization on the primary phone. If you battle thru the automated system and get a person, same applies. Not a gun deal but my wife took the Mercedes into the local dealer for some minor work and the service writer, standing by the car, asked her if it was a MB or BMW. She didn't leave the car with them.

 

[Mp7]

i get the feeling, that gunstore-aides fear nothing more
than an encounter with THR-Members

But seriously - especially since google - i´ve always been
overinformed before going to a shop.


... gardening equipment, lighting, pharmacy....anywhere.

 

[onebigelf]

Not knowing I can live with. Going into a shop and being ignored as I stand at the counter for 15 minutes while the owner, his son, and two hang-outs have a long and wide-ranging bull session makes me nuts. When he finally could be bothered to talk to me I said, "I'm headed to the range. I need 300 rnds of 9mm and 400 of .223.... which I'll drive across town and get at WalMart so I don't disturb your conversation." And then I left.

John

 

[expvideo]

Nice! I hate that too. When I walk into a gun shop I have to practically beg for attention, and then if I don't decide to purchase a gun that day, I get an even worse attitude. *** is up with that? When I was younger it was ok to shop around and see what options you have, then come back with money. Nowadays everyone expects you to either spend 2 seconds looking and then spend $800, or not waste their time. I shouldn't have to sell myself a gun. Someone should be interested in the salesman aspect of the business, instead of just acting like know-it-all cashiers and intentionally ignoring customers.

Seriously, you practically have to wave a wad of cash at these people for them to pay attention to you. I like to shop around. I like to see all of my options, get a feel for a gun then go home and do my homework on the gun, make sure the price is somewhat fair, read reviews, etc. This means I get treated like crap at gun stores. That being said, I do spend money at gun stores. I'm not just a window shopper. But I still get this treatment. It seems that you have to be buying AR15s on a regular basis to get anywhere near quality service at a gun store. I have had good service at only a few shops, and I try to give them my business as much as possible.

Sorry for the rant. For a long time I was a salesman, and I really hate when I get bad service when someone should be giving me the attention that I would give to a customer if I were trying to sell them something. And I am sick and tired of this "if you're not spending $800 right this second, you're wasting my time" attitude.

ETA:

Let me tell you a positive story of a good salesman at a gun shop. I wanted to buy an AK. I did some research so I knew what I was looking at and went out to the gun shops with a $500 budget. I was treated badly at most of the gun shops because I wasn't looking for an AR15, and they couldn't be bothered for a measly $500 sale. I was pretty sure that I would have to sell myself a gun, but at the last shop I went to I was treated half way decently. The guy took his time with me, explained the benefits of the $700 Polish AKMS on the wall and really sold me on it. He convinced me to use the money that I had and put it on layaway. He ended up with a $700 sale because he took the time and was courteous. If the guys that ignored me for 20 minutes and then acted like they didn't care about my business had taken the time, they might have gotten my money. Instead I spent $200 more than I was planning to at one of their competitor's stores.

 

[zammyman]

I was in Sportsman's Warehouse and asked if they had any A-Bolt rifles in stock. He looked at the rifle rack for a minute then turned to me and said "who are those made by?" Certainly not a dumb question, just shocked me to hear when they've been sold for so many years. This is a store with the smallest gun inventory in town, too.. not much to keep track of.