Was I in the wrong?

[ErikO]

I would have taken my cash out waved it in the jerks face. Let him know where I stand. " You blew that person off now I'm blowing you off "

I work in a small business. If we can not help a customer with a certain item, service or issue we offer to find it for them or direct them to the vendor that can help or address need. WE WILL even get on the phone for the customer track it down confirm stock and direct them to said supplier or vendor.

Just today I had a person come in needing head gaskets for a Laars Boiler. I told the cust we do not rep Laars. Made a phone call and got him setup with the local Laars Rep. Later in the day he returned and purchased a McDonald & Miller flow switch, level control and relief valve from us and thanked me for the direction as he started into the project of repairing the boiler.

I would have told that LGS owner to suck root right in his face!

^^^ This.

So far I have not returned to many many gunshops over the years. There are still a few that I go to in order to learn new things and interact with owners that know how to be nice to potential sources of income.

The rest can pound sand.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

I don't see that the OP did anything wrong. Maybe the store owner's problem was with notion of a derringer. If you'd had an unhappy circumstance among your friends or family with a derringer, you might overreact.

A derringer killed his son. Molested his daughter, too.

 

[Ringolevio]

Stay classy

natman:

I'm not saying the owner couldn't have handled it better, because he could have. But once you're inside his door, any business is his, to accept or turn down as he sees fit. Making any sort of side deals while in his shop is out of line, period.

Ash_J_Williams:

You seem in the minority on this one.

So whether etiquette and respect are worth pursuing is now a matter of whether one is in the majority or not?

The clear majority of folks nowadays have precious little in the way of taste, class or morality. Does that negate those values?

There also seems to be a clear majority of folks nowadays for whom their own feelings trump anybody else's. You seem to be a member of that majority; Congratulations.

Majority rule is mob rule. That's why we're a republic and not a democracy.

You titled the thread "Was I in the wrong?" By my reckoning (and the reckoning of several others in the minority) Yes, you were in the wrong. You can dismiss that opinion because it's a minority opinion, or you can accept it and quit rationalizing that you were in the right.

You don't want to shop there again? Fine! The owner knew that was the risk when he told you off. And he certainly didn't have to be a jerk about it. But you were still out of line, and it's not always about your feelings.

 

[oldfool]

I don't believe in competing with a business owner for business on his own property,
but guns are not hard to find, and neither (unfortunately) are ass hats
That guy don't need my money, and I don't need whatever he is selling, because he doesn't understand that he is selling service, not hardware.
I am not walking into a LGS with the expectation of them handing me money; I hope to hand them my money, and I require extreme little cooperation to get that done.

As much as I prefer to pay a little extra to do business local, it is not my patriotic duty, just my preference... "Buds" et.al. need to feed their family too

"The rest can pound sand."
yep

 

[Ole Coot]

He was wrong just for the way he told you. I'm too old to take that crap from anyone. I just suggest a place where he can go and not need his long undies and walk out. I also furnish free advertising for the establishment to everyone I know.

 

[WaltonS]

I agree with the general consensus, you did nothin' wrong. Myself, personally, I would've politely waited for a pause in conversation and said "Hey, guys, if you wanna talk, talk. I just wanna be perfectly clear that for a number of reasons, I can't allow any private transactions on my property. Cool?"
I've seen interesting things happen in that vein. A cop saw a couple guys once exchanging a case (presumably containing a rifle) for money outside one of the LGS's here, and raised all sorts've hell, assuming it was a straw purchase.

 

[Bobson]

I agree. I don't think you did anything wrong either, especially considering the quick apology. Seems like the owner might have been one of those uppity types who always leave you wondering, why are you even in this business?

 

[natman]

The OP's question is "Was I in the wrong?" and things seem to be concentrating on the owner, so let's split this into two separate questions, the first concerning the OP and the second concerning the owner:

Was the OP wrong to step into a transaction between the shop owner and another customer?

Yes. The shop is the owner's business and while you're in it you should mind your own. Period. It may seem to you like the owner's not interested, but it's not your call to make.

Did the owner overreact?

Maybe. Was the owner justified in objecting? Yes. Could the owner have phrased his objection better? Probably.

It still doesn't make the OP right.

 

[jerkface11]

You obviously got in the way of this guy telling someone NO. That being the main reason people open gun stores.

 

[230therapy]

You didn't do anything wrong, but keep in mind that the gun store owner has to protect his FFL. BATFE will do anything to get rid of a gun store. They send undercover people into stores to do all sorts of crazy stuff in order to entrap sales people. "Operation Fast and Furious" demonstrated that the BATFE will illegally send guns into a foreign country and promote the managers in charge of operations where their agents commit multiple felonies. The organization clearly is willing to commit the worst of crimes and has no qualms about entrapping citizens engaged in commerce.

There is also the issue of sales in his place of business. Best to do it outside on "non-gun store" property.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

Was the OP wrong to step into a transaction between the shop owner and another customer?

Yes. The shop is the owner's business and while you're in it you should mind your own. Period. It may seem to you like the owner's not interested, but it's not your call to make.

Did the owner overreact?

Maybe. Was the owner justified in objecting? Yes. Could the owner have phrased his objection better? Probably.

It still doesn't make the OP right.

Weird. I wouldn't call a disinterested, unhelpful shop owner being walked away from by a customer with his hand on the door as having a transaction for which someone could "step into."

 

[midtennpawnstar]

Working in a pawn shop i have some experience with this kind of thing, and i for one do not believe you were in the wrong at all, like you said the owner didnt offer to really help the person therefore there wasnt any money at stake for him anyways

The only time i have ever said anything like that to somebody is when i am trying to buy something off someone and another customer tries to one up me , then i tell them i pay for the license to operate the buisness, the power bills, employee's salary and a whole ton of other cost and if they want to be competition they should open up shop down the street otherwise i get first shot.....If i were you i wouldnt do buisness there if the owner got ugly and it wasnt justified.

 

[StrutStopper]

The only buisness the shop lost was that of the OP's. The propriator may have had a legitimate reason to not allow a transaction to occur in his store, or for the OP to take away business if the shop owner had any intention to assist the other customer in some way (order the gun, FFL transfer, etc.) But it appears the owner had no intention of doing business with the customer. IMHO the shop owner was out of line and I wouldn't be returning there anytime soon.

 

[Havegunjoe]

I think I would have followed the guy out and approached him outside of the store. It just strikes me as bad form.

 

[oldbear]

i dont think you really did anything wrong....

some store owners dont like people doing private sales on store property, liability or something like that.....

but the owner could have informed you of that without yelling and acting like a jerk.

Yes he could have and should have. +1.

 

[230therapy]

He didn't have any in stock, and he didn't offer to order any. He told the customer to buy one online if he was interested, didn't offer to do the transfer fee or direct him to any specific store or site.

These are the key elements showing that the gun store person was not interested in pursuing a transaction with the customer.

Many gun stores will break out the catalog and try to find what you're looking for. Maybe my experience is out of the ordinary.

 

[TXdefender]

Gun store owner was most likely thinking by blowing off the derringer the customer would buy something he had in stock. Many people will browse and leave just to come back and buy something after looking around. If you sold the guy your gun the owner thinks the customer then has less chance of returning to buy. He didn't have to be a jerk about it though. I can see both sides of the story here. Personally I would not have done that inside the man's store. Personally I would not do business with that store after seeing that treatment of a pontential customer. You don't always have to yell at someone to give them a lesson and explain why.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

It is incredibly rude to try to conduct business in someones else's establishment, no mater how it was done. It's just bad manners. Not to say his reaction wasn't over the top, but you should have gone outside to conduct business.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

These are the key elements showing that the gun store person was not interested in pursuing a transaction with the customer.

Many gun stores will break out the catalog and try to find what you're looking for. Maybe my experience is out of the ordinary.

This is my experience too. That is, with stores that don't treat your business like a chore. Could explain why gun stores are becoming less and less frequent. I called a guy today about a guy in the classifieds who had "pistols for sale, too many to list." He was incredibly terse, and after listing a few that were all collector's pieces, I said, "I'm not looking for collector's pieces, just something to shoot, so my price limit is maybe $500?" and he said "I don't have anything under $500" and yelled about how all his stuff was collectable and if I want collectables I better expect to pay for it... Some people. Another guy, whoever, was very polite and we both said "thank you, have a good day" after we knew neither had anything the other wanted. There's no reason to treat business like a hassle or customers like you're doing them a favor.

I think I would have followed the guy out and approached him outside of the store. It just strikes me as bad form.

Done that before. Which would you, logically, be more apprehensive about: a customer stating their entirely legal offer in front of you, or a customer running outside after someone else, standing nearby and talking where you can't hear their conversation, and then coming back in to finish their purchase as the other person drives away? If he's worried about legality, which is the only logical answer, then one makes you look like a honest person selling your personal property in a venue of shared interest, and the other makes you look like a shady weirdo who can't state their business in public.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

The dealer should have asked to order one for you but you shouldnt try to sell your own stuff there, its HIS shop! Secondly, ATF doesnt like it either.. All firearm transactions in a gunshop MUST go through the dealers A&D book. You can however go out to the parking lot and exchange phone numbers.

 

[Powerglide]

That's the kind of store folks who make others look bad and get stereotyped.Lots of that iilk these days.