What does a good gun store need?

[earlthegoat2]

I am going to toot my own horn here.

The only thing a gun store needs is: The gun I am intrested in at the time and ammo.

I do not need accessories. The only good holsters that you can reasonably get are online because it is so hard for a gun store to keep every style of holster for every gun made, in every color all the time.

I can get scopes online. It is very unlikely the store I am in will have what I want anyway with the crazy reticle thing going on.

Most of all, I dont need a knowledgeable sales staff.

I research my own guns. I will buy guns online as a total last resort. I make it my business to know what I am buying. I make sure I know more than the other guy about my guns. I dont buy what other people know or think they know. I dont ask opinions of sales staff I go in and see if they have what I want and I buy it if the price is fair (not good but at least fair) I dont care if they treat me like crap. They have what I want so they are going to win my business.

I have thick skin and I am a know-it-all so to heck with the people working there. I am going to get what I am going to get and they will have no say and they are going to like it.

 

[DammitBoy]

Jeez, I feel all special being able to deal with some great gun shops that have people who are friendly and helpful and sometimes knowledgable about what they are selling...

 

[c-bag]

I get a weird vibe with most gunshop employees.

+1 on this.

 

[withdrawn34]

Unfortunately, what many of these poor service gun stores don't realize is that online gun stores, and the prevalence of internet connections among gun owners mean that they can go out of business in just a few more years if they don't clean up their act. The market can be cruel to those who do not run their businesses well.

 

[stroked250]

my local gun shop...

Yeah, the gun shops around here NEED to have better customer service! I’m sick of being treated with disrespect and like I’m a moron. This past weekend I had my worst experience at the local gun shop…

Ok so back in July of 2009 I finally got my pistol permit and I purchased my first hand gun. A Springfield Armory 1911-A1 GI from a local gun store on the Berlin turnpike, (can you guess who)? Well the problems started right off the bat, the 1911 would not properly feed ANY type of ammo. When I say ANY type I mean everything from round nose to hollow points. Almost every round would jam, this happened with the factory mag and the two Chip Mc power 10 mags I had.

So I decided to bring the 1911 back to the gun store where it was purchased at. I talked to the gun smith about what was happening and he was more than happy to take a look at the gun. He took it to the back room where he polished the feed ramp, throated the chamber and did something with the ejector. They then took my gun into their indoor shooting range and put a few dozen rounds through it. Not a single round failed to feed. Up to this point I was pretty happy. They did that work for free! Great right? Yeah I thought so to.

I have had this gun for just shy of 6 months now and it has been my ONE and ONLY carry gun. Haven’t had money to get the amount of shooting time I would like due to being laid off for the winter but that’s besides the point. I was out at the range this past Friday with my friends and when I got home to clean my gun I noticed the plunger tube was half way out of the frame. I pushed it back into the frame, it seemed fine, but every time I clicked the safety on it would pop out again and a few times the safety went off just by being inside of my IWB holster!

Great, another problem, I have a gun that makes me start to feel unsafe while its on my hip. So Sunday morning I bring it back to the same gun shop to have the gun smith take another look at. I explained what the issue was and he says “yeah that’s not a problem I will take it in back and fix that right up, give me a few minuets I’ll be right back.” I ended up waiting for almost half an hour before he came back with an unhappy look on his face. I didn’t get any good news. From what he told me, when he tried to re-stake the plunger tube, his tool crushed the tube instead of seating it into the frame of my gun, scratched up the frame a little, and worst of all they did not have a single plunger tube that would work in my 1911 to replace it with!!!

So my next question is now what? I asked how much they would give me towards a trade in because I don’t want to carry a gun that I cant trust to be 100% all of the time. The owner offered $325, because he wouldn’t be able to sell it form more than $400 due to its present condition. The condition which was caused by THEIR gun smith!!! The gun is hardly broken in with less that 600 rounds through it. I said the hell with that. The gun brand new was $529. They said they can send it back to Springfield to have them take a look at it. They told me that my gun is being sent out on Monday morning and I was told not to expect it back in less than 2 weeks! So for the hell of it I called Monday afternoon to ask if it had been shipped out. Bad idea, the guy I talked to snapped at me almost to the point of yelling, like I was interfering with his day. I then asked if he knew about how much it would cost for Springfield to cut dovetails and install night sights, Bad idea again… “ NO f**king idea” was the response. I then asked if he had their number so I could call and inquire with Springfield. His response then was “What your so helpless you cant look it up yourself?” Then HUNG UP!

What do you guys think?

 

[N003k]

I think I'm happy I don't personally go there too often, and don't buy from there at all, jeez. Never really liked the feeling in there and the way the staff acted before, but, that's worse then I thought...

 

[Claude Clay]

i have bought from his grandfather & father.
many address ago and the service was good.

time changes everything--especially when the younger generation is more concerned with profits than satisfaction. the 'H' grows and will continue to prosper cause so many new come into the area makes up for those who go elsewhere.
i vote with my feet and walked away from them a decade ago.

 

[oasis618]

A dog by the wood stove.

Holding a bottle of single malt.

 

[General Geoff]

-A clerk who is knowledgeable, but who also knows how to say "I'm not sure, but I can find out for you."
-Reasonable prices.
-A policy to follow state law in terms of carry (i.e., they do not prohibit open or concealed carry in a state that does not prohibit such).


Everything else is gravy.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Carry guns that fit on both sides of the price line as well as in the middle. Carry the less expensive stuff and the high end stuff. And don't snub those who can only afford the lower cost stuff. I've been on both ends before. I don't mean the extremely cheap crap out there, I mean the reasonable priced stuff from the major gunmakers.

 

[StarDust1]

Guns & ammo along with a small staff thats not so smart that their stupid....

 

[stroked250]

yeah that would be nice too!