Why not to give bad clerks a second chance.

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If I have a bad experience with a place, I will tell people about it if it comes up in the general course of discussion. But otherwise, most of the people I associate with know I dislike certain stores.

As an employee at Academy, I realize I have to humble myself. What I would chastise certain people about at my home or a friend's home, I can't do at the store. Simply because I am getting paid to fix what they screw up. I can't press my values or anything on any customer, unless they specifically ask for my advice and I tell them what I honestly believe.

I was chewed out for about thirty minutes by one of my managers because one customer felt compelled to complain to them about how I handled them. Something about me not knowing the exact details about a certain reel behind the counter and him over-exaggerating what he was planning on doing. Said he was going to spend over $400 at the store on a rod and reel setup, but he was really looking at a $60 reel, and our most expensive rod is about $120.

Anyway, several weeks later, some prick explodes on us because we can't give him every last detail on some reel, and so I get fairly rude and snippy with him, and I fully expected him to complain to a manager, but he refrained. Mostly, I just called him out on what he wanted to find and answered his questions with damn rude answers.

Sometimes, employees can't deal with certain situations due to past experiences. Had the second situation been the first time, I wouldn't have minded so much. But because I know how ridiculous some people can be, especially now that I have more experience under my belt, I know what to expect. I'll treat everybody polite and respectful and go the whole way for them. But if somebody decides that they're better than me and treat me like horse crap, then yes, I will not treat them like a customer, and I could really care less what management, co-workers, or other customers think of that. If they believe I did right, then great, if they believe I did wrong, oh well.

Point is, sometimes employees have bad days, bad experiences, but if I had a bad experience at a store, I would avoid going back to it if I could. If it happens more than once, you can't blame it on bad days, don't give them any more chances.
 
Gun shops are a pet peave of mine. I seem to either get complete idiots behind the counter or condesending elitist. Not much in between. A nice friendly gun shop seems to be almost an oxy moron. The elitist will tell you they are grouchy because they have to deal with complete morons all day and the idiots will tell you the same thing:D:what:. I thought sharing your knowledge and helping others, kind of went with the territory.
 
Write the owner. It will at least give you peace of mind knowing that either a) the clerk was berated or b) the owner is a jackass too.

Also, in a best case scenario there is a good chance that he will give you a discount or a freebie. I'd include a couple of things in your letter that you actual want like the reloading supplies. Or mention that you will go to the big box store because the glock is $50 cheaper - and see if he discounts it.
 
In both cases I would have told the clerk in question I wanted to speak to the manager/owner immediately. Then I would simply ask whether that is the behavior they want the employees to exhibit or not. Yes I leave, no I stay. As for the Glock, I feel that when a gun store cleark hands me a gun it is reasonable to expect that I am going to examine it as thoroughly as they did when they took it in and that includes removing the slide. If they don't want me doing that, they should say so up front, and perhaps offer to do it themselves.
 
Store property...Store rules. Why would you assume...not being
a regular and well enough aquainted with the counterman for him to know your skill level...that it would be okay to disassemble a gun without first getting permission?

I'm well-known in local gun shops, and they all know that I'm fully qualified...and I always ask first.
It's just the proper thing to do.

For the record, I don't think that the clerk was at all out of line. My response would have been pretty much the same...except I wouldn't have been as polite.
 
For the record, I don't think that the clerk was at all out of line. My response would have been pretty much the same...except I wouldn't have been as polite.
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Just curious, but what would you have said? And what is wrong with being polite? Isn't that the high road to take? In fact it is one of the rules on this forum. Also, it would be more conducive to selling stuff to people. But I guess if being right outweighs the desire to make a living then perhaps Darwin had something going when he came up with natural selection. As is the case in most of the posts on this thread, most people upon hearing this story would not want to enter a store that is constantly going to make you feel like an idiot and a jerk every time you make minute mistakes.
 
Different location, similar situation. There are two ranges about 2 miles apart near me. When I first moved here, I had could have gone to either, but one had a decent website, so that's where I started doing my shooting. I took my CHL course there, taught my wife to shoot clays there, and never had a problem. At the end of March, my wife's cousin was in town. He'd never shot a gun before, so off to the range we went. There was a Mexican dude there, shooting with his whole family:wife, 3 kids, brother; and all of them having a great time. We had similar .22LR target pistols, and traded back and forth. We moved to the 50 yd range to fire our .22 rifles. He had a spinner set up, and let us shoot that, too. Real nice guy. Suddenly, here comes one of the range staff.

"Boy, you must be made of money to be shootin' that thing!"

Me and Pedro: "Huh?"

"I just hope you got the money to pay for fixing up the damage you caused!"

again, "Huh?!?", Pedro, "What do you mean, sir?"

"That spinner! It's sitting right in front of my railroad ties and tearing them to pieces. You keep shooting that thing, you're buying me a new railroad tie!"

At this point it would be appropriate to point out that the range is pretty low budget. Target stands are pretty rickety and typically shot to hell.

Pedro took the spinner down, and left after letting his 7yr old daughter finish drilling out the bullseye with Dad's bolt-action .17. If the RO had simply asked clearly in the first place, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. But our inability to immediately understand his cryptic comments only made him angrier about what was really a trivial problem. I started wondering how long it would be before one of the staff treated me the same way. Or would they never treat me wrong, because I'm not Mexican (white)? I decided that I didn't need to go back.

Lo and behold, the range up the street is cheaper, and the folks are courteous and professional.

Moral of the story: You don't have to tolerate poor treatment of yourself or others.
 
Anyway, I just wanted to write this mostly to just ask store clerks to be patient with your dumb customers.
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You are not a dumb customer: you are an experienced and informed customer. Do any of us buy an auto without breaking it down first? I don't.

I think what may have happened is he realized you knew more about firearms than he did. To save face he came up with that ridiculous response.

The others have nailed it: send the owner of firearms you intent to buy and why you'll be taking your business elsewhere. I would imagine as an LEO the owner is going to cringe a bit since you'll not recommend that store to fellow officers, unless there are some deep discounts available and you don't have to work with that guy again (see where I'm going with this?) :)

Don't let his ignorance supplant your knowledge as the least common denominator. You did the right thing and he just didn't know how to handle it.

Thanks,
DFW1911
 
Rude clerk at a gun shop? You gave him one more chance than deserved. Rudeness is a habit for this person. I would have let him know the first time how much money the business would be losing. He would not care, he gets paid either way, just make me feel better.
 
Uh...Say buddy! You wanna ask somebody before ya start takin' liberties with our guns
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And if he had asked would you have let him? If so, than while the customer may have been wrong for not asking, it wouldn't/shouldn't have been a big deal. Certainly not a big enough deal to be rude about.


And you're reply isn't very impolite. You get the point across without making the customer feel like an idiot or that he's being yelled at.
 
And if he had asked would you have let him?
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No. Not unless I knew him AND had knowledge that he was experienced enough not to damage the gun.

And you're reply isn't very impolite.
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Oh, trust me. My tone and facial expression would be plenty impolite. Been there and done that.

If you'd just bought a new pistol, and headed out to your car with your prize...and somebody you'd never met before asked to see it...and he immediately started taking it apart without asking...what would your reaction be?

After having worked the other side of the counter, I still never cease to be amazed at the people who feel like just because they MIGHT buy something...that it somehow entitles them to do as they please with somebody else's property.
 
I'm a little surprised that the LEO is suggesting that he'd clandestinely record a gun store clerk's conversation! Wouldn't that be illegal?

I never let service people get away with being rude to me, any more. I did when I was young and dumb. Stand up to the idiots, and make sure the manager is aware (sometimes you may have to get a little loud). In any retail business, money talks. Make sure they know what it's costing them to be rude to you. Even if you don't get what you came for, it feels good when you leave, and a couple other customers leave with you.

Life's too short, eh?
 
For the record, I don't think that the clerk was at all out of line. My response would have been pretty much the same...except I wouldn't have been as polite.

Oh, trust me. My tone and facial expression would be plenty impolite. Been there and done that.
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Random thoughts. . .
 
For the record, I don't think that the clerk was at all out of line. My response would have been pretty much the same...except I wouldn't have been as polite.

Oh, trust me. My tone and facial expression would be plenty impolite. Been there and done that.
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Random thoughts. . .

• I've been on both sides of the counter. Used to help out a partner in a sister agency who owned a gun store/indoor shooting range. Lot of us fed boys helped him out. You would have lasted about one, maybe two days working for us with that kind of attitude.

• What never ceases to amaze me is how many clerks seem to know more about the law than most law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges all put together.

• Likewise, the same goes for gun-store groupies.

• The second thing that amazes me is that to listen to most gun store clerks talk about their own weapons and their shooting abilities and experience, Rob Leatham, Elmer Keith, Audie Murphy, John Wayne and Rambo would bow down in awe.

• Likewise, the same goes for gun-store groupies.

• It may be "your property" all right, but if you want me to buy it, you'd damn well better let me look over it and check it out. When I'm looking at cars, I don't ask permission to pop the hood.

• While some folks can tear up a crowbar and anvil, it's pretty hard to damage most modern era handguns by breaking them down into barrel, slide, spring. If your guns are that fragile, no thanks--I'll stick to my guns that aren't.

• A lot of folks who are shopping for guns are novice owners. They may not know or be aware of all the etiquette surrounding gun stores. You can either make a customer for life by how you treat them, or you can make a detractor for life by how you treat them. Choose wisely.

• Conversations like this one remind me why I do as little business as human possible with retail gun stores.

• Conversations like this one remind us all why online gun "e-tailers" are booming while brick and mortar gun retailers are busting.

Jeff
 
I'm waffling on this one.

I'm in the process of "breaking in" a new dealer so we're back to square one where I ask permission to do much of anything. Thus far this has mostly been dry-firing revolvers that didn't yet have a turn line. (The response has been a reasonable "Go ahead but once or twice only, please.")

I can't say for certain I'd have been as circumspect about taking the slide off a Glock - it's not like these things have mirror polished blue surfaces. On the other hand, I can't much imagine why I'd feel compelled to do so - unless Glocks have a history of rare yet visible barrel issues.

But I'd probably take my medicine if he advised me the Glock slide was the same as a NIB model 40 or an STI Legend in his view. It's his Glock.

One thing for certain: if it started with a lecture about holding the door open, matters would never have gotten as far as the manner in which I inspect the merchandise.
 
I'm a little surprised that the LEO is suggesting that he'd clandestinely record a gun store clerk's conversation! Wouldn't that be illegal?
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Depends on state law. Would not be illegal in Michigan if done in person. Would be a felony if done on the phone.
 
Not unless I knew him AND had knowledge that he was experienced enough not to damage the gun.
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But this customer already disassebled the gun, without problem, and without damaging the gun. So why lecture him? Maybe politely inform him that he should have asked, by why be rude over something the could have happened (damaging the gun) but DIDN'T!

If you'd just bought a new pistol, and headed out to your car with your prize...and somebody you'd never met before asked to see it...and he immediately started taking it apart without asking...what would your reaction be?
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I wouldn't let him see it! BUT, if I was trying to sell it, I certainly would allow him to inspect it, and actually would expect him to.

I still never cease to be amazed at the people who feel like just because they MIGHT buy something...that it somehow entitles them to do as they please with somebody else's property.
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It's called "doing business". It's not doing "as they please", it's doing what any reasonable person would be expected to do. You are not justified in being rude to a customer just because they MIGHT do something to damage the merchandise. And even if some customer gives you cause, why be rude when being polite might serve the same purpose while not driving the customer away!
 
I dood dat once.

One of my two most embarrassing moments with firearms.

This was back in about '65, when you could buy a German Luger for about 10% of what you can nowadays.

I got interested in them and did a little book-research, and found out how to strip one (no, I don't remember how anymore, and there was no internet back then) and walked into a gun shop.

Asked to see a Luger, asked if I could strip it to check it out (I really just wanted to show off my "expertise"), the guy said sure, and I stripped it down quite professionally.

I looked at the mechanical guts all critical-like, poking my eyeballs here and there, flexing the toggle, holding it up to the light and all that "perfeshinal" crap, said ok, and tried to put it back together.

For about five minutes.

Getting redder and redder with each second.

You know the end of the story, don't you?

You know how a bad dog looks when he skulks away from you?

I guess there are jerks on both sides of the counter.

I'm one of them.
 
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longdayjake said:
for a few seconds (not more than 5) I held the door open to look for the price of the puppies...the same clerk spouts loud enough for everyone in the store to hear, "How about I go to your house and hold the door open with the air conditioning on."
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Wow, that's uncalled for. A "could you close the door please, the air conditioning is on" would have sufficed. It's not like you did it out of spite. Judging by your recount of the situation, you did the right thing not to do business there.
 
I engage a rude person, calmly.
Much of the world will tolerate that behavior and that's why they keep being rude.

I'm not looking for a fight but to clear the air. Rude people do not expect a conversation, they are used to drive by comments or insults. This works 80% of the time. ( I'll admit it helps being NFL sized..)

It's evident in all retail not just gun stores. Customers can be a pain in the ass however you are getting paid to sell to them. Seek employment elsewhere if you are miserable.
 
Alot of wrong in this

First off being LE doesnt mean squat about knowing about guns. Ive worked with LE ROs and had to watch them hold many officers hands at cleaning their own wepons. Same officers every 4 months.

Next off, it's the store's property. Why should they let random dudes take things apart? Working at a store I've had to redo a glock after people missed a rail and rammed it together. You could have broken it.
 
While I can see the point of the clerk not being comfortable with you field stripping the gun, I don't see that it's an excuse to be rude. Bottom line is, most people work hard for their money and most hobbies are expensive. And shooting is an expensive hobby (for me anyway). I absolutely refuse to spend my hard earned cash in a place that doesn't find it necessary to be courteous to me. I'm not asking for them to kiss my butt, but I think they could at least be professional enough to be kind. And if I got that kind of attitude a second time, before I even got in the door, I would never return.

They obviously don't need your business.
 
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