Advice for gun store owners (humor?)

[Coinneach]

--Make sure you open after other businesses, and close before they do. 10-4 Tuesday through Friday is a perfectly reasonable work schedule.

--Loudly berate your potential customers for flatly refusing to buy a shiny new Sniveling Weenies product, or for wearing a Libertarian t-shirt.

--Ignore potential customers whose skin is darker than yours.

--Ignore potential customers who look like cops. If someone dresses in Dockers and a polo shirt and has a short haircut, he's obviously setting you up. Especially if he's looking at Evil Black Assault Weapons.

--Charge laughably high prices on abused, shot-out, ill-maintained, one-step-from-the-junkpile guns. After all, you have to make up your profit margin if you've followed the preceding advice.

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I for one am not surprised by the slow death of Ma 'n' Pa's Shootin' Irons Emporium and Bait Shop. Service in the retail gun trade is terrible and getting worse. I've been driven away from more gun stores by ignorant salesthings, outright hostility, and just flat stupid business practices than by the laws.

Retailers, pull your heads out. We (gun owners and buyers) are on your side. Stop alienating us, lest you slit your own throats.

 

[Oleg Volk]

Yep. Got to hear enough racist drivel in three of the area stores, don't visit them any more. Got ignored in a couple of others (only had $1K to spend). Treating customers as nuisances is also common...

I go to Gun Stop in Excelsior, MN (612) 474-4570: they combine the lowest prices in town with the best, most friendly service. I plan on buying things like 10-22 from them even though it would cost me 15% over a chain store (everything else is cheaper at Gun Stop). Howard, John and Larry are nice people and their business does well thanks to their efforts. Some of the others in town deserve penury for their so-called "efforts".

 

[support_six]

To your point #5, I've always wondered why pawn shops and retail outlets put a price tag on used guns with a price almost equal to a new gun! Do they expect you to negotiate? I certainly wouldn't pay the high prices they ask. Can anyone explain this, or has anyone had any experience with negotiations on these guns?

Bruce

 

[BigG]

I know what you mean. The only thing I hate more than racist drivel is how some people go out of their way to draw attention to their harumph uniqueness then whine about it when somebody doesn't get it (to use a clintonism) or give a f@!k.

 

[nwgunman]

Jeez, all this time I thought it was just me. Maybe because I have an IQ somewhat above room temp, or maybe because my parents taught me to be polite, courteous and to use good common sense. My girlfriend is nervous about going into gun shops with me because of all the foul, scary things inside....like the proprietors! Well, sorry if I've painted with a somewhat broad brush. I've been to quite a few gunstores in my life, and have some very fond memories. Maybe this is what makes the "bad" shops seem that much worse.

 

[croyance]

How many times do you have to sit around listening to how the guy was in Special Forces? Then you have to hear why you must buy this gun.

 

[George Hill]

Its a sad truth... Gun Shops have the worst when it comes to Customer Service, People Skills, and everything else that could make a retail purchase pleasant.

This is one of the few things that make Gun Shows look good. These same guys are often a lot more pleasant when they are outside of their little worlds.

There is only one gun shop that I know of where the Customer Service is actually not bad... And I havnt been there in over two years. Green Top Sporting Goods on Route 1 north of Richmond in Virginia. Big store - Big selection - Nice people. They are very busy because the store is always crowded... but when its your turn you get full attention until you chose when your done.
At least thats how it was last time I was there. Please dont tell me its gone down hill too!
The otherside is the gunshops that are staffed by Customer Service oriented guys that dont know jack... Thats as useless as tits on a boar. Everytime I go to one I spend an hour educating the other shoppers because I have to correct everything the sales moron is saying. Such as you can not fire .357 in a .38 revolver because Point Three Eight is bigger than Point Three Five Seven. I actually had to convince the guy to open two boxes of ammo to PROVE IT.

The upside is when you can find a shop where the people are both cool and smart. In Salt Lake City - your out of luck. In West Valley you have a little Gem. Custom Arms is pretty danged good. Cool guys and they will take the time to BS with you and answer questions and show you EVERYTHING in the store. And they have a big selection too. In American Fork there is the AF Gun Range - nice guys but the selection is thin. The best - and worth the drive is RANGE MASTERS in Springville. Place is just cool and the so are the staff. Selection is getting better all the time.

 

[David Scott]

Hey, vote with your dollars. There ARE good, friendly gun shops, and they deserve your business. There are three here in central Florida that have been consistently agreeable and competent every time I've been there, and that's where I spend my money.

Credit where credit's due:
Buck's Gun Rack, Daytona Beach
Pat's Pawn & Gun, Leesburg
AAA Guns, De Land

 

[Dr.Rob]

You generally find that they all like the color of your money.

The only time I've had a problem is with the 'hey long hair!" looks that you get sometimes, or people not realizing that you are seriously shopping rather than browsing.

Yeah and weve all had our share of armchair commandos.

HEY FITZ! Welcome back

 

[Mike Irwin]

Couple of years ago, after NRA laid me off, I took a job at a gunstore to make ends meet.

Eventually, one of my best customers was an African-American US Marine Officer and his wife, who would deal with me, and only me.

We became extremely friendly, and over beer one night I asked him why he wouldn't go to anyone else.

"You're the only person I've ever come across who treats me like a gun buyer who doesn't really know a lot, and not just another dumb N*****."

I don't think I've ever had a nicer compliment.

 

[Mr. James]

Yes, George Hill!

I haven't been in a good while, but I have a co-worker who visits Green Top four or five times a year (we're in DC) and each time he comes back raving about i) the quality of the service, and ii) how busy it is.

I've also gotten great service from Clark Bros. in Warrenton - real friendly, helpful folks (I believe it really is a family operation). Also, free range time with any firearms purchase.

Then I go to Blue Ridge Arsenal, where the sales staff ranges from great to outright sullen and hostile. Of course, this is the shop five minutes from my home. Pricey, too.

 

[Correia]

Ah, but George you forget about the single best gun store in the SLC area. Doug's Shooting Sports. :barf:

Biggest bunch of imbecillic morons that I have ever met. And I hope they read this. Fools, utter and complete fools. They do not even attempt to obey ANY of the basic rules of guns safety. They point guns at each other. They sword fight with guns, no I'm not making that up. It is true. It is hard to believe that anybody could be that stupid and still stay in business but they are. It is very common for the folks behind the counter to pull out a gun, not check it, point it at you or somebody else, with their finger on the trigger. When you say something about it they mumble something about "oh its not loaded." Oh you better hope it ain't because mine is loaded. And if you shoot me on accident I guarentee that it will be the LAST and FINAL thing that you ever do.

I can almost tolerate ignorance in sales staff. I'm used to it. But I can not tolerate blatent violations of gun safety.

I have been in that store 3 times. The first time I thought that it had to be some kind of aberation. The second time, it was a different person. But still stupid. I waited a few months and went again. Nope still stupid beyond all hope or comprehension. I moved to this town and that was the closest store, but I will never set foot in that door again. And I have bought nine guns in the last three years. You would think that I'm the kind of person they would like to have come into their shop. ARRGGHHH!

 

[Goet]

See, you have to earn respect at Doug's. You wave your money around and promise to pay extra.

Why don't you just report them for Agg. Assault?

I would. Or maybe I'd just call an ambulance....

Seriously, I have bought a gun or two from Doug's. Crappy service.


plus, get this:


They charge you the fee for BCI even with a CCW!!!

Double the fee if you don't have one.

 

[George Hill]

Larry, I didn't fail to mention Doug's... I REFUSED to mention Doug's. I was trying to look for the POSITIVE places here in Utah.

Actually - The very Coolest gun shop in Utah is a PAINTBALL GUN shop. Pegleg Paintball in Orem. Those guys rock to a shockingly high degree.
Now, if I could convince them to get an FFL and retail some Sigs, Hks, Glocks, and Springfields... NIRVANA!

 

[Correia]

Ah, Pegleg. Good bunch of guys. I went to college with some of them. Can't ask for a better group.

Doug's. :barf: :barf: :barf:

I love that new smilie.

 

[RikWriter]

It also seems like the Good Guys don't want to be in the business anymore. We had one of the Good Guys with a shop here in town...real nice fella from Illinois by way of Missouri. He had a successful shop...hell, he had everyone in town coming to him. But he was getting on in years and decided to retire and now we are left with an overpriced pawn shop, an obscenely overpriced gunshop/range run by an ouright liar and cheat and a hole-in-the-wall with very little merchandise that is also overpriced and run by a know-it-all who also has been known to knowingly and unknowingly cheat his customers and doesn't know crap about gun laws.
I have to drive a half hour to get to a semi-good store now.

 

[beemerb]

In Prescott and Prescott Valley AZ there are only two place I will even go into anymore.Both in Prescott,They are Bills Trading post and Yavapia Pawn.No service nor any I stand behind what I sell anymore.PLUS no service.Its sad that out of 8 places that sell guns only two are worth going to.
I was at Bills this morning.He had two Sig 220 mags made in Germany(not Italy).He now has none.Cost me but I am getting sick of junk mags that break all the time.Lost a Packmayr yesterday.Emailed them yesterday and had a repley this morning telling me to send it back to them.
Sure a lot better then mec gar who ignore you.

 

[Monkeyleg]

We have two very good shops in Milwaukee: Badger and the Shooters Shop. The people behind the counter are friendly, pretty knowledgeable and courteous. They're fun shops to hang around in. Their prices tend to be higher than some that you can find on the internet, but they have overhead expenses, so that's to be expected. Now if I just had some cash to give them...

 

[Bacchus]

Let's not forget an important aspect of gun stores: the clietele they serve. While I can respect what Mr. Hill mentioned about keeping others safe, oftentimes I have had to listen to other customers tell me why they think one gun is better than another or why I should buy something different.

I understand that some people like to congregate at gun stores and "talk shop", but I believe that privacy (about purchases, choices of calibers, etc.) should be respected. Just because I go into a store doesn't mean that I want to hear stories about a stranger's last hunt.

Wow, that sounds rough. I guess sometimes I just want to go into the store, buy my stuff, and leave.

 

[BigG]

I think Bacchus has a good point. Sometimes the worst feature of a shop are the "hangers on" who use up the air and spout expert opinions that nobody asked for.