disappointed with a dealer

[Rifleman1776]

We have a new gunshop in the area. A friend works there so I thought I would check it out and try to give them some business. I ordered a Lee mold from them and never heard back. I called yesterday, after more than a month waiting, and got a real C&B story as to why he hadn't ordered the mold. In short, he told me the wholesale gun and parts distributors do not stock Lee molds. :barf: Pure baloney. I ordered my mold from an on-line website and it will be here tomorrow. When I owned my own gunshop special orders for my customers was a big part of my business and income. This is service that big stores cannot give. And, I never forgot that buying guns and accessories is supposed to be fun for the customers. Dissapoint them and they don't come back. Please them and they return regularly and often bring friends. I predict this new gunshop will not last long.

 

[noelf2]

I had a similar experience. I have a Pedersoli 10gauge sxs shotgun that has removable chokes. Not easy to get extra chokes. Rather than ordering online, I went to a local gun shop that specializes in CAS guns (but not exclusively). I asked if he could find me some chokes and he seemed positive he could. Weeks went by and I called him. I could tell he simply forgot about it, but instead said they just couldn't be had, and would have to be special ordered/manufactured and would be costly. I said "nevermind then" and thanked him. I went online and found that there is 1 shop in the US that Pedersoli sells through exclusively. They had the 10 gauge chokes on hand for $35 each. I would have gladly paid a bit of a markup to give the shop some business, and I certainly would have gone back for more supplies. Instead, I'll order online.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

If what they're telling you is BS, tell them it's BS. I don't do business with people who lie to me and I let them know. If enough people let them know, they may stop lying. They think it's acceptable because no one ever calls them on it. Let them know it's not acceptable.

 

[noelf2]

I don't know pk. Have to disagree with you on that one. I've been in the face of several store owners but I'm not going to stand there and call someone a liar. I'll walk away first, besides, I could be wrong. Calling them out can be the start of something very bad. If the shop owner thinks that lying is "acceptable", then the business is going to fail anyway.

 

[precision_shooter]

I don't know pk. Have to disagree with you on that one. I've been in the face of several store owners but I'm not going to stand there and call someone a liar. I'll walk away first, besides, I could be wrong. Calling them out can be the start of something very bad. If the shop owner thinks that lying is "acceptable", then the business is going to fail anyway.

When I KNOW that i'm being fed a lie, then I usually just walk away and don't go back...

When I am told something that I don't have any knowledge of, then I will say thanks, let me think about it...Then I will go research it to determine if I was given correct or false information and make a decision from there as to return and do business with them...

Through "hard lessons" it's unfortunate that I don't/can't trust what i'm being told by "professionals". Been given mis-information too many times and now I err on the side of caution becuase of it. Wish it wasn't that way, but there are too many people out there that love to take advantage of people with less knowledge than them on any given thing.

Buyer Beware is always on my mind...

 

[H.W. French]

A job worth doing

is worth doing right.
Firearms for me is a hobby. I am consistantly disapointed pretty much every time I walk into a gunshop. The lack of product knowlege presented to me by both owners and employees is astounding. It seems all you need is a business license.
When I worked in Outdoor Retail as a shop manager I made it my business to know every thing about every product we carried be it a Lexan water bottle or a kevlar canoe. Even the different stitching techniques used by the various boot manufacturers.
Vendors and reps were always more than happy to provide you with additional product information or help you provide a customer with the gear they requested sometimes out of their own personal stash. For this I was paid the princely sum of 10 bucks and 35 cents an hour for forty hours a week, though I regularly put in 50 against the wishes of my supervisor. It was a pretty small brick-and-mortar, overtime was not an option.
If we goofed on a special order for a customer we would correct it immediatley and usually expedite the shipping often going in the hole on the whole deal or at best breaking even.
These days I have pretty much taken to doing all my own research and buying most of my firearms from online businesses, though if the local GS has the model I'm looking for (rare) I will buy it there or at least have them order it for me. As far as I'm concerned they are just another middle man passing the buck along.
Shops that are on their game are few and far between. If you come across one let them know and spread the word. Give them as much of your business as you can. They deserve it.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I don't know pk. Have to disagree with you on that one. I've been in the face of several store owners but I'm not going to stand there and call someone a liar. I'll walk away first, besides, I could be wrong. Calling them out can be the start of something very bad. If the shop owner thinks that lying is "acceptable", then the business is going to fail anyway.

Well, if you don't KNOW they're lying then you obviously don't call them on it. The OP emphatically stated that he KNOWS it's "BS". In that case, I WILL stand there (briefly) and call them a liar, albeit a bit more "diplomatic" than "You're a liar".

Walking out without saying a word doesn't help anything. Most customers do that anyway, whether they're ever coming back or not. The guy is not going to wonder about why you don't come back. He has too many other things to worry about besides your absence.

Dishonesty doesn't put people out of business anymore. It should, but it doesn't. It's too accepted, often expected. It's part of "doing business". Many people accept and expect it because THEY DO IT TOO. Far, far too often.

I will not accept it, even though I have, sadly, come to expect it after finding it to be the case far more often than not. If enough people take a stand then maybe it WILL make a difference, maybe it WILL put people out of business, as it should.

 

[Rifleman1776]

peetzakiller, the shop owner told me that wholesale gun and accessories distributors do not carry Lee products. Lee is a very big name in the gun/reloading business. I have owned a gun shop, I know the distributors carry Lee products. They would be nuts not to, dealers would order elsewhere as I am now doing.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I agree with Peetzakilla.

It is my money and I chose to spend it where I want to. If I go to a shop and I know I am being lied to, I let them know why I am leaving.

One of the shops I used to like going to hired a new employee and he lied to me about everything. I begrudge no man from trying to make a living, but when you have to lie to do it, then I refuse to spend my money with you.

I ran in to a man who works at the store and he asked why he had not seen me in awhile. I explained to him what happened, I also told him that I informed his boss about the situation. He said he has heard the same thing from several other "used to be" customers, but did not know anyone had told his boss about it.

Does it make a difference to the shop owner? Probably not. But it makes a difference to me.

 

[BrittB]

On the other hand, don't forget to support the gun shops that do 110% for the customer. There are a few gun shops in my area and the one that treats me well gets my repeat business. I know the guy by name and he treats me like I'm royalty so I buy guns from him even if they are slightly higher than online which doesn't bother me so much. Even when he knows I'm just tire kicking he treats me the same.
Treating me like an idiot or a child by telling lies will only make me shop somewhere else and I don't have time for those kind of people. Support the good guys!

 

[chiefr]

I rarely ever deal with the local shops these days for the same reasons. Plus most shops in my area stock little if any reloading supplies. The ones that have reloading supplies charge almost double what On-line retailers sell their stuff for. Natchez, Midsouth, Graf, Midway USA, etc get virtually all my business.

 

[Don P]

I too have my issues with gun shops, new and old. Thought I had found the store that I would give all my business to. A fellow competition shooter and gun store owner. I asked him to order some belt shims for the Blade-Tek Holsters. I seemed to have lost 2 of them. I know these items are not not going to pay any overhead bills. I did purchase 2 holsters, 6 double magazine pouches, shooting glasses for the wife, 1 rifle, 2 boxes of ammo, and 1 handgun. The shims were ordered 2/5/11. No answer to email or phone call messages. Well folks GUESS WHERE THIS COWBOY WON'T BE GOING BACK TO. Guess we can say its the small things that add up.

 

[twins]

I rarely ever deal with the local shops these days for the same reasons. Plus most shops in my area stock little if any reloading supplies. The ones that have reloading supplies charge almost double what On-line retailers sell their stuff for. Natchez, Midsouth, Graf, Midway USA, etc get virtually all my business.

+1.

If I need to get something right away I go to nearest Sportmans Warehouse. They usually have it (or a substitute) in stock and at reasonable prices. Double phooey with gunshops.

 

[Yung.gunr]

I went to a big box store with my cousinwho is wanting to get a rifle. First off they won't take the locks off to even try the action or let you dry fire it. I was a little annoyed with that because most of the other shops I go to will let you except with the rimfires. Then he went on to tell my cousin all kinds of stuff with the know it all atitude that a lot of these clowns have. The part where I walked away was when he told my cousin that a specific off brand was just as good and they don't use lesser quality metals.
I guess it goes to show you that where you go is still very important. The store I go to, while it is also big box, I have never got these BS stories that this guy was trying to fill my cousin with.
He even had higher prices then every other shop in town and insisted he would beat every other price. My cousin asked him about online and he went off on how all the online stores are a joke. Sales rule #1 in my book is don't talk crap about other stores. I don't think I will ever go there again because of the clowns they hire. I went there before with my wife and son and the clown behind the counter was trying to hit on my wife, with me standing right there!!!!! They are not getting ANYMORE of my business.