Gun Store Etiquette

[dave1918a2]

The one thing that makes Me leave any store is when I am in a conversation with a sales person and They say " excuse Me " and take a phone call. If it's a male I usually get close and say really loud "remember, We gotta meet the girls right after work." For the ladies I just change girls to guys.

 

[max]

No, it was downstate. I have stopped at Mega Sports a few times and wasn't impressed. I did buy a thousand primers there last year. The guy at the door wouldn't let me in until I told him what I was looking for. I was working that day also. I ask my boss if he cares if I make a stop and he always says no. Mega Sports is 5 minutes off the interstate and I skip lunch if I make a personal stop.

Would this have been Mega Sports in Plainfield, IL?

 

[Rat458]

Service seems to be on the bottom of the list of services offered by retail stores anymore.
I have been guilty of going to certain stores because of the prices/selection they offer .
But it seems they also offer the worst customer service experience also.
And some of the bad service ideas are being spread among them now.
I stopped going to Cabelas for firearm purchases when they started the 'take a number and stand in line' bit.
Spread to Basspro and now our local Sportsman Warehouse has started doing it.
Back to using my locally owned stores where I can just walk in and be greeted with 'Can I help you find something ?' and seeing several people behind the counter.
How do these store managers justify having only 2 people manning the gun counter when there are approximately 10 people standing there waiting ?

 

[Puller]

You are paying the same price as the checkout line with a clerk.

Yep, and I go through the checkout process about 5 times faster, the clerk is not handling all my purchases, and I get to bag it like I like with my produce together, my meats together, my can goods together, etc.

I didn't think I was going to like self checkout at Walmart, but now I much prefer it.

 

[pawngal]

Yep, and I go through the checkout process about 5 times faster, the clerk is not handling all my purchases, and I get to bag it like I like with my produce together, my meats together, my can goods together, etc.

I didn't think I was going to like self checkout at Walmart, but now I much prefer it.

I agree. I don't buy meat or very much fresh produce at Walmart. Most of the time I order online and pickup. Interestingly, then the like stuff is bagged together. Both of the regular grocery stores I use have self check out and I use it.

 

[Sarge9]

Patience Grasshopper !!

 

[S-W4EVER]

Last year I went into a local gun shop. While it isn't exactly a chain, there are several other stores in the area. I was looking for a particular handgun. The clerk checked his computer and said they had what I wanted at another store, about an hour away. I told him I wanted the gun, not to just look at it. I asked if it could be moved to this store. He said sure, and just stared at me. I asked if he would arrange it. His answer was, " you'll have to call the store and arrange it". Wow.

Not trying to hijack this thread but they could take a lesson from Les Schwab Tire Centers. Every time I've needed something they sell (in the past 35 years for me) they've gone the extra mile to get me what I needed ASAP (including driving to the next town immediately if another store had it in stock). Not the cheapest in town but I'd rather spend more to help employ good people.

 

[BC38]

Not trying to hijack this thread but they could take a lesson from Les Schwab Tire Centers. Every time I've needed something they sell (in the past 35 years for me) they've gone the extra mile to get me what I needed ASAP (including driving to the next town immediately if another store had it in stock). Not the cheapest in town but I'd rather spend more to help employ good people.

FWIW, my experience with Les Schwab has been very similar to yours. Better than average customer service definitely stands out in this day and age - just because it is so uncommon...

 

[Narragansett]

PSA has done fine by me. No complaints at all.

Here is my gripe with PSA. If you go there and they do not have the gun you want, but it is at the warehouse, they cannot order it at the store level and have it shipped into the store. The customer has to go online, order it, PAY SHIPPING to the local store and it still gets delivered by their truck on the weekly warehouse delivery.

 

[crows]

Yep, and I go through the checkout process about 5 times faster, the clerk is not handling all my purchases, and I get to bag it like I like with my produce together, my meats together, my can goods together, etc.

I didn't think I was going to like self checkout at Walmart, but now I much prefer it.

I never wanted to use the self checkout, but my wife would drag me through it. All of a sudden I loved it. I rarely have to wait for an open register, so I'm not standing in line behind people that want to debate the price of an item. If I want to know how a price is coming up on the register, I simply look at it.
I also have the pet peeve about how groceries are bagged. All cold stuff goes together. Canned stuff goes together. It doesn't seem too hard to figure out, but apparently it is.
And finally, I get to avoid unnecessary human interaction. I love the self checkout option.

 

[Bekeart]

No my experience with locally owned shop

Back to using my locally owned stores where I can just walk in and be greeted with 'Can I help you find something ?' and seeing several people behind the counter.
How do these store managers justify having only 2 people manning the gun counter when there are approximately 10 people standing there waiting ?

Recent experience at locally owned shop.
Had hear that the shop either had, or a companion shop had a particular model Smith.
Walk in an stand at counter.
Owner in "serious conversation" with a person.
Employee is standing at other counter and seems to be doing nothing.
I wait, wait, and wait.
Turn to walk out - suddenly I am noticed.
Do you need something?
I walked out in silence.

 

[Bald1]

I don't mind to much if an employee is not real knowledgeable on a certain item I'm interested in. It's hard to know everything about everything. As long as they try and service the customer I'll come back. At my local Cabelas there's a little hipster guy. You know the type. Skinny jeans, work boots and beard. Hes very opinionated. On a personal level, he and I would NEVER get along. But he's good at his job. I've actually seeked him out before.

 

[tlawler]

The one thing that makes Me leave any store is when I am in a conversation with a sales person and They say " excuse Me " and take a phone call. If it's a male I usually get close and say really loud "remember, We gotta meet the girls right after work." For the ladies I just change girls to guys.

Recent experience at locally owned shop.
Had hear that the shop either had, or a companion shop had a particular model Smith.
Walk in an stand at counter.
Owner in "serious conversation" with a person.
Employee is standing at other counter and seems to be doing nothing.
I wait, wait, and wait.
Turn to walk out - suddenly I am noticed.
Do you need something?
I walked out in silence.

In both of those scenarios, I've just turned and walked out. Doesn't matter if it's a trade supply house or LGS.

I really don't like salespeople in general. I love to ask them pointed questions in regard to an item I'm interested in and have researched extensively myself and then call them on their bs when they try and "wing it" with whatever limited knowledge they have or just outright make up stuff. The more they talk, the more I know they are trying to snow you. Remember, to them, you are just a mark.

I see an era in the not too distant future where salespeople are an anachronism.

 

[jeffrefrig]

This went from poor gun shop clerks to Walmart, which I despise.
A nice little sport shop up in the North Hills of PGH has about everything a hunter/shooter could want, pretty decent service, etc., except for the ONE old guy that always has something smart to say, and it's usually wrong. (that's MY job!) But, it's near a shooting range run by the PA Game Commission.
All I know about Walmart, is if I ever have to jump out of a perfectly fine-running airplane, my parachute will be made of whatever that material is that some of these beasts shove all those rolls of tires & fat into and put them on...then jiggle like Frosty when they walk.
Edit to add: As far as supply houses, I've told more than one nit wit that he's on THAT side of the counter for a reason. I know what I need!

 

[Buford57]

Would this have been Mega Sports in Plainfield, IL?

Wouldn't have surprised me. When they started requiring a FOID card to walk through the door and buy decapping pins 10 years ago I took my business elsewhere.

 

[Warren Sear]

I notice there are a lot of easily-offended pinky lifters on the forum these days.

 

[Autonomous]

It's tough on both sides of the counter with a high percentage of flakes everywhere.
Salespeople get just as sick of ****** customers as we do of bad salespeople.
Business owners don't get a pass either. When you are talking to a counter person, and he picks up the phone it's because she has instructions to take the call to try to make that sale. It is assumed you will stay in line and buy something anyway.

 

[Kiwi cop]

It's tough on both sides of the counter with a high percentage of flakes everywhere.
Salespeople get just as sick of ****** customers as we do of bad salespeople.
Business owners don't get a pass either. When you are talking to a counter person, and he picks up the phone it's because she has instructions to take the call to try to make that sale. It is assumed you will stay in line and buy something anyway.

I never mind the salesman/owner of my LGS taking a phone call. It's probably me on the other end of the call

Also they spend too much time in useless discussion with me at the counter.

 

[Harrison]

Max, I'm sure I'm going to sound like a curmudgeon, but this type of behavior in sales personnel is becoming more and more frequent. It used to be where a sales person saw their job as a service. Sadly, many of today's younger generation see it only as a job.

Thankfully at the small local gun store I frequent, the owner is the youngest one there, He is in his early 40s. The other three that work there (not all at the same time) could qualify as geezers. They are all helpful and friendly, and know their guns. But then it is a small store in a small town and depends a lot on return customers, and a good reputation among the locals. And, if they don't have it, they can usually get it in 3-4 days.

 

[GaryS]

Tractor supply does the same thing. They had a gun cabinet on sale and I was willing to buy the store model, but they couldn't find the key. The store manager said that she could order one and have it shipped to the store but the shipping would be $99. I went to academy and bought larger one for the same as the sale price at tractor supply.

Here is my gripe with PSA. If you go there and they do not have the gun you want, but it is at the warehouse, they cannot order it at the store level and have it shipped into the store. The customer has to go online, order it, PAY SHIPPING to the local store and it still gets delivered by their truck on the weekly warehouse delivery.