Independent George said:
Fortunately, we have gun forums where nobody ever gets bad information, and we only ever get measured, balanced opinions respectful of differing viewpoints rather than fanboys...
I chuckled at this...
But in all seriousness, as someone who has lurked here for years, and posted for a few months, the quality of advice on this forum is, on average, not only some of the best I've seen in the firearms community, but probably the best I've seen on any internet forum. There is plenty of bad info too, but the amount of quality info more than makes up for it.
In terms of getting bad info from gun shops, I think it has a lot to do with the culture of the individual gun shop. Obviously, every gun shop has both good and bad employees. But I've noticed that some gun stores almost always give me good advice and vice-versa.
There's one gun shop in Louisville, which I won't name, for obvious reasons, where the staff consistently press you with their unwanted and often unfounded opinions. It's not nearly as bad as what most of you have described in this thread, but I just know that every time I go into this store I'm going to get some unwanted comment.
For example, before I bought my LCP I went into this store to try it out and compare it to some similar models. I didn't plan on buying a gun there, but I wasn't just wasting their time because I did, and usually do, purchase a large amount of ammo from them (they do have SOLID deals on ammo that are sweetened by the fact that they usually come with some very nice ammo cans). I tried out different models but when I asked to hold the TCP, the clerk just shook his head at me:
"Don't buy a Taurus."
I responded to him, "Seriously?"
"Just don't do it."
And even though, in retrospect, I agree with him, it was annoying that he all-but refused to show me the gun. It wasn't a big deal and I would still recommend this gun shop (if nothing more than for their ammo selection) but it was bad salesmanship and a little bit rude.
On the other hand, one local gun store that I love, which I have bought most of my pistols from, is Sherwood's Guns. I've never actually been to their store, but I usually can't avoid buying from them at every gun show. First of all, their prices are excellent, as good as I've seen at any online retailer. But also, the staff, is super helpful and just pleasant to talk to. I've never received bad advice or unneeded, mean-spirited, comments from any of their staff.
When I bought my LC9s I was agonizing over whether to buy the LC9s, the Glock 42, or the Shield. As I was racking my brain, one of the staff, who was not even helping me at the time but just happened to be listening in, says "Get the LC9s, it's a sweet little gun. We only have two left."
Now, to me, this was a great piece of advice for two reasons:
1. He was right. The LC9s is an excellent little pistol.
2. It showed that he was willing to place the customer's needs over the motives of the gun store. It was only the second day of the gun show, and he could have easily steered me towards a less popular option to save the remaining LC9s' for other customers that were sure to want them (and thus get rid of some less desirable inventory that might not sell out).
I just really appreciated that he would encourage me to move quickly, knowing the gun would sell out anyways, when I hadn't even made my mind up to by that specific pistol. He seemed to honestly believe it was the best choice and wanted to steer me in the right direction.
Now, the skeptical might suggest that this was just a sales tactic and I think that's a reasonable supposition. However, if it was a tactic, it was a very slickly executed one, because, before I had even finished the paperwork for my LC9s, another gentleman came up and bought their final LC9s. I feel confident in using the word "final" because, at that point, an employee removed the display gun from the case.
This wasn't my first or only good experience with this store, but it's the one that really made an impression on me. I will definitely continue to give them as much of my business as I can, at least until their prices stop being competitive or their service stops being good.
And that's what it's really all about, providing an experience that creates loyal customers. People can argue that it's petty to get annoyed by bad service, and that's a fair argument, but at the end of the day, gun stores that provide bad service will lose business as a result and gun stores that provide good service will likely flourish (barring other mismanagement).
If you're selling an elastic product, you simply cannot pooh-pooh your customers and expect to succeed.
. I know that a. 300 BO is far from a long range caliber but come on 100 yards????? Also I have had several GS guys argue with me about the interchangeability of Glock magazines.