Did I go to far?

D

Deja vu

New member
So today I go to one of my favorite stores that is not gun related. When I go to that store. I see a new big sign on the door reading "NO FIREARMS, NO OPEN CARRY, NO CONCEALED CARRY".

So I stand out side the store where the clerk can see me and wave for him to come over. After helping a costumer he comes to the door and I ask for the manager. The clerk informs me that the manager is out of town but that the assistant manager is here. I ask him to get the assistant manager then.

The assistant manager takes a little time but comes to the door. When he asks how he can help me I politely tell him that I wont be shopping at his store any more and sighted the sign as the reason. When asked why I state that the sign only keeps out good law-abiding citizens and does nothing to keep out would be criminals. The assistant manager says that we have to agree to disagree but that I can come in if I leave my gun in the car. I walked away telling him that I refuse to go in to a store where I can not defend my self from violent people who ignore signs.

Then when I got home sent an email to the owner explaining my situation and sighting the stats about guns saving lives from the FBI. I also told him that I will be shopping at his competitor unless the signs come down.

I feel like I may have gone too far. What do you think? I feel that the store needs to know why one of its loyal shoppes is no longer using it.
 
If your letter was professional and objective, then yes. Letters that are a rant typically do more harm than good.
 
Not at all. In fact at onetime Grass Roots of NC had cards that you could get to the managers that would inform them that their business would be placed into a database and thus boycotted by potentially thousands of owners. I tried to find the link, but could not.

http://www.grnc.org/
 
Yeah I made sure it was professional. I even made sure another pair of eyes read it first to make sure I was not being a jerk.
 
Sounds good to me, the most important thing about a boycott is that the people being boycotted have to know you are doing it, and WHY.

One thing you ought to have mentioned is how long you have been a regular customer, and roughly, how much money you have spent in that store, either per visit, or annually, or even overall in your lifetime. Show them $ that is now walking PAST their store, because of the sign, and the policy behind it.

NEVER get personal. Tell them if your friends shop there, and how they will feel about it as well.

Most of the time, the store managers don't have a personal anti gun axe to grind, they get told by lawyers they need that kind of sign to protect them, or by insurance company who may not insure, or charge higher rates if guns are "allowed".

No sign is going to stop people willing to break laws. IF they're willing to lose $ XXX per week, month, year, times the number of people you can count on to boycott them, against the possibility of not getting sued, because "they had a sign prohibiting it"...its their choice.

Make sure they understand how much that choice is costing them, and why.
 
Save up your receipts from purchases at their competitors and when they get substantial, send them to the owner at the store's main office.
That should get their attention.
 
A big; Hand-Salute, to you !!!

If your letter was professional and objective, then yes. Letters that are a rant typically do more harm than good.
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Exactly and you were assertive but not confrontational. Most time, these signs are posted at the requirement of the home office and not the personal opinions of any employee. .... ;)

Now then, I have A.D.D. and spend little or no time, reading signs on doors, other than the Men's room. ....... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
You did just fine.

When you consider what you spend it that store each month, it's not a lot of money, perhaps, but month after month, if there is a slight downturn in the average receipts, for any reason, the manager is going to see it and just maybe think of you.
 
In the email I did include how long I had been a customer as well as some of the larger items I have bought.

I wish I still had the receipts but they usually don't make it to the car let alone still having them.

When/if I go to the competitors store I plan to let them know that I am going there because they don't have a stupid anti-gun sign. I am still going to give the original business a chance to redeem its self. I feel the service there is better and the people know about there products. I hope they get it worked out but if not I am happy that there is at least 3 other options.
 
Originally Posted by Deja vu:

Did I go to far?
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Not in my opinion, if as you said, you talked to the Assistant Manager in a calm and respectful way and your letter to the store owner was professional and objective. You were obviously exercising your 1st Amendment rights while addressing your 2nd Amendment rights. Kinda what makes this America. But, I'm sure you expected as much as the overall general response on a gun forum. Kinda the old "preaching to the choir" thing. Post this same thread on a Soccer mom's forum or a anti-gun forum and one should reasonably expect the responses to be much different, eh?

One thing many of us do when we demand folks recognize our rights, is ignore the rights of others. The store-owner was only exercising his legal rights as a property owner and obviously has a difference of opinion as to what constitutes keeping his store safe. He may very well have experienced negative behavior from some irresponsible gun owner previously before putting up the sign, or maybe he's just as far left as one can get. Doesn't really matter, except for the chance of him changing his mind. I'm sure at this point in history, if he is a successful business owner, he thought about the negative responses to the signage before he put it up. No different than any other business decision. Odds are he weighed in his on mind, the positives and the negatives of the signage and decided, right or wrong, that the positives outweighed the negatives. Responsible and professional letters from enough folks telling him he made the wrong choice may change his mind. Emotional rants, screaming at his employees over the signage, along with the blatant disregard for the sign, probably will only reinforce his decision. While we may not agree with his decision, we need to respect his right to make and exercise that decision. Respect goes both ways. One can not earn it without giving it.

I hope that if and when the store owner responds to your letter, that you let us in on the details.
 
I would respect their right to not want firearms on their premises, and if it concerned me that much i would use my right to shop elsewhere.
 
I would respect their right to not want firearms on their premises, and if it concerned me that much i would use my right to shop elsewhere.
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I agree but I have also been a loyal customer there for a while. Most of the clerks know me by name. I doubt any of them knew I was guy that carried. I felt the business needed to know why I was betraying them. I really did like this business and went there a great deal. I feel a little disloyal for leaving but I feel I have to. As much as I love this store I love my second amendment more.
 
Deja vu said:
I feel like I may have gone too far. What do you think? I feel that the store needs to know why one of its loyal shoppes is no longer using it.
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this is what all gun owners need to do, I think you did great and agree the store needs to know why one of its loyal customers is no longer using it.

I would put most of the emphasis on the fact that mass shooters and criminals target gun free zones, and their sign advertises such a location makes you no longer feel safe shopping there. No mention of your gun, if you carry, or anyone’s gun rights... the idea is to shift the focus of the subject on safety and not your right to carry.
 
I don't think you went too far. I also think think that corporate lawyers figure that a minuscule, probably imperceptible, loss in business is a very small price to pay to keep those nasty dangerous guns out of their stores.....ymmv.
 
Not something I would have done, but no, you did not go too far. What I do is not patronize such establishments and follow-up with an email. Thing thing about face-to-face is that it can go South real fast with the wrong people.
 
I agree but I have also been a loyal customer there for a while. Most of the clerks know me by name. I doubt any of them knew I was guy that carried. I felt the business needed to know why I was betraying them. I really did like this business and went there a great deal. I feel a little disloyal for leaving but I feel I have to. As much as I love this store I love my second amendment more.
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I understand what you are saying and doint think you went to far, it will do no harm to let them know your views. Maybe if enough loyal customers do the same it will make them think about their no gun policy. But i also think if people doint want firearms on their premises, people doint have to like it but it should be respected.
 
It goes against my personal policy of not letting anyone know about my gun ownership. I for sure would never let anyone know that I carry a weapon.

That outweighs any personal need to let someone know that the exercising of their rights offends me personally. I just quietly spend my money elsewhere.

A good business would take the potential loss of revenue into account into the decision and take that risk. They have decided to not accept gun owner's money, so I'll respect that. If they keep good metrics and the business starts experiencing an unacceptable loss of profits, they should be able to determine the cause.
Hacking off a few gun owners is probably more profitable by making the rest of their customer base feel safer.
 
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