typical sales people in LGS

educated consumer....

My point is for a new gun owner or CC license holder is to be a educated consumer. Guns like other high value items; cars, TVs, computers, washer/dryer, etc can be researched or evaluated before you hand over a wad of cash.
My friend got dealed into a new Smith & Wesson M&P pistol by a smooth talking sales pitch. He liked the .45acp pistol & it came with a free Glock white light so he was happy but I advised him to get a new S-A XDm .40S&W 3.8 model. The XDm series comes with a bunch of extras; free mag holder, lock, case, magazine loader, holster. My friend got hustled by the sales clerk saying how much "better" the M&P was, :rolleyes:.
Some consumers enjoy the shopper experience & like the attention they get from buying products. They feel "empowered" by the decision & feel smart by thinking they made a good choice.
Savvy gun owners & armed professionals advise trying a few brands first or renting a few handguns before you spend $400-900.00 on a new weapon.
Sales, freebies & add-ons are good but be a educated buyer, ;).
 
With gun sales, you listen first, then address the question. Sometimes it is better to ask more questions to get a feel for what a buyer might be looking for.

What is almost as bad is for a anxious customer who overhears the question just can control his urge to chime in with his 2-cents.
 
OMG, I had the same thing happen to me over a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard.

I wanted a Bodyguard, asked to see a Bodyguard, and got a whole speech about Ruger (I forget its name .380) being a better gun...

I also walked out without a purchase...
 
Louca said:
But almost always, the places are overly crowded and I can't stand dealing with the LGS staff. They often times look unhappy and burned out (overworked); they act like I am taking up too much of their time

Lou
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I've had the exact experience with one of the employees at the gun/pawn shop by my house. The few times I've been in he basically treated me like I was wasting his time. The thing is, it's a waste of my time if the employee in question doesn't want to help me or has an attitude. Customer service is a BIG deal to me and if a employee goes out of his way to be rude or unhelpful I'll just take my business elsewhere
 
What the OP describes has never happened to me.

Maybe because it was a woman, the clerk assumed he had superior knowledge? Then he went home and donned his batman costume and danced in front of the mirror.
 
The best way is to treat everybody with respect. If a customer comes into the store to and asks to see something I think that the salesperson should ask some questions about what they are looking to do with the firearm ( i.e. plinking or defense) because you never know what the customer's experience and knowledge is. I know of a few men that are first time shooters that don't know what they want so it's not just a female thing.
 
Let's face it, and be honest... the "salesman" in a LGS is a clerk who will be looking for a real job with the County as soon as they open the books again or has missed the opportunity for that brass-ring in his life already...
 
Let's face it, and be honest... the "salesman" in a LGS is a clerk who will be looking for a real job with the County as soon as they open the books again or has missed the opportunity for that brass-ring in his life already...
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ouch! Some are, some aren't. Maybe.

Pretty cold and funny tho'. Unless you work in a LGS, then one might be a tad insulted by your analysis, however truthful you find it in your own research and dealings.

I suppose the OP's lady in question didn't feel like mowing over her sales (ahem) help and being the more dominant personality by asking for another sales clerk or the owner/manager (unless the salesman in question WAS the owner/manager).

Bozo's exist the world over. I don't do the Bozo thing, either giving or taking of.... If the top dawg is a bozo, then I'll shop elsewhere.
 
There are a lot of bad clerks, no question. There are also a lot who do the job out of love, and genuinely know what they're doing. Forming opinions about all clerks because of a few morons is a silly thing. I've seen a lot of blow hards walk in and try to tell a clerk How It Really Is, when they knew nothing about that clerk. We have a lot of ongoing jokes because of this kind of stuff.

Also... I'd say there are 3 general sales approaches that people will find:

1. the pusher. He'll try to sell what he wants you to buy.

2. the order taker. He won't try to sell you anything. He just shows you what you want, and hopes you lay down on it.

3. the professional. This guy understands that sales are about building value, and that in order to do so, he needs to first determine what your value buttons are. He won't offer any advice until you've given him enough information for him to understand how to turn you into a happy buyer.
 
At day's end, not ONE has ever said anything other than "...I really like that 45...."
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I went shooting with a friend yesterday. She brought her two .45ACP pistols and her small .38 revolver and shot them all.

At the end of the day, she said: "I really like that .22 pistol.", referring to a gun that another friend brought to shoot. Today she owns one.
 
When my sons were still grade school aged they worked in my gun shop. They could talk guns, especially traditional muzzle loaders, with the best of them. And they knew instinctively, or from watching me, to listen to what the customer wanted. But, they were far and away better price negotiators than me. They were young enough to have the 'cute' factor and they played it well.
 
Just remembered a transaction I witnessed the other day. It was in the sporting goods/gun shop section of a large combo super market/discount store. Customer and his wife ask a clerk for some "deer ammo", no caliber specified. Clerks asks "what kind?". Customer points to a box and asks if that is any good. Clerks says, "This is 30-30, it is the worst kind". :confused:
Customer points to another box and asks, "Is that one good?" .:confused:
Clerk hands to him. Customer shows wife, she says it looks good. :confused:
They tell clerk they will buy it.
I could read that it was .270 ammo.
Never did the customer ask or was caliber mentioned in the exchange.
Now, you go figger what was going on. I'm at a loss. :confused:
 
My guess would be the couple was buying a birthday present for a nephew, cousin, grandson or the like and had only been told something like "Well, Jimmy would like some deer ammo for his/her birthday." by a clue less parent.

I, apparently, caused my sister no end of grief at Bass Pro Shopswhen I told her I want Blackcloud Waterfowl loads for Christmas a couple years back by not specifying what load, length, etc.

Now, obviously the sells person was lacking in knowledge as well by not even attempting to ascertain caliber, but what do you expect from a store where an employee will work shoes one day and produce the next?
 
ABCs of sales....

It's important in retail sales to know the ABCs.
Always Be Closing :D
When you sell, you are selling yourself first then you sell the product.
Smart FFL holders or sales staff will cater their responses to the needs & concerns of their customers.
Egos, bad attitudes & "smuggy buggys" will lose $$$ & business.
As I stated, new or entry level gun owners should research & read about the firearms/gear before they go into a local gun shop.

ClydeFrog
 
It's important in retail sales to know the ABCs.
Always Be Closing
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Ah, but when the salesperson does that, he'll be accused of being pushy.

People are demanding to get guns at pennies over wholesale. Dealers have to do what they can to meet that expectation, and margins (not to mention profit) collapse. They can't afford to pay the wages that attract, say, jewelry salespeople. It just can't happen.

Even the dealers who provide the best training and service go on the internet and see people lambasting them because the new guy at the counter doesn't know the difference between 7mm WSM and 7mm-08 and OMG what a clueless bozo he should be fired he doesn't know anything. It doesn't exactly warm the heart.

It's like the Wal Mart gripe threads: by this math, something's gotta give.
 
Tom Servo, you have a good point. However, I have seen LGS owners who were every bit as bad as the salesfolk under discussion.

I have also been to more than one LGS that has informed and helpful staff, despite thin margins. You manage one of those, as I recall.

I either frequent the latter type of shop, or order online and use a local FFL. I have no time for rude, pushy, or ignorant staff - especially when I know I can find better.
 
We have a LGS that is also a nfa dealer. Like any nfa junkie I was checking out their suppressors and one of the workers said in a standoffish tone "you know you can't just buy those, it takes a lot of extra work". I cut him off and said "ya I have a few nfa items, I know how it works".

Then I got to wondering, do they do that to every customer looking at them? How the hell do they sell anything?

Although on the other end of it. I went to a LGS I frequent to pick up my 454 super redhawk as they were the only place in the whole frigging state that had it haha. The guy was very friendly, lowered the price because I paid cash, then when he put my name in the computer saw I was a veteran (don't remember ever telling them that) and gave me another discount on top of that.
 
I have a gun shop that I go to on an almost weekly basis for a number of reasons:

1) He does nothing but used an consignment guns, and you never know what he has in stock.

2) He creates a warm, comfortable environment for people to actually pass the time. Bar stools and a free movie rental in a gun shop? Yep.

3) He treats everyone with respect, male or female, experience or not. If he doesn't have what someone is looking for, he readily refers people to other gun shops that might.

4) He tries to sell guns to people that deserve them. He had this Nazi stamped Walther PPK. Tag on it said "Not for Sale." In comes this couple, and she wanted that Walther. No, not for sale. Well, the wife's family was Eastern European Jewish, and had survived the camps, if my reccollection of the story serves me. My LGS owner knows what he can get for it online, and goes under it by a few hundred dollars. His reason: "It makes me happy that somewhere there is a Nazi officer burried, and his gun is going into the hands of a little Jewish girl."

And that's why I love dealing with him.
 
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