Wal-Mart experience

This topic has reminded me of back when I worked at Wal-Mart. It was 5 years or so before I got into guns so I knew nothing about them, yet I worked in sporting goods. Everything I knew was learned from the people I worked with who also knew nothing about them. For instance, everyone thought .357 Sig was a shortened form of .357 Signature rather than knowing the Sig was for Sig Sauer. I also recall someone asking for 45 ACP but no one knowing what it was because the box says 45 Auto. One other interesting thing from when I worked there is the price of the Mini 14. When I worked at Wal-Mart it cost $275. I looked at one a few months ago and it was marked $729. That is an outrageous price increase even if it has been 8 years.
 
Oh Walmart...

You really can't expect too much from a big box store that sells everything at the lowest prices. I buy ammo and groceries there because its cheap, thats about it. Their clerks aren't gun gurus or grocery experts, so do not be surprised that they're not.

At least the Walmarts in my area cater to the gun ethusiasts so thats good enough for me. If I want something high quality or customer specific, I go elsewhere
 
Can't sell them if you can't see them.

It is not possible for a customer to identify the guns.
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I'm really not understanding this and that's okay. ... :confused:
At our remainding WalMart, that sells guns and in every other WalMart that I have visited, their guns are in verticle glassed in cases, that the customer can rotate into a good viewing position. There are large tags hanging from the trigger guards that clearly identify the firearm. Perhaps it's only a reagional thing. ;)

Now, I really don't expect them to relate to to everything, especially M/L stuff. Once saw FFG on the shelf and asked if by chance they carried any FFFG and the lady said; I really don't know but will check. I told her that was okay and she insisted on going to the back room and checking. Came back and said that they did not and then proceeded to ask me about the difference. Would not surprise me if I see her in the paint department next week. .. :)

I help them as best I can and they in turn try to do likewise. They may not know it all and willing to admit it, unlike the some LGS guys that often try to fake it. ..... :p

Be Safe !!!
 
their guns are in verticle glassed in cases, that the customer can rotate into a good viewing position.
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Pahoo, I am guessing it is that way on a whim of some executive. A WM store about 50 miles from me displays it's guns that way.
I don't think any conclusions can be drawn on the differences things are done in various stores. I do know sometimes the individual store manager can make certain decisions.
The former manager at our local WM would not allow alcohol in his store. As soon as he retired and a new manager came in so did the alcohol.
 
The one in my area has the gun cases back behind the counter. If they ever had any guns in there, it would likely be difficult to make out any tags - heck, I can barely read the ammo boxes from there.

As it is, the case is nearly always empty - every so often there will be a muzzle-loader or 2, but that is about it.
 
Not much fun for them either !!

My biggest complaint on Walmart Gun stores, is that it takes me about 5-minutes to decide I want to buy "that" gun, 30-minutes to find the manager that is authorized to do the paper work, then another 30-minutes to assign an escort to see me out the door, while he casrries the box. ...... :eek:

I don't know how many of you can remember when Target, sold guns. Eventually the ATF gave them so much grief and rightly so, that they had a big clearance and got out of the gun business. I was able to pick up a Remington LT-20 for $200.00. Sadly, I suspect that eventually WalMart will go this way. Our WalMart, use to have a catalog where they would order whatever you wanted and the pricing was good. I have not seen this binder for a number of years, now. ..... :(


Keep on the sunny side and;
Be Safe !!!
 
Yeah, I find many LGS guys to be rude know-it-alls who actually know much less than I do. Do your own research online and don't depend on anyone. If you want good advice, ask your questions in this forum. This is where the real experts reside.
 
The only thing I buy at Wally World is WWB in 9MM. I do have to go find a salesperson to open the cabinet and then sell it to me, usually 10 minutes. Went to Academy Sports 4 months ago and went to the Gun Counter and was greeted by a salesman. Said I wanted a Mare's Leg in 357Magnum. He knew what it was even though it is listed as a Rossi Ranch Rifle. He asked me now I knew it was a Mare's Leg and I told him that I was old enough to have seen the original TV series and always wanted one.
 
I don't tell them what ammo I want, I point to it, or direct them (no, the other left, more to the left).

Tell them you want 357 SIG, you get magnum.

You want FMJ, you get JHP...

They apparently have someone in store assemble the shotguns they sell. I bought one from them after making sure I got one of the NIB models and not something from the rack that Jethro put together.
 
Why would anyone who shops for specific products at a GENERAL retailer expect the clerk du jour to be an expert on any particular item in the store?
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Ding, ding, ding! We have a winnah!

I work for Wal-Mart and you are absolutely correct. We cross-train and many times there are people in electronics or automotive behind the counter. They know how to issue a fishing license; but most of them are devoid of firearms knowledge.

I worked as a cashier for 5 1/2 years and in that time I worked in customer service, jewelry, electronics, automotive, sporting goods, and when there were no maintenance people scheduled I cleaned the restrooms. I worked in the auto and sporting goods area for the last year and am now on the front end as a supervisor.

In sporting goods, I brought all of my prior firearms knowledge with me so that was never a problem. Fishing is my weak point.

In electronics, I am downright stupid when it comes to video games and gaming equipment.
 
Just want to add that it ain't always so.

At my local Walmart there is this one guy (you have to either know his schedule or catch him when he's on duty) who knows everything.

Okay, slight exaggeration, but he really knows firearms, knows re-loading, absolutely knows everything about what his store stocks (and what they don't). Gun people come to him for his (almost always excellent) advice.

All that being said, I alway check with one or both of our two actual LGSs and, if they are within reason on their prices, I'll buy there first. I don't really think I can afford to let them close.

Best,

Will
 
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My WM situation is apparently better than most here. I live in a small town, and WM is the only place in town to buy a gun period, and about the only place to buy ammo. The family-owned hardware store stocks a little bit, but not much. My local WM keeps their guns in a revolving plexiglass case, and the ammo is locked up in a clear case NOT behind the counter where customers can clearly search for their particular caliber/type. Add to that the two gentlemen I most normally deal with have well beyond a passing knowledge of firearms, and certainly are aware of their inventory (for example, they both know they do NOT stock any 7mm-08...go figure).

Like many others, I wring my hands at the demise of family owned businesses that WalMart has put out of business due to enormous buying power... but at the same time I'm not going to drive 100 mile round trip simply to buy somewhere else unless I can't get it locally.

I'll noticed that WM stores in small towns differ greatly (for the better, from my perspective) from those in large metropolitan areas. Just one more reason that I don't like the big city very much!
 
No 45acp,only 45 automatic!

A few years ago before the local Walmart was remodeled, the ammo was kept under the counter and was hard to see. You had to look across the counter area and see under the opposite counter, then go to the other side and do the same. I went in one morning and asked for 45 acp. the clerk said "We don't have that. All we have is 45 automatic." I told her "Oh well maybe I can make that work." and bought the 45 automatic. Maybe I should have told her they are the same, but I was too busy trying not to laugh. Since then they have remodeled and put the ammo in glass cases so customers can see it as well as the guns. Also the same clerk still works in that department and has learned a lot.

As others have said, don't count on help from the employees at Walmart. They get shuffled around a lot. Even the LGS employees may be lacking in knowledge. Do your own research. What I find even more disturbing is when a car salesman is trying to sell me a car and can't figure out how to unlock it. It has happened.
 
I wring my hands at the demise of family owned businesses that WalMart has put out of business due to enormous buying power
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I started something with my original post. Thought it was just an interesting little story. Oh, well.
As for the above comment. I am strong pro-business and have owned retail stores, including a gun shop, that had to compete with big box stores. I did it by offering items and service the BBs couldn't or wouldn't offer.
When our local Wal-Mart expanded to a huge Super Center (biggest one in the world at the time), we had one gun shop in town. Today we have six and all but the original are doing very well. The original is owned by a jerk who had business only because he was the only act in town. The others do well by providing products and services WM cannot. Additionally, about thirty other businesses have built and opened within a half mile of the new WM. Business attracts business and customers.
With my gun shop I learned very quickly that I couldn't compete with the big box store down the road. To survive, and do well, I sold what they didn't offer and I gave service they never heard of.
Laziness fails.
Initiative and work succeed.
So, to your comment, I politely respond: Bull Butter :rolleyes:
 
I don't shop at Walmart but if I did I wouldn't go in expecting the counter help to know anything about firearms. If it was another big box retailer like Gander Mtn or Cabelas that's different because a lot of their business is derived from firearm sales, so I would expect the staff to know something about guns.
 
I started something with my original post. Thought it was just an interesting little story. Oh, well.
As for the above comment. I am strong pro-business and have owned retail stores, including a gun shop, that had to compete with big box stores. I did it by offering items and service the BBs couldn't or wouldn't offer.
When our local Wal-Mart expanded to a huge Super Center (biggest one in the world at the time), we had one gun shop in town. Today we have six and all but the original are doing very well. The original is owned by a jerk who had business only because he was the only act in town. The others do well by providing products and services WM cannot. Additionally, about thirty other businesses have built and opened within a half mile of the new WM. Business attracts business and customers.
With my gun shop I learned very quickly that I couldn't compete with the big box store down the road. To survive, and do well, I sold what they didn't offer and I gave service they never heard of.
Laziness fails.
Initiative and work succeed.
So, to your comment, I politely respond: Bull Butter
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I think the success of any small business depends on a few factors, like geography and demand. on the one hand, if the mom & pop store down the street is offering a better quality product at a slightly higher price than Walmart then that might work to their advantage. on the other hand, a lot of lower income families depend on stores like Walmart because of their cheap prices, and when they set up shop in town there's a tendency for the small business to go under because they can't compete. I've seen it time and time again in smaller towns.
 
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