Why do gun shops get away with it?
- Thread starter breakingcontact
- Start date
The BATFE can revoke a license to deal in firearms. They can't shut down the shop altogether. Furthermore, the FBI and DHS (?) don't have any jurisdiction.
The FBI might investigate a particular case, but they're not the folks enforcing firearms regulations.
Citation?
Again, citation?
Yes, the business can be difficult, and compliance can be a pain, but half of what you're describing isn't accurate.
We have 6 local gun stores in my area. We have pretty much all the different ones described in this thread. Gun shop #1 is the I don't know much about guns but you need a Glock at way over retail kind of place. Don't go there much. Gun shop #2 is the I just have this place for my buddies to hang out and go on hunting safari's kind of gun shop even though he used to have really good deals but not so much anymore. Gun shop #3 is high speed low drag I’m more of a trainer than gun shop kind of place but he is a former Army ranger and Police officer so I like to go in and talk to him and he works on some of my guns sometimes. #4 and #5 are two pawn shops both about the same good prices but zero knowledge. Then there is #6 which is where I go when I am looking for something or just want to look and or talk guns. Very knowledgeable staff and very friendly. The owner is good guy retired law enforcement takes very good care of me. I shop there most of the time gotten some awesome deal there.
Miss Stana
New member
I would have to be pretty desperate to buy something from a place that treated me rudely or had no knowledge of their products. I live in a rural gun friendly area and it's no big deal to drive 150 miles to go look at gun stores. There is a big Cabela's and about 30 small gun stores. All of them very friendly.
Right here in town, there are only a few stores that carry guns. We do gunsmithing and custom work, so we have to have knowledge and be willing to visit and be polite and helpful. I can't imagine a customer ever coming back if I was rude to them in any way.
Right here in town, there are only a few stores that carry guns. We do gunsmithing and custom work, so we have to have knowledge and be willing to visit and be polite and helpful. I can't imagine a customer ever coming back if I was rude to them in any way.
Double Naught Spy
New member
Not enough competition and well-meaning gun owners who feel obligated to do business with their LGSs as part of preserving America and free enterprise. As a result, they essentially reward poor behavior and the store remains in business.
Beagle45ACP
New member
Hell, my LGS is like the bar from "Cheers".
I stop in from time to time (today was actually my first time in there in about 6 weeks, though usually I'm in there MUCH more frequently), and all the employees know me, I know all of them, and they seem genuinely happy to let me take up a bit of their time. Due to this great attitude and atmosphere, I try to make sure I purchase something every time I'm there. Obviously not a new gun every time as the budget doesn't allow it, but a t-shirt or a box of ammo (if they have what I'm looking for), just to help them out and let them know that I'm not just coming in to waste their time.
LewSchiller
New member
But that is Retail. If you think people try to buy a game at the LGS try working at a Golf Shop
I totally get the burn-out though. That's why you need good help - so you can get away for a while and recharge. If you don't - or you think you can't afford it - your business will spiral in due to ever worsening attitude and service.
When you come to loath the customers it's time to get out.
Theohazard
New member
I've worked other forms of retail and it gets particularly annoying at a gun shop. Whether it's the person shopping for a gun who brings along his "expert" friend who doesn't have a clue what he's talking about and second-guesses everything you say, or the first-time gun buyer who needs a few hours of education just to show them the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto, or the kids who want to see all the Call of Duty guns, or the foreign tourists who video everything and point to the wall of EBRs and make machine-gun noises.
It's always fun when you hand someone a handgun, they immediately put their finger on the trigger and attempt to clear it, and you hear a "click" while it's pointed directly at your chest. It's also fun when someone pulls out their Glock with a rail-mounted light, and point it right at your face to show you the light, and when you take the gun away from them and clear it you find the mag was loaded and there was a round in the chamber. And I love when someone comes up the counter and wants to know if a 1911 mag will fit in a mag pouch they want to buy, asks if they can use one of their own mags to try it out, you say "yes" figuring they're going to pull out their spare mag, and they proceed to pull out their cocked-and-locked 1911 and flag you with it before you can get the gun away from them and clear it.
I can't count the number of times in a day a customer points one of our guns at me with their finger on the trigger. And I can't count how many times in a month a customer claims their gun isn't loaded and then a round pops out of the chamber when we clear it.
All of these things burn you out fast. However, none are an excuse for giving poor customer service. Often customers can be annoying, but it's our job to educate them and find the gun that best fits their needs. Like LewSchiller said; if you find yourself burned out and treating customers poorly, take some time off and recharge.
It's always fun when you hand someone a handgun, they immediately put their finger on the trigger and attempt to clear it, and you hear a "click" while it's pointed directly at your chest. It's also fun when someone pulls out their Glock with a rail-mounted light, and point it right at your face to show you the light, and when you take the gun away from them and clear it you find the mag was loaded and there was a round in the chamber. And I love when someone comes up the counter and wants to know if a 1911 mag will fit in a mag pouch they want to buy, asks if they can use one of their own mags to try it out, you say "yes" figuring they're going to pull out their spare mag, and they proceed to pull out their cocked-and-locked 1911 and flag you with it before you can get the gun away from them and clear it.
I can't count the number of times in a day a customer points one of our guns at me with their finger on the trigger. And I can't count how many times in a month a customer claims their gun isn't loaded and then a round pops out of the chamber when we clear it.
All of these things burn you out fast. However, none are an excuse for giving poor customer service. Often customers can be annoying, but it's our job to educate them and find the gun that best fits their needs. Like LewSchiller said; if you find yourself burned out and treating customers poorly, take some time off and recharge.
And I think this is why I have quit working at gunshops and I think I'll quit the gunshow circuit as well. I don't like allowing over 20 years of shooting and reloading exp going to waste but I just can't anymore "experts" that couldn't shoot there way out of a wet paper bag.
customer service is slang in any business as I want something for free. I purchased this item that wasn't what I really wanted with money I should have paid the rent elect or car insurance instead. now I want some money back or additional service for free cause you made a few measly bucks off of me once. rant over, bobn
ps guess which side of the fence I live....
ps guess which side of the fence I live....
I went into the closest gun shop(which I o not like due to poor customer service) the other day to grab some snap caps.
Walk through the door, the door buzzer goes off, no one around.., look at a couple of things, hear the phone ring from behind the partition someone answers and talks bla bla, so they hang up so I go stand by the register,..1min....2min..., so I just put the product back and leave.
Obviously the guy knows I am there but does not want to spend the time or energy to even say "holler if you need help" ? No "welcome" "hello" "can I help you". This was the place that acts like you are a waste of time as soon as you walk through the door until of course you are handing over a pile of cash. Then all the sudden buddy buddy.
It reminded me of why I go elsewhere. I hate to give people money that act like I am just a nuisance.
Walk through the door, the door buzzer goes off, no one around.., look at a couple of things, hear the phone ring from behind the partition someone answers and talks bla bla, so they hang up so I go stand by the register,..1min....2min..., so I just put the product back and leave.
Obviously the guy knows I am there but does not want to spend the time or energy to even say "holler if you need help" ? No "welcome" "hello" "can I help you". This was the place that acts like you are a waste of time as soon as you walk through the door until of course you are handing over a pile of cash. Then all the sudden buddy buddy.
It reminded me of why I go elsewhere. I hate to give people money that act like I am just a nuisance.
bobn and jackpine,
sounds like you guys really need to find another line of work, at least for a while.
bobn,
if a gun shop doesn't offer good service, and does not want to play the role of go-between for its customers and distributors with regard to warranty work, then why should I as a customer pay the prices the LGS asks, when I can just order direct and pay transfer fees via an FFL friend?
Other than the customer service you deride, what can the LGS offer me?
jackpine,
I was raised by my parents to be polite to people. I also know quite a bit about firearms and shooting. And, I spend a good chunk on my hobby. The problem is that I also have encountered angry, condescending, and generally useless salespeople in gun shops (to include shop owners). My reaction to them was the same as my reaction to a car salesman, a couple decades ago, who saw a young guy in work clothes as a customer to be ignored - I went elsewhere, and bought something even more expensive than what I was considering in store number one.
When salespeople start justifying poor treatment of their customers because customers are such jerks, those salespeople become ineffective in their profession.
sounds like you guys really need to find another line of work, at least for a while.
bobn,
if a gun shop doesn't offer good service, and does not want to play the role of go-between for its customers and distributors with regard to warranty work, then why should I as a customer pay the prices the LGS asks, when I can just order direct and pay transfer fees via an FFL friend?
Other than the customer service you deride, what can the LGS offer me?
jackpine,
I was raised by my parents to be polite to people. I also know quite a bit about firearms and shooting. And, I spend a good chunk on my hobby. The problem is that I also have encountered angry, condescending, and generally useless salespeople in gun shops (to include shop owners). My reaction to them was the same as my reaction to a car salesman, a couple decades ago, who saw a young guy in work clothes as a customer to be ignored - I went elsewhere, and bought something even more expensive than what I was considering in store number one.
When salespeople start justifying poor treatment of their customers because customers are such jerks, those salespeople become ineffective in their profession.
Theohazard
New member
Amen. I have met very few customers who are truly jerks. Sure, some get on your nerves, but in my decade of customer service experience, I have encountered very few customers whose attitude actually warranted a rude response.
Even when facing an unreasonably angry customer, it's always amazing how being calm, firm, and polite can resolve the situation more quickly, and often with a better result for you.
MLeake
And thats why i know it's time to take a long break.
I am not making excuses for what I say, I'm saying I just can't hold my tongue anymore when people will not listen to reason.
I will give people books, reloading gear, heck I've given a few guns that people needed but when your stuck on stupid I have no time for it anymore.
And thats why i know it's time to take a long break.
I am not making excuses for what I say, I'm saying I just can't hold my tongue anymore when people will not listen to reason.
I will give people books, reloading gear, heck I've given a few guns that people needed but when your stuck on stupid I have no time for it anymore.
In all honesty, that's why I was never interested in sales or customer service positions.
Why deliberately put myself in a position where I have to maintain composure with knuckleheads all day? It's much easier to remain polite and poised when I can limit my exposure.
Still, the fact remains that gun shops are sales and customer service businesses, and sales will be directly affected by perceived customer service. I understand the potential stresses involved. Then again, we had a saying in the Navy,
"Choose your rate, choose your fate."
IE, there's not much point complaining about the job you signed up to do.
Why deliberately put myself in a position where I have to maintain composure with knuckleheads all day? It's much easier to remain polite and poised when I can limit my exposure.
Still, the fact remains that gun shops are sales and customer service businesses, and sales will be directly affected by perceived customer service. I understand the potential stresses involved. Then again, we had a saying in the Navy,
"Choose your rate, choose your fate."
IE, there's not much point complaining about the job you signed up to do.
LewSchiller
New member
I goes both ways though.
LGS owners and staff can be opinionated know it all jerks just as easily as their customers.
There is - or maybe was I don't know - an LGS in Metro Denver that also was featured on a reality TV show. The store has (had?) a terrible customer service reputation. A friend stopped in one evening when he was at a motorcycle event being held across the street. He said he was interested in a Kimber Ultra Carry. He was immediately derided by a staffer for being interested in it and generally told he was an idiot. This friend has been a collector for well over 30 years and knows his stuff.
He never went back - I've never gone in the first place based on this and other related experiences.
LGS owners and staff can be opinionated know it all jerks just as easily as their customers.
There is - or maybe was I don't know - an LGS in Metro Denver that also was featured on a reality TV show. The store has (had?) a terrible customer service reputation. A friend stopped in one evening when he was at a motorcycle event being held across the street. He said he was interested in a Kimber Ultra Carry. He was immediately derided by a staffer for being interested in it and generally told he was an idiot. This friend has been a collector for well over 30 years and knows his stuff.
He never went back - I've never gone in the first place based on this and other related experiences.