I have come to the point in my relationship with my local gun store that I feel it's time to talk to the owner about the poor treatment/service I have received from them.
It is the best/biggest gun store in my town, & has an indoor shooting range. I want to let them know I feel wronged & not end up looking like a weenie, & screwing myself out of showing my face there in the future without feeling stupid.
This is a short list of my grievances.

1) When I moved here over a year ago I was waiting for my Kimber to arrive in Rapid City, but moved before it did. I used the local store to have it transferred to. & Got the cold shoulder,over it, & after calling every so often to see if I could pick it up they kept stalling. I waited 7 weeks from when they got the pistol until they said I could now get it from them. That in itself is ridicules.

2) My dad had & I had both requested to be put on the call list for .17 caliber rifles over a year ago. We were 16,& 17 on the list. I was in there 3 weeks ago, & inquired about how much longer it would be until we would be called. The salesman I was talking to said, Oh we have several in stock right now. I asked why haven't we been called? No answer.

3) My dad paid in advance for a .45 Taurus with the add on night sights. % months later I reminded him that he should inquire about it so we went in together as I was hoping for a look at the new pistol that would some day grace my collection. They hadn't ordered it yet, & seemed confused as to why not. My dad just got his money back with no apology for the incompetent lack of effort on their part.

4) My uncle had nearly the same thing happen to him as we did in #4

5) Yesterday I went to use their indoor range after waiting all week, because Sundays it is 1/2 price to shoot there. When I got there they had a cc class in progress in the store, but I was in the lobby at the counter when I was treated rudely, & then given the brush off by their gunsmith when I tried to rent a lane. I was half way out the door at his request when I turned around & expressed that I wasn't happy with his rude treatment, & that I wouldn't be back later to shoot, I would go else where.

I am not a prima Dona, or a person who imagines that someone is out to get me. I fell it is bad service, & incompetence that are to blame here.

So how should I present this to the owner, to let him know I am a displeased customer, & want some satisfaction over the things that have happened. He was the problem in at least 3 of the situations I mentioned. I don't want to not be able to shop there, but I also don't want this kind of service to be the standard. What would be fair to expect for my continued patronage of his store, & what would you say that would not make a scene of the whole thing?

Thanks for your help in this matter, Searcher out

Just show him this post.
Your reasons are well stated without being rude or inflamatory.

When they've gotcha by the nads, they don't have to have customer service.  My local indoor range is the same way.  You'd think that shooting was a grim task, and was no fun if you were to judge it by their attitudes.

Go somewhere else.

Customer service is horrible everywhere.

[red]Generally speaking[/red] the younger the person helping you the worse it is.

I walked into Office Max the other day looking for china markers. A black man about 25 asked me if he could help me find something, I'll have to admit inside I rolled my eyes a bit, but he knew exactly where the markers were and when I enquired about what colors were available he even knew that they stocked only black ones. I was looking for red and white.

This may sound shallow or even prejudiced to some, but you don't know how many times I walk into a store and have to ask for help. Even then I find that more often than not the employees know less about what the store sells than I do.

Talk to the owner of the store. Be sure to give SPECIFIC details. Names, dates, how you were treated, what you think the employee should have done.

The post above is a great example, show him that.

You need some Ninja advice:


walk toward the exit, stop, pull down your pants and lay a log right right on the room floor, and say: "Now that's real ultimate power." Then run.

I would never spend a dime in that place again, if I were you.

But if you want to keep going in. Print out your complaints, and mail them a letter.
Make a couple of copies, mail them to each manager, and to the owner/owners.

Type up what you wrote and mail it them AND the Better Business Bureau.
Next time you go there, pay for the bad service with pennies.
Smile a lot. [:D]

Their attitudes suggest they are the only game in town.   If that’s not the case vote with your dollar, spend it elsewhere.  If they are the only game in town maybe there is opportunity there…

It has been my experience that the younger [b]you[/b] are, the worse your service is.  

I go into a lot of gun shops.  In most of them I'm treated poorly.  I don't know anything, etc.

[b]He [the owner] was the problem in at least 3 of the situations I mentioned[/b]

Just walk away.  If the guy who has his fortune tied up in the business is giving crappy service, it's time to take your money elsewhere.

This must be a "gun related" thing.  I have had poor service at a few gun stores but mostly I get this attitude at shooting ranges and the rod and gun club.  You come in and ask a few questions and they look at you like WTF do you want or you have two heads or something.

What is the name and address of the gun shop?  POST IT!

What is the name of the owner?  POST IT.

I don't remember the owners name, although I did take my cc class with him as the teacher/instructor. The Store is Champion Firearms of College Station Tx. And is located on the corner of Texas ave, & Wellborn rd, right near the HEB, & Starbucks.

I'm on my way to go have a little talk with the owner if he is there. Wish me wisdom, so I don't end up being made to look like I'm being a petty sob.

Search-

If you're in College Station, these bozos are not the only game in town.  You're looking for Burdett & Son on Texas Avenue and the Arrowhead outdoor shooting range, North on 6 near hearne.  Indoor ranges suck anyway.

bjt

Reminds me of my last trip to O'Reilly Auto Parts.  I usually can find my way around auto parts stores and don't need help - but they pounce on you there.  So I just asked the guy about the part I was looking for (it was an aftermarket backup light bulb - halogen replacement).  He promptly told me that "there's no such thing".  I told him, "I wasn't sure if you carried it, but I HAVE SEEN IT in a catalog before".  He responded, "no, not a halogen bulb to fit THAT socket, you didn't".  I was shocked - shook my head and walked out.  Within an hour, I ordered the EXACT part from JC Whitney (high shipping an all).
Needless to say, I won't be going there again.
CR

I'll bet there's another store around there somewhere just filled with ex-customers of that other store. I refuse to do business with dickheads. Period. I will do without before I pay a dickhead to reinforce his dickish behavior.

Oh, also, your quesation brings an old saying to mind:

"never try to teach a pig to sing. It only wastes your time and annoys the pig."

Still, I wish you luck in trying to make things better.

I would say that that store has horrible customer service however it seems that all gun stores in my area are like that store.  I would never buy any gun from them again.  I don't really think they care much about your business given the customer service you(and your father) have received.  Buy at the local gun shows and "use" them for the range only.  I would make sure to make it a point every time I had a new weapon to site in(ie I got it elsewhere and you missed out on a few bucks..jerk!!!)

Searcherfortruth - It doesn't sound like they are the only game in town, so I would print out your post, give it to the owner, and not patronize that store in the future - unless the owner has some reasonable explanations and/or solutions.  I am kinda surprised at this because I ordered 3 handguns from them 4 or 5 years ago and had them shipped to my local FFL and the transaction couldn't have went smoother.  They emailed me when the shipment arrived at their shop, emailed the tracking number when they shipped it, and gave me a great break on the price of the 3 handguns.  

[b]ALL Auto Parts Stores[/b] seem to attract that semi-rare breed of person who has delusions or inspirations of infinite knowledge and are in self-denial of their own ignorance.

Well I just got back. I asked to talk to the owner, but he is in Italy at the Beretta factory. The manager whom I would guess to be around 25 to 28 asked me to talk with him about what was bugging me. So I did, I told him what my post said here as to the who, what, & where of it all. He was stunned about the incidents I had to tell him. He apologized & agreed with me that my examples were outrageous. Then a customer who had been standing next to the case where we were talking chimed in that he buys about $30,000 worth of stuff from them every year & has never had a problem. I said good, you shouldn't, & neither should I. The manager said that's right. I said I would like a rain check to use the range at 1/2 price like on Sundays, & he said, oh no, I can't do that, you weren't here when the range was open. I replied it's called customer relations, & it would help smooth over my angry feelings from the poor service I feel I have received. I told him I read the signs posted in the 2 sets of doors coming in  about the Sunday 1/2 price range fees, & it didn't say anything about when the range was open. He said the range hours are posted in the foyer, but they would fix the special signs, &  he still couldn't give me a rain check because I wasn't there when the range was open, so I just left. Does anyone think I should talk to the owner when he gets back? the manager said he is due back tomorrow.

See they don't even want to help when it cost them nothing...I WOULD RUN FROM THIS SHOP AND NEVER LOOK BACK!!!!!!

Yes i would talk to the owner. I would talk to him as in starting over from scratch and tell him everything. No telling what the kid will tell the owner so just rationally restate the facts etc.

If he reacts poorly, nicely tell him "Ok i will take my money elsewhere and every gun owner i come in contact with, i will relate my truthful experiences at your shop to them and have a nice day."

Go in there one really busy day, tell a saleman that you need new equipment for the 3 gun match coming up, proceed to tell them you want their Les Baer Thunder Ranch 1911, AR15 and a Benelli Super 90 M1 tactical with ghost ring sites. Let them do all the paper work, call it in to NICS and then walk out making sure that you let everyone know their service sucks and those guns looked used, not new like they claim.


or you could just say I don't need your stinking gunshop never going in there again.

Well said. F*ck that store. F*uck that manager, f*ck that owner, and ESPECIALLY f*uck that @sshole who (supposedly) spends 30K/yr and gets great service.

I'm actually sitting here getting all pissed off for you, brother. Don't go back, for any reason, ever. You give them one dime of your money and you lose AGAIN.

Hell, now I need a drink.