[RANT] Ok, so I go to the local BPS in Cincinnati looking for some 9mm ammo on sale (3.88/box for Winnie White Box 50 rounders)  Of course they are sold out, and I get a rain check.  That is fine, it happens some times.  Anyway, I amble over to the rifle ammo section for some food for my Bushmaster.  A store employee sees me perusing the .223 ammo and asks what I shoot.  He then proceeds to tell me that the AR is junk, that "no rifle jams like that one does", and that people shouldn't have that kind of gun.  I asked if there was a case discount on ammo, as the Q3131A was at $5/box.  He tells me that the Winchester Value Pack is the best 55 grain ammo you can buy, and that the Q3131A is nothing but reloads that tend to blow up guns.  I then asked this ass if he had any idea what he was talking about.  He then made a grunt and marched into the back.  Who the hell are these assholes who think that working in the gun section of a store imparts instant knowledge?  This guy was an ignorant fool.  I also found the other employees to be similarly foolish and arrogant, as the only reason to own a gun is to hunt.  Well, Bass Pro Shops has lost my business.  [/RANT]  

Hey, even the stupid need to work!  He probably listens to too many Vietnam stories, and thinks annealing marks indicate reloads, and doesn't know the diff. between SAAMI .223 Rem and 5.56mm.

I just tell them to clam up, ring it up, and bag it in plastic.

I don't think that incidents like that are the sole property of Bass Pro Shop. It seems that EVERY gun shop in my area has employees who have no fucking clue what they are talking about. Yet they spout off like experts. Comical at times, annoying at others.

I actually had an owner of a local indoor range/gun shop who tried to tell me that the Kimber Pro Tac I was looking at had a 4.5" barrel. It is actually just a hair under 4" (3.85" IIRC). This is from a Kimber "Master Dealer" mind you.

My last Bass Pro Shop incident was also over ammo. They were advertising a huge "truck sale", and had Winchester Q3131a at $2.99 a box. I was wanting to stock up on some, and figured I could save a bit on shipping. Well, I went down there the first day of a sale and asked for a case. Turns out they only had 37 boxes in the whole store. Not a very impressive "truck sale" if you ask me.

It was a toy truck sale!

Collin--

you are working these guy's all wrong.
you have to act all stary eyed and ask intelegent non-aggresive questions that will blow them out of the water.  it helps to know your stuff or you can snow them under with BS  if they call your bluff you just say you don't know that's what you were told.  it's all a question of how much time you want to waste.  kind of like intelectual surfing.  you know the line of quesioning is going to end in a wipe out but it's a fun ride.  

Should have taken a step back, looked the fool up and down to judge how old he was.   Then said, "unless your experience comes from using the M16 during the early years of Vietnam, quit talkin out yer ass".

As soon as he said people shouldn't have that sort of gun, I would have yelled at him and demanded to see the manager. That SOB needed to be taught a lesson, and he has no need to work at an Outdoors place where hard working Americans go to buy ammo and stuff for their firearms. I can't stand it when people do not understand the true intention of the 2nd amendment.

Clerk: "The AR is a piece of . . . nobody should own one."

Noah: [Long pause while he puts the eyes on the clerk, then:]  "You don't recognize me do you?"

Clerk (usually): "No, should I?" (words to that effect)

Noah: "You should." [another long pause/stare] "I'm a CUSTOMER.  And as such I expect to be treated better.  I do not come in here criticizing you, your personal appearance, your attitude, or lack of experience.  The sale you make to me today contributes to your next paycheck.  All I require is your assistance in locating the merchandise that I seek, and a timely checkout."  [shorter pause, for effect]  "Now, waiting on the public can be difficult. Perhaps you've had a bad day.  Shall we begin again?"


I wish I had $20 for every time I've said that.  It works about 98% of the time, the 2% being sledgehammer cases.  When my wife and I are in a store and we are experiencing a less than appropriate response from a clerk and she sees me pause with what she calls the "Meltdown Look", she does a 180 and takes a sudden interest in something a couple aisles over.

Noah

See....that would have been the end of conversation between he and I cause I would have either ignored him or told him "A .223" or "None of your damn business"

noah: I love the post!

collin: I live in N. KY and go up to the BPS in Cincy just about every time I go up to Target World. Those guys are total IDIOTS! Every time my friend and I go up there we ask multiple employees if they have any 7.62x39 ammo. They always have said no, but it is always there with the other .30 cal stuff. Humorous.

This site is full of whiners. [>(]

What do you expect for a guy paid $7.00 an hour?  

Retail stores don't pay enough to get someone competent, to keep prices low.  It's the Wal Mart mentality.

If the store had to pay for competency they would charge more for their stuff. Most people in return would go the store where the low price was.  The majority of people want cheap. That's the bottom line.  Majority rules.

Welcome to Wally World retail economics 101.  

If you do run into someone competent behind a gun counter, it's probably because the economy sucks and the person lost a good job, or they need a flexible hourly job while getting a better education.

     

Naked:

In the late 60s I worked part-time in a hardware store/lumberyard for $1.00 an hour, loading dimension lumber in customer vehicles, mixing custom paint colors, weighing out nails, and helping customers find screws, etc.  

The store owner had high expectations, and first among them was "Treat the customer with respect."  Failure to do so resulted in a dressing-down or termination for repeaters.

Today, "associates" can do all the team-building exercises and singalongs that are required of them, but I fail to see why being polite and respectful cannot be expected also.

Waiting on the public is tough, and my heart goes out to those that work convenience stores because the pay is minimum around here, lower than your $7.  Having waited on the public as the lumber yard gofer, a waiter in a suburban Pittsburgh restaurant, a cabbie, and a hash slinger in the university cafeteria, it is out of respect for a clerk that I take up the issue with him or her, and not run to the supervisor.  There's a high school senior at the local McD's that is famous in town for being a "cute" and a smartass.  He went too far one time and crossed the line, got the speech, and has been extremely polite and respectful since, and a co-worker of his that lives up the street told me the kid's toned it down with everyone.

Noah

Your'e right Noah.

I'm sorry to see that some folks don't expect some common courtesy and respect.

I worked hard when I was a kid at a landscape nursery.  I always strove to give the best service I possibly could.  I have no sympathy for folks making $7.00 an hour and feel like they have the right to slack off.  I made far less than that and worked my ass off.

My favorite answer to the "what do you shoot?" question:

"People that ask too many questions"

That will put 'em in the right frame of mind.

[ROFL][LOLabove]  That is a good one!    

You guys don't get it.  What do you expect for a $7.00 flunky?  Your experiences are the exception of the rule.  The minority.  It's par for the course.  Pay a dopey wage and most likely you'll get a dope.

You can say "I used to..................." Why not say "I do."  Because you were smart and moved on to a better job.  Because you're not a dope.

You can go on a personal vendetta of beating down the guy.  I don't care.  I'm not surprised you feel obligated to do that.  If you pay a dopey wage, most likely you'll get a dope.

I still think they should at least know what product they carry and what product they don't. If they can't do that then it isn't worth paying them a bag of shit an hour.

I have had similar experiences at Bass Pro, but what are you going to do?  BTW, at the one in IL they sold out of the WIN 9mm in less than two days (over 1,000 cases at just this store).  You'd think they'd get smart one of these days.

Naked:

Oh, okay.  Maybe you're right -- it probably is too much to expect common courtesy from a low-paid "dope" (as you call it), who's victimized by the system and the circumstances, and by right of that victimization can behave in any manner that they see fit.  After all, it's not their fault; they aren't personally responsible are they?  They're victims.

I see your point.  I'll just accept the rude behavior and keep my mouth shut from now on.

Noah


MOD:  Maybe this ought to move to the General forum.  IMO, w.r.t. ammo, it's run it's course.

If you guys can stand one more on BPS, I was in the Cincinnati store this past weekend, and probably got the same clerk. I bought all the UMC .223 they had left in the bin (42 boxes) and commented that I needed about 58 more boxes for a carbine class at Blackwater this fall, and he started to tell me how the UMC was crap because of it's corrosiveness! Now I know UMC is not milspec 5.56, but corrosive? I also wanted rainchecks for the Win. 9mm on sale, and I thought I was pulling teeth. This was no 18 year old kid either, but an adult who should know how to treat customers. I looked at a Vaquero in the case with another clerk, and he was very courteous. I know the idiot by face, I'll just wait for the other clerk next time.

Naked, I bet you a hundred dollars that if you gave this guy a $7/hour pay raise, all you would have on your hands is an overpaid jerk.

So fire him, you say?  Pay a NEW guy $14 an hour.

OK fine, but the market doesn't bear that kind of wage.  $7 an hour (well above min. wage) is what we are paying him for:

Ringing up customers
Restocking shelves
Maintaining a tidy workplace
[b]HELPING CUSTOMERS[/b]

Ask ANY employer what helping customers entails, and you will get more than just "answering questions".

A ROBOT could answer questions.  A chicken could be trained to find stuff in a store.

Humans are expected to be courteous, friendly, and helpful.

One problem with cheap prices is that the first thing you lose is customer service.  I know it sucks but thats how it is.  The guy in question here was an idiot no doubt about it. However the problem with paying more per hour to get better people means the customer will have to pay a tad more. Customers will only shop cheap...so there we are....And thats what sells...not customer service but price.

I don't get this stuff in bold, it isn't logical.  

Why don't you go apply to work at BASS PRO?  You can make a difference.  Think of it as working for the 2nd Amendment Peace Corp.[}:D]

Please post a G.D. topic on how this new employment opportunity works out.[;D] If you don't want to work there, why not?



That sounds like you're talking to your wife.  [:D]


 I think the Forum Mods aren't here regularly, from what I hear.

  You've got to find it funny when someone trying to help you makes stupid statements like that.  I try not to laugh in their face, but sometimes I can't help it.  As long as you know it's BS, that's all that matters.  And if they're being rude, have a little fun with them.  Don't take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway.

That is just a bunch of liberal bull shit.  Poor is a mind set.  Broke is a financial condition.  People work there by choice not force.  That's why I don't get your logic.  There is no reasonable basis for it.

I'm out of this thread.