Posted: 8/12/2010 12:38:41 AM EDT
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The one in Lakewood, right off Bridgeport. One of my buddies transfered all his weapons to Illinois due to our deployment. He had them transfered back here and got terrible service from these guys. They literally called him dumb for not leaving them with the unit's armorer (which is a dumbass thing to do anyway). They also made him go all the way back to his house to get a copy of his ERB even though he had his .mil ID and a valid drivers license. And they are making him wait the same waiting period as if he were to buy a handgun for his own pistols...
Calling a customer dumb is terrible customer service, I know for a fact that with a valid driver's license they could do the transfer because I did one just a week or so back that way, and is the waiting period still valid even though you already own the firearms? |
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Quoted:
In before (fill in the blank) Why did he transfer them to begin with??? How many weapons btw? Hate to see the tax bill on them... We were going to be deployed so he transfered them to his dad, and now that we're back he transfered them back to WA. He had 3 rifles and 2 pistols. I'll have to ask again what he paid for taxes...he told me but I forgot |
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whoa, whoa, whoa... hold on here
1) I helped your friend and i know what happens in the unit armory and i didn't suggest to him that he should have left them there. I don't remember anyone calling your friend dumb. When a situation arises where some has to stand around and wait for something that is out of our control, I'm more than willing to hang around and help the customer pass the time with chit-chat and banter so they're not just standing around bored. I spent a chunk of time in service myself and deployed to iraq twice so i tend to feel a kinship with my military customers and when i converse with them i tend to do it in the same fashion they are accustomed to; i speak joe. 2) He didn't have to leave to get his ERB, his wife brought it to him. the only reason she had to do that was because he had no valid Washington ID, and carried no PCS orders here with him. I accept an ERB in lieu of PCS orders since the whole point is to establish washington residency and it shows on the ERB to what post he is assigned. Since a lot of soldiers forget or simply are unaware that proof of residency is required to purchase a weapon i make it easier for them by allowing them to use our computer to access AKO and print their ERB. In your friend's case he couldn't access that either because using AKO is sometimes akin to a cat trying to bury a turd in a marble floor. Also, the time span it took her to get here was less than the time it takes to have a cigarette. 3) When a firearm walks out of the shop of a licensed FFL it has to go through the same process every single time. transferee fills out his 4473 and accompanying state forms in the case of pistols, goes through his NICS check like anyone ese and all other laws apply, to include the state-required wait on handguns. You'll notice i didnt stop him from getting his rifles, despite that they were on the same paperwork. Believe me, i think the concept of having to fill out the paperwork on a gun multiple times as you transfer them around the country, especially in the case of our military families, is perhaps slightly retarded, but these control measures are in place to make tracking up at the .fed easier and lowly scrubs like me don't get the option. It's simply something that i must enforce. 4) Moreover, i gave your friend a break. I'm likely to get at least a reprimand for posting it, but your friend transferred 3 rifles and 2 pistols. Washington state Use Tax applies and i won't post the numbers of what he paid here, but i gave him as much slack as i could seeing's how he had so many weapons transferring. Policy is a $50 transfer fee for each weapon. Man, he would've paid $250 before we even got to the fair market value of the weapons. I wasn't going to do that to a customer, especially not a fellow combat vet. I charged him a single transfer fee for the whole lot since doing the paperwork for five wasn't too far out of the way from doing it for only one weapon. Don't get me started on my opinions regarding transfer fees and state enforced tax collection. Your friend was even nice enough to allow me the time to get the paperwork in order since i hadn't had time to get them in the books (since i was finally able to squeeze in a four day weekend) and figure out what was going on with the weapons, which, by the way, were shipped with no more paperwork that a xerox copy of his .mil and out of state ID. He patiently waited two additional days while i got back into town and got the paperwork in order. I lauded his patience and did everything in my power to make the whole process as speedy and stress-free as possible. Not to mention the fact that he showed up to receive them the same day they arrived. Would that i had more transfers with customers so motivated and on the ball. And by the way, next time you have an issue with the way things go down, maybe speak up instead of being a wallflower, perhaps. Silent wheels get no grease. |
| I thought that you only had to pay the use tax if you can't prove that you have already paid the appropriate sales tax on said firearm. Either in this state or another. I guess that would only apply to those that you bought at a store. Especially since he supposedly bought them in this state to begin with... I'm guessing on that. |
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perhaps the tax could have been circumvented with proper documentation proving the tax had already been paid, but as i said none was provided. all i had was a copy of his ID and that's it. i didn't even dig in to find out what the fair market value was. i simply asked him what he paid for them expecting him to be honest and adjusted based on that.
you'll notice it's not the guy whose transfer is in question here making comments. i respect the fact that he is a combat vet and that he's a gold contributor, but perhaps a better grasp of the laws and process might aid him in his complaint. I bend over backwards for my customers and i don't really like it when people devalue my effort |
| I have always gotten great service at Quantico. I will say the guys down the road had a hard time wrapping thier head around a set of Navy orders when a friend of mine tried to buy a lower from them. The orders in question only stated the name of the ship and not where it's home port is. Bottom line, Quantico got the sale. |
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I think this thread did NOT go the way the OP expected..... blindfox- Way to step up and address the issue, goodonya. If you're going to AAR it, I still need three downs.  As to the service issue there...I was in several times from 2005-2007, and was never happy. I was either ignored, or had someone giving me a snakeoil routine about P-Mags. On one visit, there was NO ONE on the sales floor...although I listened to an employee chatting on the phone behind a partititon for 15 minutes.   
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okay, three improves, hmmm...
1) I could've been here to receive his weapon and gotten all the paperwork done more riki-tik had i not been on a sales call out on the dry side or been on a very much needed weekend so i failed in that aspect. My bad. 2) I could've come in early on tuesday, my first day back to work this week and gotten caught up on all the things that were waiting on my desk (to include a heaping pile of guns) before the first customer walked into the door, but i just didn't feel like coming into work an hour and a half or so early. Please pardon my laziness. 3) and the number one sham-shield excuse to cover any and all bases: my leadership failed me. [/drumroll] (j/k, they had nothing to do with this, short of policies enacted from higher) honestly though, i accept all constructive criticism and will always strive to improve service to my customers, within reason, and if there's anything i can do within my power to take care of you guys i'll be happy to do so, all you gotta do is communicate with me. as a 'salesman' working in this industry my greatest strength is my forthrightness. oddly enough, this is also my greatest weakness. |
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okay, three improves, hmmm... 1) I could've been here to receive his weapon and gotten all the paperwork done more riki-tik had i not been on a sales call out on the dry side or been on a very much needed weekend so i failed in that aspect. My bad. 2) I could've come in early on tuesday, my first day back to work this week and gotten caught up on all the things that were waiting on my desk (to include a heaping pile of guns) before the first customer walked into the door, but i just didn't feel like coming into work an hour and a half or so early. Please pardon my laziness. 3) and the number one sham-shield excuse to cover any and all bases: my leadership failed me. [/drumroll] (j/k, they had nothing to do with this, short of policies enacted from higher) honestly though, i accept all constructive criticism and will always strive to improve service to my customers, within reason, and if there's anything i can do within my power to take care of you guys i'll be happy to do so, all you gotta do is communicate with me. as a 'salesman' working in this industry my greatest strength is my forthrightness. oddly enough, this is also my greatest weakness. Well, I owe you an apology sir. I was going off of what he called and told me after it happened. Now I look like a douche. From what I heard it needed to be brought to attention, but I was wrong. I was only trying to keep people from experiencing a nightmare in customer service but apparently thats not what happened here. So publicly, I'm sorry for bashing your store and your service |
| For second round of thoughts. I always love a good story about some fucked up, clueless soldier that doesn't have his shit together like something as simple as AKO access or having proper paperwork and what not always blames it on the person that "isn't helping me out." Fucktards like that are reason 264 why I got out of the Army. Spec-4, your friend sounds like a dumb fuck. Had that been me I would have just mailed the shit to myself back and forth. Transfers are for transfers of ownership. If you move from 1 state to the other are you going to pay have a transfer done to yourself? Fuck no, you throw the shit in your rig and you drive to where you are going. |
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Well, I owe you an apology sir. I was going off of what he called and told me after it happened. Now I look like a douche. From what I heard it needed to be brought to attention, but I was wrong. I was only trying to keep people from experiencing a nightmare in customer service but apparently thats not what happened here. So publicly, I'm sorry for bashing your store and your service it's no problem, i'm glad we came to a reasonable outcome. and for the record, your buddy was cool and patient and understanding. we always strive to take care of our military customers to the best of our ability. NOTE: for that matter we try to give every customer our very best, regardless of your camo pattern, badge, trucker hat, or fresh kicks. our community and culture is such that we are often mistaken or misrepresented by many and we should always take care of each other, just as Spec-4 was trying to do for his buddy. so apology accepted and i'll see you out at the range |
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I think this thread did NOT go the way the OP expected..... blindfox- Way to step up and address the issue, goodonya. If you're going to AAR it, I still need three downs.
As to the service issue there...I was in several times from 2005-2007, and was never happy. I was either ignored, or had someone giving me a snakeoil routine about P-Mags. On one visit, there was NO ONE on the sales floor...although I listened to an employee chatting on the phone behind a partititon for 15 minutes. For what it's worth, they've had at least 94 different employees since then. Turnover was pretty high in there until recently. Last few times I've been in there have been good service wise, not to say anything about the prices 
Of course, I don't have a GSA card 
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Quoted:
I think this thread did NOT go the way the OP expected..... blindfox- Way to step up and address the issue, goodonya. If you're going to AAR it, I still need three downs.
As to the service issue there...I was in several times from 2005-2007, and was never happy. I was either ignored, or had someone giving me a snakeoil routine about P-Mags. On one visit, there was NO ONE on the sales floor...although I listened to an employee chatting on the phone behind a partititon for 15 minutes. For what it's worth, they've had at least 94 different employees since then. Turnover was pretty high in there until recently. Last few times I've been in there have been good service wise, not to say anything about the prices
Of course, I don't have a GSA card +1 and I do have a GSA card. But current restrictions/card policies prevent me from buying from there, have to use mandatory sources first, esp if placing an order. |
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Never had a BAD experience with QT, of course I've been there once since Jeff left (might have something to do with it). That one time I was helped right away and Alex (yes that Alex) was very helpful in getting me an Aimpoint ML2 and mount on my way to LCR. The only problem I had was the standing there for 45 minutes waitng to ring the thing up. There were some problems with some deploying soldiers .gov credit card and they were desperate to get some gear before heading out. While it could have been a quick ring up and I was out the door I was put on hold for the 5k order. Wasn't really a BIG deal to me, I had no where to go, it was a mild annoyance.
However, there are two reason I don't go there. 1) geography, I live up near Everett, it's not like I can stop on the way home from work. 2) Their prices. case in point, Discount Gun Sales (Notorious behind Wade's in prices) has an Aimpoint Comp M2 listed at $479.99. Quantico has the same for $552.00. While Del-Ton has them online at $450. I know this is only one example, but still. $100 over what I can get it for online. I do put QT in my rotation of places to check prices when I'm looking for stuff, but I've found DGS even beats them (and that says a lot, IMHO)... |
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admittedly we've always had an issue with continuity due to the turnover of employees around here. I've been working at QT since right after i got off the freedom bird on my last rodeo and i've seen an entire turnover. i'm just about a full year here and firearms manager officially for eight months. there's a lot of pipe dreams and wish lists for some cool stuff, programs, sponsorships and various other stuff, but we still have to trudge our way through a corporate mechanism so it's kind of a 'work with what you have' mentality. Our new manager Kevin has a lot of great ideas on ways to improve various aspects and higher is starting to give us a little more leeway but, as is the case with most towering bureaucracies, it takes some time to gain the momentum for change.
as far as interwebs price checking, keep in mind you can often get a better deal by actually visiting the shop. aside from having different price levels for military, law enforcement, and GSA we always have a lot of stuff on sales, clearances, and other perks. sometimes you might even be able to bargain a little bit. other services include price matching, layaways, hell, if your arms are full we'll help you carry it to your car |
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you know, originally i made this account for me, but it seems like i only end up using it for the occaisonal question and shop defense as a mouthpiece for QT. not my intent, but *shrug* it is what it is.
EDIT: while i'm at it and my attention is on this thread why don't you guys throw some honest and specific sustains/improves at me? i've got at least a little bit of weight on my collar and i'll see what i can do to make adjustments here and there that you guys would like to see. or at least it can serve as a gripe session and i can address any other concerns you guys might have, perhaps clear up a few things that may be unsatisfactory or unclear to the arfcom community. by all means, give me what ya got |
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1. Speak to everyone who comes through the door, even if it's just hello. I hate being ignored.
2. If you wanna talk to a buddy about what club you are gonna go to that night, do it after helping the guy who's standing at the counter with money in his hand. I hate fucking waiting. 3. Don't tell people that they can't look at firearms because you don't have enough employees working. Hire more employees or stop selling guns. That's three right off the top of my head. |
| haven't been in for a long time, so things may be completely different now...i went in just a week or two after they got their ffl and had firearms for sale....i was looking to buy, had cash, but the counter guys were rude and completely ignored me, so i left and never went back...didn't cause a scene or complain..just took my money somewhere else....if you've turned over the staff completely, i'll check it out again.. |
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Quoted: 1. Speak to everyone who comes through the door, even if it's just hello. I hate being ignored. Quantico Tactical has already lost any business it might have gotten from me because of this right here. If the staff can't even be bothered to acknowledge the customers when they come in, then they might as well close the doors for good as far as I'm concerned. I've been in that store twice. I got the exact same treatment both times. There will never be a third time. |
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1. Speak to everyone who comes through the door, even if it's just hello. I hate being ignored. this is something that we have addressed and we now make sure no one goes ignored, even if, as you said, it's only a simple acknowledgement 2. If you wanna talk to a buddy about what club you are gonna go to that night, do it after helping the guy who's standing at the counter with money in his hand. I hate fucking waiting. this too is something that has been addressed ad nauseum here. the only thing i'd throw out there is sometimes (and i'll use myself as an example here) we have a customer who comes in regularly and wants to talk about a part or gear they need, where to find something, or sometimes folks just like to come in and shoot the shit. i try to entertain their conversation but simply cutting them off mid-sentence seems very rude to me so i try to get the conversation to a point where i can interject and remind them that there are other customers who need to be helped. usually they don't have a problem with this. or another thing i like to do is invite the person to join in the conversation: "so, what club are you going to tonight, sir or ma'am?" which usually segueways into addressing their particular needs. Oh, and i hate letting people wait at the register. i break off and help them, while apologizing for the wait, even if the wait was only 15 seconds 3. Don't tell people that they can't look at firearms because you don't have enough employees working. Hire more employees or stop selling guns. this hasn't really been an issue here in my tenure, however when i hand a gun to a customer and i have something come up on the other side of the store that demands my attention i'm generally going to go one of two directions with it; i'll either ask the person to let me put it back in the case while i attend to the issue then return and give it back, or i'll make a spot decision and if i think i can trust the person with the wespon while i walk 15 meters away i'll just leave it with them while they turn it over in their sweaty anticipating hands (while i maintain my situational awareness and keep an eye on them from across the store). one thing you won't here me say in response to the "can i see this one" is "only if you're going to buy it," one of the best and widely known sales tricks is to let the customer fiddle around with something and it' generally going to make them want it more; why wouldn't i let them see it? That's three right off the top of my head. |
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1. Speak to everyone who comes through the door, even if it's just hello. I hate being ignored. Quantico Tactical has already lost any business it might have gotten from me because of this right here. If the staff can't even be bothered to acknowledge the customers when they come in, then they might as well close the doors for good as far as I'm concerned. I've been in that store twice. I got the exact same treatment both times. There will never be a third time. again, we address everyone so this won't happen if you show up a third time. |
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two points have been brought up repeatedly and they go hand in hand and i just want to throw this out there:
"they gave me bad service last time i was in there in 20xx so i'll never go back" and "they go through employees a lot" when you got bad service that may have been 1 or more turnovers ago. there's a new crew running the place and a lot of the issues that have been repeated over and over have been heard and we took them to heart. i mean, we're still getting penalized for the rude actions of some other jerk who hasn't worked here in probably years |
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two points have been brought up repeatedly and they go hand in hand and i just want to throw this out there: "they gave me bad service last time i was in there in 20xx so i'll never go back" and "they go through employees a lot" when you got bad service that may have been 1 or more turnovers ago. there's a new crew running the place and a lot of the issues that have been repeated over and over have been heard and we took them to heart. i mean, we're still getting penalized for the rude actions of some other jerk who hasn't worked here in probably years That's only because Matt45 is always standing out in front telling people not to go inside. Look at what he did to the dry cleaner shop when they ruined his puffy shirt. Take a look outside and you might catch him there, used to be dressed as a construction worker, now usually wears a top hat, spats, monocle and a cane. Could use some donuts/coffee as bait? 
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I have got to say that I have been treated well, and have gotten a few good deals. Running back to when BM66 and Daddy's Girl where there. Now I will admit that I have seen and heard some things from the employees there in the past that made me go Not directed at me but just something that should not be overheard in a retail establishment. They are on my regular rounds, along with Gunz and Schizzle, Rainier, West Coast, Ben's Fed Way Disc, Mary's. So that being said I don't have a beef with them.
Sir James... |
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Quoted:
1. Speak to everyone who comes through the door, even if it's just hello. I hate being ignored. this is something that we have addressed and we now make sure no one goes ignored, even if, as you said, it's only a simple acknowledgement 2. If you wanna talk to a buddy about what club you are gonna go to that night, do it after helping the guy who's standing at the counter with money in his hand. I hate fucking waiting. this too is something that has been addressed ad nauseum here. the only thing i'd throw out there is sometimes (and i'll use myself as an example here) we have a customer who comes in regularly and wants to talk about a part or gear they need, where to find something, or sometimes folks just like to come in and shoot the shit. i try to entertain their conversation but simply cutting them off mid-sentence seems very rude to me so i try to get the conversation to a point where i can interject and remind them that there are other customers who need to be helped. usually they don't have a problem with this. or another thing i like to do is invite the person to join in the conversation: "so, what club are you going to tonight, sir or ma'am?" which usually segueways into addressing their particular needs. Oh, and i hate letting people wait at the register. i break off and help them, while apologizing for the wait, even if the wait was only 15 seconds 3. Don't tell people that they can't look at firearms because you don't have enough employees working. Hire more employees or stop selling guns. this hasn't really been an issue here in my tenure, however when i hand a gun to a customer and i have something come up on the other side of the store that demands my attention i'm generally going to go one of two directions with it; i'll either ask the person to let me put it back in the case while i attend to the issue then return and give it back, or i'll make a spot decision and if i think i can trust the person with the wespon while i walk 15 meters away i'll just leave it with them while they turn it over in their sweaty anticipating hands (while i maintain my situational awareness and keep an eye on them from across the store). one thing you won't here me say in response to the "can i see this one" is "only if you're going to buy it," one of the best and widely known sales tricks is to let the customer fiddle around with something and it' generally going to make them want it more; why wouldn't i let them see it? That's three right off the top of my head. I'd add: treat EVERY customer the same (that is, WELL!) whether they're .mil or LEO or not. Some of us have been out for a while, but still have cash to spend.
If you guys are changin' gears and doin' it right, good on ya. |
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Between Tactical Tailor and Surplus Arms and Ammo.. I rarely stop at QT when I'm cruising through Lakehood anymore unless I know they have something... been up there twice in the last week
I think for me, the big reason is when I'm looking for gear.. I go TT first and if I don't care for what they have or don't have what I want I'll go online. The gear selection in QT is pretty much down to Blackhawk and 5.11 with a little Specter and BDS thrown in.. not really my cup of tea. With SAA behind TT... it's like a 1 stop shop. Plus SAA has Blade-Tech stuff 
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