Im not really grouchy but i can see how guys become grouchy
I have recently experienced the perfect " customer" kinda lie the perfec storm
I have to give a bit of back story.......

About a month ago guy comes in and wants a muzzleloader
I show him diffent stuff and give him a quick walk though as he is a complete newbie
spend about 15 moinutes or so with him
i get the Ill think about it and he leaves ( no biggie happens all the time )


Another week he comes in and has his kid this kid is a frigging monster  tearing around the shop full speed  I nicely mention he should be more careful , guy just keeps asking me about rifles ignores his kid
the kid then pulls his coat over his head and runs around goes full speed in to the corner of a shelf  kid is wailing dad is ignoring him  he thengoes and drags the kid over and asks about rifles for another 10 minutes with the kid waikling at our feet
again leaves with a "Ill think about it "



Week after that comes back in with  demon child and the wife , the  wife is very hostile and basiclly accuses me of puttng ideas in his head that cost money , I  try to slink away but he keeps asking stuff and pulling me back in  , kids is racing around again



END OF BACK STORY

another week later 15 minutes after closing time  lights are off......

BAN BANG BANG on the door  go look its him.... with a rifle box under his arm
i let him  in as I usally do if someone i reconize needs something after hours
He just got back into town after driving 40 miles to another store

tell me about how rude they were to him, they would not help him  and he will never go back but hey while he was there he bought a rifle

I thought i might salvage this i was like
me: Oh so you need a scope ?
HIM: Nope bought one there

ME:ok need rings?
HIM:No got um there too

ME:Oh ok what do you need supplies  bullets powder etc?
HIM :No i got those there too
, I got what you recommended  since you seem like you knew what you were doing unlike the punks at the other store


Me: so was the rifle on a big sale or something  
HIM:They were $20 higher on the rifle too but i figured i was there i should just get it

Me:Ok then what do you need my help with?
Him: well can you mount and boresite  my scope as the last one they did at the other store  they fucked it up


Me :ok yeah Ill mount it up for you
ok all done that will be $10 ( 1/2 what the other shop charges even if you buy stuff there)

HIM: I thought you said you mount and boresite for free?
ME: well thats if you buy the scope or rifle  from me  
( I usally do it for free even if they just get rings and or bases)

Him: Well Im  a good customer  you shouldn't charge me  (Even though  I have never bought anything from you , picked your mind for a month and bought everything at another store for more $$$)


Me: yeah you are right  have a nice evening and come again  ( I just want to get home as we closed 1/2 hour ago)



Im not  mad as these things happen all the time in retail i have just never had that many happen wit one customer  LOL

Are you serious ???!!!  



Holy crap.  I think I might have shot him, had that been me.  

You are waaaay more nice than I am.

A classic.

Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash...

I understand how some gun dealers can become frustrated.

Most of the time, however, the ones behind the counter are just as retarded as the ones in front of it.  

I sometimes feel bad because the gunsmith I go to all the time is the nicest guy ever, and he never hesitates to do transfers for me. I have only purchased one gun from him directly though, all the other ones have gone through him for a measly transfer fee. I do my best to angle any potential customers to him, and i know he offers a service and i pay for it, but i still feel guilty sometimes.

Why can't you work at the gunstores here?

I'd have kicked him in the teeth and then told him to see if the dentist would fix them for free..

What a total POS that customer is! His behavior reflects fundamental social retardation. I can't imagine a friggin' 16 year-old doing something like that. While the law would frown on retaliation, I think God would understand if you burned his car to cinders.

Makes me ashamed to be human.

the guy was an asshat!

Its not just guns, its retail period.  When I worked at a grocery store, I saw some lady try to negotiate the price of a basket of strawberries with my boss?

Quoted: I sometimes feel bad because the gunsmith I go to all the time is the nicest guy ever, and he never hesitates to do transfers for me. I have only purchased one gun from him directly though, all the other ones have gone through him for a measly transfer fee. I do my best to angle any potential customers to him, and i know he offers a service and i pay for it, but i still feel guilty sometimes.

Whe I get "upside-down" like that with my "home" gunshop (the guys are absolute princes), I buy stuff I don't really need that won't go bad. Extra ammo, cleaning supplies, whatever.

I wish people would just have some common sense.  Services NEVER come free from ANYWHERE if you didn't buy the product from the person offering the service.  Duh!


Ok, there seems to be a feud between gun store owners/workers and consumers.  I have a suggestion.  Let's just rise above this and treat EVERYONE with some respect.  Even if they still treat you like an idiot, rise above, and say "Thank you for your time sir, good day and we'll see you next time!"   (And if you can genuinely say it AND mean it, that would be grrrreat.)

Quoted: Another week he comes in and has his kid this kid is a frigging monster  tearing around the shop full speed  I nicely mention he should be more careful , guy just keeps asking me about rifles ignores his kid the kid then pulls his coat over his head and runs around goes full speed in to the corner of a shelf  kid is wailing dad is ignoring him  he thengoes and drags the kid over and asks about rifles for another 10 minutes with the kid waikling at our feet again leaves with a "Ill think about it "

Is this the kid?

Quoted: Im not really grouchy but i can see how guys become grouchy I have recently experienced the perfect " customer" kinda lie the perfec storm I have to give a bit of back story.......

I feel for you on this one, and I give you alot of credit for not telling him GFY. I try to be nice but thats just too much.

Wait till he screws something up, and comes to you...
expecting you to ship it back to the MFR at no charge.

I would have either refused to boresight it or charged $100

What  is his screen name here?

IF I were in your shoes, I probably would have said:


GET OUT!!!   NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!

I always feel convicted for walking into gunshops and just browsing. . .

Now I sorta know how you feel. . . although in my defense when I buy a gun at another shop it's because they legitimately had a better price and the other shop couldn't meet it.  

Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash...

And how is that different than a dealer that charges 3% more if you charge your purchase?

Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash...

Why not a discount if they pay cash and are a good customer? I spent well into 5 figures last year at one shop and I always asked for a discount for cash. I got it also. I'm a browser but I'm always looking to buy if I find what I am looking for. I expect to pay a FFL for receiving and logging something I buy, and I expect that if they get something in they know I would be interested in they will put it aside for a few days to let me check it out. They did when they finally got in a 9mm Colt AR and I bought it, and I've done it on a few other guns. Win Win situation for both the shopowner and myself.

And I would have charged $50 bucks for a dipwad like that. He was no customer, he was a info whore.

Im a very non confrontational person
I guess i should be more agressive like some of the other gun shop people you talk about

WOW... I would have told him to get out. Come back when I am open.

"You didnt buy anything, so you arent actually a customer at all. Pay me or you dont get the rifle back."

Either that or a "f u c k    o f f"  would have been good.

Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash...

I get a discount for cash at the shop I go to.  It was offered to me, though.  I never asked for it.

I go to this place at least once a week and I see what they have to put up with.  People come in and finger all the guns, ask a million questions and never buy anything.  If they do want to buy they want the gun at 10 under cost and a free box of ammo.  These people will also be the first to complain if the local dealer goes out of business because all anyone does is come in to play with their stock and then buys the gun wherever they can get $5 off.  I'd be grouchy on a good day.  

Quoted: I wish people would just have some common sense.  Services NEVER come free from ANYWHERE if you didn't buy the product from the person offering the service.  Duh! Ok, there seems to be a feud between gun store owners/workers and consumers.  I have a suggestion.  Let's just rise above this and treat EVERYONE with some respect.  Even if they still treat you like an idiot, rise above, and say "Thank you for your time sir, good day and we'll see you next time!"   (And if you can genuinely say it AND mean it, that would be grrrreat.)

That's really the way it should be.  If you're lucky when some idiot comes in and acts stupid, some tool like me will be there to make fun of them when you can't.  

I was at my local shop the weekend before deer season here.  They were of course busy as hell and I was just goofing off trying to decide on a revolver.  

This guy comes in and asks if they have any used guns.  They don't usually do trade-ins unless it's something rare or valuable or it's a walk-in who just wants to sell the gun to get rid of it.  

Shop guy says, "Yeah we have a few on the rack over there, what are you looking for?"
The guy replies, "Something for deer.  Something small.  Like a .22"
shop guy: ".22 Long Rifle?"
nutjob: "Yeah.  Used."
Shop guy looks at him like he's got a horn growing out of his forehead.  
Me, to shop guy: "Man don't you know anything, it's all about shot placement!  And those game laws against using rimfire for deer are bullshit."
Nutjob loses interest in a .22 for deer.  He leaves a couple minutes later because he needs to "think about it".  

Quoted: Im a very non confrontational person I guess i should be more agressive like some of the other gun shop people you talk about

Gulbranson should come to mind here...

You should tell them the saga of the 940 S&W....

Sound like the pawn shop/gun shop I deal with!

Great guys and I spend lots of money with them.

I went into a local shop about 4 weeks ago and the guy barked "what do you want?"

I was checking out a Colt SSA they had and I would've bought it had he treated me with respect. Fug em!

I bought my sons 10/22, scope and other parts elsewhere.

You are nicer than me. I would just mount the scope backwards.

But hopefully your good deed will be rewarded 10 fold

I don't know how gun shop owners/workers feel, but I have two emotions when I think about going into a gun shop.  I cringe at the thought of "just looking" (I don't ask a bunch of stupid questions, nor do I ask to feel them unless I am going to buy) because there seems to be this expectation of cash for goods exchange at a gun shop.  Most of the time I'm going for a specific item and if they don't have it, I look at the guns they do have then leave and tell the guy thanks (I'm currently on the hunt for +P 124 gr 9mm gold dots).  The second emotion I feel, which is less powerful than the cringe, is interest.  I'm curious what they have, not because I want to buy it, but because I'm curious.  Like I said, I don't finger shop, nor do I ask a bunch of stupid questions (I know most of the answers before I go buy because I research and shop for a specific firearm/know enough background that I won't get ripped if I don't like it).  Now, if I had a kid, and took it anywhere, it would not behave like that.  

Quoted: Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash... And how is that different than a dealer that charges 3% more if you charge your purchase?

You know what's fun to do with these guys?  Purchuse whatever it is from them, charge it to VISA, and go home.  When you get home, call Visa and tell them the dealer is charging more for credit purchuses.  Visa will get your extra 3% back, and if the dealer gets too many complaints, Visa (MC and AMEX too) will suspend their merchant accounts.  It violates their merchant agreement to charge extra if customers use a credit card.

Quoted: You are nicer than me. I would just mount the scope backwards.

Or with X crosshairs -- or with zero eye relief!

I am usually the guy who walks in right after doofuszoid leaves, with $500 cash in my pocket I WANT to spend and knowing exactly what I want. Then someone in the gunshop treats me like a 5 year old or yells at me right off the bat and I take my money and leave. So I think you did the right thing.

That was part of the love/hate relationship I had with my dirtbike/atv shop.   I hate assholes and loved being able to point them to the street. That guy is NOT a customer, he is a leach sucking time out of you. F*&k him.   I used to have idiots buy ATV tires over the internet and then bring them to me to mount. F&*K you ! Mount the damn thing yourself.  It's a frigging wrestling match.

I had $4500 worth of cyl boring equipment. I only bored your cyl if I sold you the piston kit.  

I have told more than one parent that they needed to put their kid in the car.

If you weren't an asshole you thought I was the sweetest guy in the world.  Had plenty of people that  just came and hung out or dads would bring their kids and hang out on Sat morning.  One 5 yr old was a good mech.

Sold plenty of starter bikes. I had a rule, the kid had to be able to start it before he / she could take it home. Sometimes they would get this worried look on their face but they always managed it  with a bit of coaching and the look of accomplishment was priceless.  

rj

What a jerk off.  Hope he keeps his the rifle out of his demond kid's hands.

I've seen some real bozos in gun stores and how some owners keep there sanity is beyond me.

You really should have soldered the nipple shut, making his sorry ass own an expensive cap gun.

Really, do you want an asshat like that to have the ability to launch any type of projectile?

The other shop was probably Walmart.

You really should have soldered the nipple shut, making his sorry ass own an expensive cap gun.

Don't do that he want you (not who he bought it from) to ship back to manufacture for free.

mount the scope, sight it in and lock tight all the screws on the gun and turret protectors

Oh good no one is bitching about any shops in my state

SAAAFFFEEE

Man I would never go into the Gunstore business, its stories like these that keep me from even thinking about it.

I feel your pain bro, I have the worst of both worlds I sell guns in a department store (Academy sports and out doors). So not only do I have to deal with in-decisive gun owners  I have to deal with the riff-raft that find there way to my department usually in an attempt to locate the bathroom. The worst customer expieriece or aleast the most awkward went down like this:

Lady:(in spanish) excuse me young man were are the cleaning supplies for rifles?
Me: (in spanish) hello mam there in the isle right behind you next to the shotgun shells in the middle

about 10-15 mins later

Man: Hey bro did you see a lady come by looking for cleaning supplies for a rifle
Me: Yes sir as a matter of fact I did  
Man: How long ago was this?
Me: Im not quite sure sir i was in the middle of conducting a firearms sale maybe 10-15 minutes ago.
Man: Oh ok did she look old like me (laughs and points to his grey hair)
Me: No sir not that a recall
Man: (laugh starts to fade) so what the fuck you calling me old?
Me: No sir not at all, just that the lady I saw looked a bit younger
Man: well what the fuck is that supposed to mean smart ass
Me: well she looks younger then you I suppose
Man: Well shes my fucking wife
Me: (allready feeling were this conversation is going) well sir I guess congratulations are in order
Man: you called me fucking old, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!?!
Me: I suppose it means whatever you want it to mean sir excuse while I go show the gentle man over there a glock.
Man: (walking away) fucking smart ass kid

Quoted: Quoted: Im a very non confrontational person I guess i should be more agressive like some of the other gun shop people you talk about Gulbranson should come to mind here... You should tell them the saga of the 940 S&W....

LOL
I got in in SW 940 and sold it to Mr Anachornism at a very good price as he is a very good customer
he went to the local range to shoot it  and the owner of the range asked  what he had to give for it

Next time i went to the range I got a major earfull about selling guns way too cheap(like less than MSRP) and im fucking him out of bussiness

LOL 5 years later Im here he isn't Hmmmmm

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash... And how is that different than a dealer that charges 3% more if you charge your purchase? You know what's fun to do with these guys?  Purchuse whatever it is from them, charge it to VISA, and go home.  When you get home, call Visa and tell them the dealer is charging more for credit purchuses.  Visa will get your extra 3% back, and if the dealer gets too many complaints, Visa (MC and AMEX too) will suspend their merchant accounts.  It violates their merchant agreement to charge extra if customers use a credit card.

OR
You could just choose to shop elsewhere.

But let me guess, they guy that wants the 3% that Visa and Mastercard steal from him, has the cheapest prices around, right?

These are the guys that should mark up everything by 5% and give a discount for cash. Then Visa and Mastercard can go fuck themselves because there is no violation of CC policy for cash discounts.

Quoted: I cant think of a job worse than working in a gun shop when it comes to a broader range of stupid people who walk in the door - (maybe used care sales). I hate it (retail store front part of the business). Its cool when you get legit customers, but for the most part I hate it. I could write a book about the mouth breathers I've had to deal with.

Well, I want to personally thank you for taking the time to answer my questions via e-mail about RRA 9mm uppers. Your service, prices, and speed of shipping were awesome. The new upper looks great, can't wait to shoot it. Best of luck in your business!

You mighta got a good customer out of the deal.  Sounds like the poor bastard is the victim of a hen-pecking bitch of a wife who put him through the mill before he was allowed to buy the gun period.  And then she probably made him drive 40 miles out of the way to a "cheaper" place.

I used to date a girl who would drive 50 miles to buy toilet paper in a town where "everything was cheaper"...

I bet the poor slob had to get the cheapest rig he could find and still had to hear about how he was putting the family in the poorhouse so he could get his "fucking gun"...

If you are local for the guy I bet he will remember you the next time the bitch gives him a few bucks and lets him out of the house.

Trust me... been there, done that, got the divorce!

ETA:  he probably can't spank his kid either for fear the bitch will turn him in for child abuse...

Quoted: Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash... I get a discount for cash at the shop I go to.  It was offered to me, though.  I never asked for it. I go to this place at least once a week and I see what they have to put up with.  People come in and finger all the guns, ask a million questions and never buy anything.  If they do want to buy they want the gun at 10 under cost and a free box of ammo.  These people will also be the first to complain if the local dealer goes out of business because all anyone does is come in to play with their stock and then buys the gun wherever they can get $5 off.  I'd be grouchy on a good day.

this wouldnt happen to be sportsman corner in macon would it? Just curious cause thats where i have boght my last 3 guns from . they even use the 5% for cash as a selling point, worked on me

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: A classic. Another fun one involves people asking for a discount if they pay cash... And how is that different than a dealer that charges 3% more if you charge your purchase? You know what's fun to do with these guys?  Purchuse whatever it is from them, charge it to VISA, and go home.  When you get home, call Visa and tell them the dealer is charging more for credit purchuses.  Visa will get your extra 3% back, and if the dealer gets too many complaints, Visa (MC and AMEX too) will suspend their merchant accounts.  It violates their merchant agreement to charge extra if customers use a credit card. OR You could just choose to shop elsewhere. But let me guess, they guy that wants the 3% that Visa and Mastercard steal from him, has the cheapest prices around, right? These are the guys that should mark up everything by 5% and give a discount for cash. Then Visa and Mastercard can go fuck themselves because there is no violation of CC policy for cash discounts.

Or, they could just follow their merchant agreements.  Woah!  Shocker!

Even with the 3% fee, the merchant makes a lot more money being able to take credit cards then if he was a cash only business.