Poll: how important is customer service in your local shop to you?

[x1hunter89]

i enjoy being able to trust a local shop knowing that i can go ask questions and feel comfortable doing it is a good feeling to me

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[Swedish K]

Agreed - it is nice to have a gun shop that has decent customer service. A friend owns the local shop and provides excellent customer service, however I can say I see why some shops develop an "attitude" toward unknown customers over time. I am amazed at the number of rude, disrespectful, and just plain stupid customers with huge egos come in to the shop on a daily basis. I have seen one person that kept tossing handguns back and forth between his hands and when asked to please not throw the gun responded with " oh yeah? I'm not going to drop it" and started at it again. The gun was retrieved and customer asked to leave the store. Another customer brought in a 12 ga with a live round stuck in the chamber and swept others in the shop with it after being told that they don't work on guns at the store and take it to one of the local gunsmiths. You also often see the "internet commandos" who think they are qualified experts on all weapons because they have a .22 and a pump 12ga and read about the weapon in question on the internet or saw it on TV. There was even a guy who bought a new pistol, went home and discovered the factory test target and 2 shell casings in a ziplock baggie in the box so he calls the shop drunk late that night leaving 7 slurring messages about he got robbed because his new gun had been fired. He proceeded to file a small claims case over it on Monday (the shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays). As a result the shop owner had to close down on the day of the case and the customer didn't bother to show up. I do realize that all of this is part of owning a business and you shouldn't be in the business unless you have some people skills, however, after seeing all of the problem customers I tend to be a bit more lenient toward shop owners who have a bit of attitude for the first few visits now. Oddly enough I didn't run into nearly the number of problem people when I had my FFL and did the gun show circuit, then again I didn't have a store front and at that time people didn't live their lives on line and think they knew everything there was to know about the AK, AR, 1911, etc because they saw some youtube self proclaimed expert's video and take it as gospel because he has spec ops posters on the wall.

OK - I'll step off the soap box now...

Back to the OPs original question - Yes good customer service is important at the local shop. I would prefer the shop employees be honest and tell me that they don't know something than claim to be an expert and give misinformation. I also expect polite service and, regardless of if the shop is busy or empty, expect them to recognize that I am there. I have been in more than one shop where the employees acted like I was intruding on their personal time and it was a huge effort to do their job and show me something in the case. Needless to say, the shop with great customer service that doesn't treat you like a pest or an idiot for asking a few questions is far more likely to get my money than the ones with poor customer service even if it comes with a slightly higher price tag.

 

[VW_Factor]

Most important thing still is, and always will be customer service for any sort of retail or retailish work.

 

[Rascals]

Very important. Thats why I hate shopping in Portland area. To many jerks in gunshops.

 

[wrassleman07]

There are a couple shops near me. Costumer service is everything. Ive driven 100miles to buy from a shop that I know will have what i need, have the answers i ask, and treat me like a valued costumer. They get my future business because they treated me right the first time. Even if they didn't make as much as the other guys because they were flexible, they will over the long run

 

[mjbskwim]

I give people crap all the time on here for buying online and saving $20. I like to grope a gun before I buy it.
And you better know at least as much as me if you are going to be a jerk. Some know more but are never a better jerk than me.

Guns,to me, are somewhat serious business. So if you are stupid or new,you better be polite.
After I know your sense of humor and knowledge,I don't care much about the rest

 

[CharonPDX]

Mixed bag. I'll pay a little more for good service, but I'm willing to put up with mediocre service if the savings are high enough. I am NOT willing to put up with BAD service, regardless of savings, though.

 

[PDXSparky]

Mixed bag. I'll pay a little more for good service, but I'm willing to put up with mediocre service if the savings are high enough. I am NOT willing to put up with BAD service, regardless of savings, though.

Pretty close to what I was thinking. I want to support the local gun shop and I'll pay a little more to do so if the customer service is good enough.

 

[auditrevor]

to me as a customer, I feel like I really don't ask for a whole lot besides some basic product knowledge and the seller to be willing to be reasonable with me, If I can show them a print off of a brand new gun that they are asking $200 more for that I can get online I expect them to be able to at least meet me somewhere in the middle. that being said I don't mind paying a few more bucks to help support a local business but Ill say this, I will never go back to gun crafters after I was looking at a handgun and the sales person called me a cheap *** when I asked him for a few minutes to decide if it was what I truly wanted to buy (I am a cheap *** at heart but he had no place to call me that) I set the gun back down and promptly left the store. since then Iv gone to oles gun shop and have nothing but good things to say about the lady that helped me with my ffl transfer. Ill definitely be giving them my business again.

as for gun crafters, I will bad mouth them every chance I get until I feel that they make things right with me (which wont happen)

 

[VW_Factor]

Mixed bag. I'll pay a little more for good service, but I'm willing to put up with mediocre service if the savings are high enough. I am NOT willing to put up with BAD service, regardless of savings, though.

Anyone should always ask a fair price for their wares. Its natural to not want to overpay or go over market value for anything.

I will always shop as local as I can, and give the good shops my business.

I will not give business to someone who prices out their "services" or "quality" to an extreme. It is simply not worth it.

I will not give business to anyone who treats me as I am replaceable, or that I will simply come back because of their "rock bottom" prices. Nothing in the world will get me to give money to some jackwagon. I've too much pride for that.

 

[Jammer Six]

Not only do you need treat me well, you need to treat my wife as well as you treat me, in spite of the fact that she doesn't know anything about guns.

You need to treat new shooters, who obviously don't know anything as well as you treat me, and you need to go the extra mile for new shooters. The less they know, the further you need to be willing to go.

And they never, ever should find out that you went an inch out of your way, they should never realize that you're making up for their lack of knowledge.

If you won't do these things, you are working against us; you are creating a legitimate bad taste in peoples mouths about guns.

And that won't do.

The days of good ol' boys selling to others who are "one of us" are over.

We need gun counter folks who are ambassadors from our culture to any of the cultures who don't shoot.

 

[Withemsgunshop]

I have been on both sides of the counter and it has really pissed me of when you go into a gun shop and the counter person will not speak to you or try and help you. So If I ever go back to those shops I expect a bad additude there. So I am always just polite to them and leave.

In my shop I great everyone when they come in the door. Ask them if they need help or are just looking. If you do not have costomer skills you should not be selling guns. Or anything else for that matter. I have had the know it alls and the guys that want to slam the cyl shut on revolvers. But all in all 98% that come in are good customers. The other 2% you have to take with a grain of salt and a shot of wiskey after work...

 

[tac]

Here in yUK we are very lucky - in both our local gunstores the boss and most of the staff are also fellow club members. They all know that if they give us ANY kind of a hard time then it spells all kinds of cr&p heading their way next time they come to the range. With the economy the way it is here, great deals are the norm - just wish that buying WHAT we wanted WHEN we wanted it was whole lot easier to do. My got-to-have list is getting bigger by the day, but I'll be dust on the wind before any of my new gun dreams are fulfilled.

tac

 

[mjbskwim]

I just moved my scope from my AR,that can use a 30 round magazine,to my Savage M12 and it works/fits perfect.

Oh wait,I should put this in another thread.
Sorry..

They have High Cap mags at Wholesale too
Ohhh,didn't mean to offend the Cally boys



:dinner:

 

[x1hunter89]

just a heads up if you go to wholesale sports be amazed by the older guy named james i was their tonight and glad he was assisting me in picking my next firearm. I enjoyed listening agreed with what he said and learned a bit also wholesale sports in clackamas on 82nd. +1 for james! just thought id through this up since i read bad reviews on here about them but it was good experience for me

 

[jasonabernathy75]

To me its a weird concept with customer service, esp. here in Oregon. I am from the South (North Carolina) and while there, customer service was great, not only was the sales people nice, they are very knowledgable, mostly because most gun shops in that part of the nation are equipt with a range. So in a lot of the cases, they know how the gun shots, and sometimes you can shot before you buy. My favorite shop was one with a range and they had a model for rent of every gun they offered in the store, so you could rent it and test it prior too.
Now, here in Oregon, I find if you don't walk into a store looking like a hunter, or a tact out police officer, then you don't even get a serious look. 2nd, customer service in any store here sucks to be honest, but its not what i am use to. 3rd, the dealers are not knowledgable about their products. I hear this a lot in shops "wish i could shot it, i heard its a great gun", or "your not going to get the same quality with this, price always reflects quality". Now that last statement is sorta true, but not always. I just wish we had a gun shop in the portland area that can educate me before the buy a little better. I wish there was a shop that had a range and rented equipment, I bet they would do a lot better and have more pleased customers.

 

[NWARMORY]

Good evening,

May I jump in?

I try to ask our customers, when I can, how we may do a better job, the answers I hear, center on price & having the product in stock.

Which is different than my personal shopping choices, when I help a customer ( and what I instruct my family & employees) is
to treat people (customers) the same as you would like to be treated yourself.

I always welcome customers to ask to talk to me if one of our employees is unable to help them.

Jeani, Curt (Curt's Discount) & I started selling firearms at gun shows in 1992 and the 3 of us opened our first shop in 1994 & moved to McLoughlin Blvd in 1995. This is our 20th year!! I will say it is very hard to do a good job in retail sales, but we try.

Thank you,

Karl

 

[unklekippy]

Quite frankly Karl, your employee's, your wife and your children have treated me with the utmost respect and decency. I have purchased $8 items and firearms and I believe the service is consistent and good. Your wife took her time to help me select the Galco High Rise holster for my 686. After confirming that one was not in stock, she then was not only able to order it, but showed me other options as well. She took the time and effort to make sure that it was right. Your employee's are friendly and courteous, from the gentleman that helped me pick out a shotgun(Winchester 1300), the gentleman that fixed my Kimber that I screwed up for FREE, even after I told him that I bought it at Keith's. I walked out of the store with an SR9c that day after only going there to get my stupidity fixed. Never once was I made to feel foolish(though I was). Another employee helped me secure a Ruger SR1911 on the day of the Lars Larson promotion in October. Your daughter has engaged my 8 year old with patience and care. He thought it was the coolest thing ever that her boyfriend had the same name as Daddy(but with an extra p)! I appreciate you and your employees. Please, keep up the good work. Kip.