Guns shops from the other side of the counter!

Very interesting thread! I don't work at a gun shop, but I spend more time in them than I let my wife know (don't we all?). I like to hit them up on off-hours, for obvious reasons, when at all possible.

I find that being up-front goes a long way. "not ready to buy yet, but I'm looking for this, or something like that" or "looking for something to do this with" goes a long way. Make it a discussion, two sided. If I don't like what I hear, no harm, no foul, have a nice day.
 
Many customers obviously don't do any research before going to the LGS. They do their research at the LGS. I imagine the frustrated store employees wanting to yell, "Stop asking useless questions and just buy that LCP already!"
 
Many customers obviously don't do any research before going to the LGS. They do their research at the LGS. I imagine the frustrated store employees wanting to yell, "Stop asking useless questions and just buy that LCP already!"

I see that as i'm sure a lot of folks here do. i researched my latest purchase for over a month. decided, checked a website, confirmed in stock via telcon(does anyone even use that term anymore?)

drove to the store, hung around about 10 minutes listening to gun law talk. guy finally says '" can i help you??"

"yes" i said, pointed at what i wanted and said "write it up"

edit: it was MFS and the employee knew mass laws
 
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The exact opposite was the first time I met Adam from Acme Armament. After 20 seconds and two questions, I realized I needed to shut my mouth and listen because this guy knew his shit and would offer good advice.[/QUOTE]

I agree accept for the fact he would not sell large capacity rifles to class b license holders
 
If you go to a gun shop looking for answers on gun laws , that's just silly.
The only thing gun shops need to know is what is "legal" for them to do business.
Same with the police.
I had to actually inform a Police officer who stood his ground that Massachusetts residents could not own machine guns along with other made up stuff.
I work on cars and trucks and people ask me all sorts of questions on state inspection. I don't do state inspections and don't know the rules or regulations for inspection.
Business is not easy no matter what side of the counter you are on.
 
The exact opposite was the first time I met Adam from Acme Armament. After 20 seconds and two questions, I realized I needed to shut my mouth and listen because this guy knew his shit and would offer good advice.

I agree accept for the fact he would not sell large capacity rifles to class b license holders[/QUOTE]

I think section 131 covers this.
I did not have time to go through it.
Now after the law changes of 2014 can you by "high capacity" rifles or shotguns on a FID?
 
And the issue is? Sales 101. Put the items in people's hands. Why do you think jewelers have you put jewelry on? Then is the salesmens job to close the sale. Hire better help if you can't close the deal.
 
It has to be a hard business. There are a lot of people coming in who just got their LTC and have no idea about guns or what they want. They are depending on the guy or girl behind the counter to steer them in the right direction. I saw several of these type people a couple years back when everyone was getting their license. It takes a good sales person to handle these types of customers


I was in the point of sale business for 25 years and I saw the abuse cashiers take from customers on a regular basis. It is a thankless job
 
I would think, as a sheer # of customers, gun stores see far less dolts than, say, Walmart. Imagine the # of people walking into a WM on a given day trying to return something that WM doesn't even sell!

Hell, an old neighbor worked at Caldor's in town years ago. There were these two sisters (sistas?) who would come in, take high-ticket items (like vacuum cleaners) off the shelves, walk to the Service Desk and return them for a merch. credit. Manager said Corporate said that they should just allow it. WTF?!?!?!?!
 
No. The change was elimination of the LTC-B. Not sure if current LTCs are labeled "LTC" or "LTC-A".

I got my LTC Class B removed and upgraded to LTC class A right around that time and it still says A at the top. They would just put restrictions on if they wanted to keep you at B status. I was able to get no restrictions but not sure if others may have been issued for hunting and target.
 
Heck I'd jump at the chance to work in a shop and actually HELP people become informed, and get what they can use safely and would be appropriate for them.

I can deal with newbies. (we were all there at one point in life) As well as know it all's. You just need to stroke them a little while trying to get the facts straight for them. You can't teach a pig to sing. It just wastes your time and annoys the pig. [smile]

Anybody?????
 
3)The “Let me see inside” type: Asks to look at a new gun then tries to takethe gun apart to see inside!What dothey intend to see that is that critical? What happens if they lose a part ordamage the gun? Do they even know how to take it apart or putting it backtogether?
Just because it's new doesn't mean it can't be defective or have a visible internal issue. We read threads all the time of problems "right out of the box." I would ask first if they are OK with me breaking it down or if they would break it down for me. I wouldn't do it without asking, and I've never had a shop say no. If I'm going to be spending hundreds on a purchase I'd rather inspect it before doing so, even if it's covered by warranty.
 
I have a friend who works at a firearms manufacturing company and the pics/stories he tells are jaw dropping. Like the people who send in a firearm pitted with rust asking for warranty because they never cleaned it. I've seen pics on the flip side of people sending back coated firearms that cleaned to much that the duracoat was actually removed.
 
Just because it's new doesn't mean it can't be defective or have a visible internal issue. We read threads all the time of problems "right out of the box." I would ask first if they are OK with me breaking it down or if they would break it down for me. I wouldn't do it without asking, and I've never had a shop say no. If I'm going to be spending hundreds on a purchase I'd rather inspect it before doing so, even if it's covered by warranty.

I sometimes like to see the inside of a AR and to look at the face of the hammer. It helps give an idea of of much it's been finger blasted and on the shelf for, especially in new guns. I also have seen new guns marked as "new" yet have had obvious indications it isn't for example 1911's that have the scratch on it from people that don't know how to properly field strip it.
 
Taking down an AR or a Glock, or pulling the bolt on a 700 is a far cry from some guy trying to get the side-plate off of a revolver. LOL
 
If it takes them that long every time, the shop is doing things wrong. I picked up a pistol in June (2016) and the response for the NH check was maybe 10 minutes (if that).

You got lucky, any excursion in sales volume on handguns in nh causes huge delays. Things probably wont be too bad barring the next incident though. If hitlery got elected probably an hour or more all the time...
 
Lower your prices and maybe we would buy it from you. There is now out of business store (Precision Armament Werks). That I dropped by years ago. Wrote a review on here.
Saying that his prices were some of the worst I had seen in the state. Literally, his prices were 2x-3X higher than what you would pay for the same gun online.

In that case it was a PTR91. The owner sent me a PM on here. Stating that if my comps were true. He would buy the PTR's himself. So I sent me links to 5 different ads. With a note asking if I could receive a finders fee. Never heard back.[laugh] We want our local gun store to make a lot of money. Some take advantage of their captive MA customers.
 
I agree with the OP on some of the points made there but rarely have I seen it happen in a gun shop.
Now, let's go back to you being a customer and just "browsing". I feel if a business is open to the public, that we should all feel welcomed to browse. Im not talking about asking to see every gun you think you would like to own, but just to look at the guns. I've been in two shops I can tell you I get the "look" like "are you going to buy something or waste my time". I'm not wasting your time. Your shop is open to the public and you have to be there. I am also an impulse buyer and if I see something that day I want, I would buy it. I don't go to these shops just to waste time, I'm looking to see if there is that bargain that I would like to own.
 
Haven't been to many MA gun stores have you [rofl](sorry, I could not resist)

LOL. Actually, I started to reply that I have only been to a few, and then I started thinking about it and I have been to dozens. However, I have only purchased a firearm from a handful, and most of what I own I bought NIB


Many customers obviously don't do any research before going to the LGS. They do their research at the LGS. I imagine the frustrated store employees wanting to yell, "Stop asking useless questions and just buy that LCP already!"

See, I would look at him and say " The LCP ?, do I look like a moron? [laugh]

I am sure it can be frustrating working at a gun shop if your income is dependent on sales, and people just come in to fondle the stuff in the case. Or just ask the dumbest questions. I heard a customer ask how hard is it to make the AR he wanted full auto ?

In general, I don't walk into a shop unless I plan on buying something, even if it is only a couple of boxes of ammo and some cleaning supplies. I am always hoping to find that irresistible addition to the collection, and will buy it on the spot if I come across it, but if not, I always throw a few bucks down.
 
Like none of the know it alls in this thread never looked at anything, ever, in their lives, with out buying it on the spot. How dare a customer come in, and ask questions, or (gasp) kick the tires in a retail store! The Death of the lgs is such a shame, the ones that stick treat folks well, period. Will the lgs remaining support the pending legislation barring personal sales in MA just to make a buck? Maybe the lgs thinks I'm dumb, but last I checked it was an LGS poster used by madamme Healy in her initial press conference, announcing her ban. Or have we forgotten that? What about A.I.M. Remember who was rumored to have caused that shut down? Oh what about the guy in Sutton that was ratted out by another dealer in his town durring a show in Marlboro recently was that a regular guy too, oh no it was a lgs. Maybe instead of complaining, stop destroying each other.
 
If it takes them that long every time, the shop is doing things wrong. I picked up a pistol in June (2016) and the response for the NH check was maybe 10 minutes (if that).

Actually you don't know what you are talking about!

The shop doing things wrong?

You clearly don't know the process , other wise you wouldn't have made that uneducated statement.

Some education for you:

New Hampshire is a “partial point of contact” state for NICS. New Hampshire law authorizes, but does not require, the New Hampshire Department of Safety (“DOS”) to act as a point of contact for NICS.[SUP]1[/SUP] DOS has chosen to act as a point of contact for handgun sales, but not long gun sales. This means that, in New Hampshire, firearms dealers selling handguns must initiate the background check required by federal law by contacting DOS, but firearm dealers selling long guns must initiate the background check required by federal law by contacting the FBI directly.[SUP]2[/SUP]

When the 4473 is completed, (for a pistol) the information is either called in or fax into the NH DOS for a background check to be performed. The time it takes to get a call back with a "Approval, Delayed or Denied is totally dependent on the number of NH DOS people on duty to perform the background checks. If there is a gun show going on at the time, or just the sheer volume of requests be submitted to the DOS, the time to receive an answer can be anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour!

The time it takes to process a background check is totally up to the volume and efficiency (or lack there of) of the NH DOS processing the requested checks. Other than submitting the info, the LGS has no control as to how short or long it will take to get a reply from the NH DOS.

You got yours in 10 minutes, that's great! However just because you got lucky doesn't mean your experience is the norm.
 
In general, I don't walk into a shop unless I plan on buying something, even if it is only a couple of boxes of ammo and some cleaning supplies. I am always hoping to find that irresistible addition to the collection, and will buy it on the spot if I come across it, but if not, I always throw a few bucks down.

this is exactly how i am, too. i really only patronize 2 shops, 4s and collectors, mainly cause i live between them an equal distance and i'm to old and lazy to travel. but lately have been know to go see alex at minuteman armament. so that said, i think all 3 shops know if i'm in, or calling on the phone, or emailing, i'm ready to buy. i never haggle on a price, it's not worth my dignity to beg for a couple bucks off. i'll just point and grunt, the guys know that means i'll take it. i always try to tickle the local economy whenever possible. i also get decent service cause you reap what you sow.
 
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