This is Mike Jr. and thanks for the compliment! But I have to have my say here.
Well Mike, I’m assuming you’ve read the responses to your post. I think it’s fair to say that few would agree with Mike Seniors actions and some would even have issues with your follow up. I’d like to give you some free advice, which you can obviously take at face value. I’m going to re-word your response. Then I’d like some of the other members of the board to post what they would do if this had happened to them and you had responded in the way that I’m about to describe:
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I normally would prefer to handle issues like this in person because the internet doesn’t allow us to see facial expressions or hear tones in ones voice. However it’s very important to me that the readers of this forum know where I stand on this issue so I’ll make this one post and then ask that all other questions be called in to the shop or be asked in person.
First and foremost let me apologize for your bad experience with Mike Senior. My Dad can get loud (he's half deaf) and can talk pretty stern sometimes but that doesn’t excuse how he treated you. I can only offer you some insight as to why he reacted the way that he did.
You entered the store and asked to look at the Lusa (mp5 copy) which he gladly showed you and let you inspect. To the best of my (and his) memory, you had not yet mentioned that you wanted to buy an M&P. After he told you about the LUSA, you put it down, turned your back and walked away. Neither of us heard even a "Thank You" for Mike’s efforts, which was interpreted by Mike Sr, and admittedly even by me as being rude. Now that I’ve heard some of your comments, hind-sight allows me to see that you were simply in heavy thought over the large purchase you were about to make but at the time we were unaware of that so we misinterpreted your actions. For that we would like to apologize.
Then you asked to see the M&P which he showed you. I was surprised to hear you ask him to take it apart when, as best as I could tell, you had no intention on buying it. Then you again walked away, so he put that gun back. At this point he felt that you were just making him jump through hoops like many customers sometimes do. I frankly can’t blame him for wondering if you were seriously interested in making a purchase however that wonder should have been kept on the list of things NOT to say to a customer.
I also hope you can understand where that skepticism comes from. A lot of people come in and just "tire kick" as you people say. Imagine how you would feel when people want to handle guns in the store that are worth $5,000-$6,000 and scratch them with no intention on buying it. Or when you spend an hour with someone and then they tell you there going to another gun shop to try to save ten buck's. I know its all part of the business and I expect it. However sometimes it gets to you. I know it shouldn’t but it does. In this case, he interpreted your actions as rude. He then chose to treat you the way he felt you had treated him. I must also confess that IF he were right, and you were intentionally being rude, I would stand by him 100%. However it is now clear to me that, by the comments you made both in this thread as well as the other thread in the general section, we may have been mistaken. I would therefore like to make it up to you. Please come back to the store and I would love the opportunity to re-earn your trust. We don’t have very large profit margins on firearms but if you are still interested in either the M&P or the Browning Hi Power, I will do whatever I can to convince you that we want to make this right. I’ll even throw in a couple of boxes of ammo for whichever gun you buy as a gesture of good faith.