GUN STORE ETIQUETTE (revised)

[Jaiofspam]

if you bring your children to the store... PLEASE CONTROL THEM!!! this aint walmart!

[CHS]

if you bring your children to the store... PLEASE CONTROL THEM!!! this aint walmart!

+1 BILLION

[5150bronco]

nah, people dont slap guns and make sounds. really?

[randy]

Ranges and guns store are a couple of places where the customer is always right rule doesn't apply.

Stores sell cheap guns for a few reasons. A manufacture/distributor makes them, they are in the cheap firearm area, you need a loss leader.

If you don't like the way a customer dresses, speaks or smells you don't have to do business with them ask them to leave. When you walked through the door it quit being a democracy.

Are there customers that know more than the employees? You bet. Are there customers that have to test the knowledge of the person behind the counter? You bet. Just how many questions does the counter person have to put up with before you're wasting their time?

[Knight]

Is it really so bad if people ask you if a particular gun is from a video game?

Honestly I know how annoying it can get, thanks to people asking questions about my own collection ("Woah dude, is that the gun from Call of Duty?" ). Also, this behavior is often indicative of general ignorance and/or downright stupidity when it comes to responsible gun ownership. But not always. I've had responsible people come up to me and ask, "What type of gun was in [video game], and how can I go about getting it?"

People have been doing it with movies/TV for years now. Why should video games be any different?

[geeknow]

Gun Store Etiquette.

(These are all here because they have and do happen.)

I work at a firearms dealer here in Southern California and I figured that I would make a list of certain things that people should and should not do while in the store.

If you also work at a firearms dealer and think I missed something, please let me know so I can add it.

*Pay attention to where you point the gun, Stop pointing it at us, if we move out of the way of the muzzle DONT FOLLOW US WITH IT!

*It is appreciated that you ask before you pull the trigger, and if you do, do not pull it over and over again.

*Firearms are called either: RIFLES, SHOTGUNS or HANDGUNS/PISTOLS! Not gats, gauges, shotties or pieces!

*If you purchase a firearm that does not come with a California DOJ approved lock, you will NEED TO PURCHASE A LOCK. The exception to this is if it is a rifle or a shotgun and you own a approved firearms safe. DO NOT ARGUE WITH US ABOUT IT! We do not care if you have a box full at home! It is California Law! WE ARE JUST DOING OUR JOB!

*Do not try to dissassemble the firearm without asking! NO MATTER how familiar you are with them.

*If the firearm is allready discounted, DO NOT ASK FOR MORE OFF if you see a scratch.

*Do not slap the gun, There is no point to it.

*While holding the firearm, do not make shooting sounds just because its in your hands. (I.E: pop, pew, bang, etc..) This has been discussed on page 6.

*Do not yell at us because of your frustration over something we do not have control over. WE ARE JUST DOING OUR JOB.

*Do not drop the slide on the semi autos. It is a SLIDE CATCH not a slide release, it holds back the slide after the last round. Continuesly using it as a release will round the catch and you will need to have the part or parts replaced.

*Do not flip the cylinder closed on a revolver, it can bend the ejector rod and eventually prevent the cylinder from closing and/or functioning smoothly.

*Do not tell the store worker how you can get the gun cheaper online or down the street for much less. Instead, politely thank the worker for his time and buy it elsewhere.

*Do not ask the worker if that is the same gun used in a video game. (it is understandable if your a kid but an adult...)

*Do not come into the store acting like a hoodlum. At least appear like you are serious about owning a firearm.

*Do not butt in on a conversation to express your disagreement when a worker is trying educate a patron who is new to firearms.


That is all I have for now.

Please specify which store you are speaking on behalf of...

[BadIndianSwamp]

I am a new handgun enthusiast and have only visited a handful of stores and shooting ranges in SoCal.

I have never seen a higher percentage of socially inept employees in any other industry and I am not a young man. There are many posts on here that illustrate some of the common traits of the NGSG (nimrod gun store guy) and I am sure another thread will be started soon by a recently insulted, ignored, or belittled customer.

While the OP claims that he/she is a “customer service oriented” employee, just the nature of the post shows a huge amount of contempt for the people who are interested in the products.

I often find myself wondering, so I will ask here...
Why do you work in a retail gun store?
It can't be for the money (you could make the same at McDonalds).
It obviously is not because you "like people".
It can't be because you love guns and want to share your love with like minded individuals.
It can't be because you get a "discount on guns" (on a NGSG salary, you can't buy much anyway.)

[redneckshootist]

I didnt really have time to read this entire thread. I had to throw this in though At my gun store we have this little program called the lock buy back program. The way it works is if I have to sell you a lock you pay the $10 for the lock plus the tax, then after you leave the store bring it back to me and I buy it back so you get the $10 back, you still have to pay tax though so it cost you $0.87.

[dirtyJ]

The way I see it, if your money is good, and you can pass the background check, who am I to kick you out of the store and treat you like crap for something minor as going pew pew pew, or dressing like J-Weezy, or smelling like you just hotboxed your car. All it takes is a little patience, and if someone does something that you feel might damage a weapon, just ask them nicely to stop it. If they keep doing it, then you've got reason to take the gun back.

[rabagley]

*Do not tell the store worker how you can get the gun cheaper online or down the street for much less. Instead, politely thank the worker for his time and buy it elsewhere.

Actually, the way to do this is to examine the gun, make appreciative noises, look skeptically at the price tag, take out your credit card/checkbook/cash, put it down on the counter, and say to the store worker, "I'd very much like to buy this gun, but not at this price. Can you please tell me the store's best price for an immediate purchase?"

Bought a G21SF from Ammo Bros a month back, and the salesguy complained that their big sale had just ended. I took out my credit card and asked him to find out if I could get the sale price. He asked, and I got about 5% better than that.

It's all in making it clear that 1) you're there to make a purchase and 2) you want the most for your money.

[guns_and_labs]

Do not drop the slide on the semi autos. It is a SLIDE CATCH not a slide release, it holds back the slide after the last round. Continuesly using it as a release will round the catch and you will need to have the part or parts replaced.

I agree with the point, but note that the nomenclature is not universally "slide catch". There are many owner's manuals that refer to it as the "slide release". You might just delete, "It is a SLIDE CATCH not a slide release, it holds back the slide after the last round." BTW, I've also heard from gunsmiths that dropping it on an empty chamber screws up the trigger job.

[Bird of Fire]

My sole gripe which I've had happen on several occasions - if I come into your store stating "Hi. I would like to purchase XYZ model today. I have cash, do you have any in stock, or do you have to order them?" do not argue with me that I should instead buy model ABC gun. Or that model XYZ gun is a POS in your opinion. I really don't care. If I'm being very specific in my request then odds are I've already decided and made up my mind as to what it is that I want to purchase. Thank you mr gun salesman, very kind of you to inform me what you would rather shoot, but let us both be glad you are not me, and I want something different.

I have had this occur with buying an 18" 870 (Don't buy that one, get the 20" model, it holds more shells!), a walther PPK/S (That gun is a piece of ****, don't buy that), and a RIA 1911 (Buy a Kimber instead kid, they never have problems).

It is most annoying.

I do agree with the OP. I always ask if they mind if I drop the trigger, and where their preferred "safe direction" is if they have one. Always hand the pistol back muzzle pointing to the side, action open.

[joefrank64k]

Fortunately, there are plenty of "professional" gun shops in SoCal:

• ProForce in Brea
• RifleGear in Costa Mesa
• OC Armory in Laguna Hills
• Ammo Bros in Cerritos/Ontario

So there's no need to put up with the dreaded "Gun Store Employee Attitude"...when I run into GSEA, I just thank them for their time, and never go back.

[PressCheck]

In all my years I have never had a Bad Experience at a Gun Store, with the exception of one in Dublin which is no longer there.

[CHS]

The way I see it, if your money is good, and you can pass the background check, who am I to kick you out of the store and treat you like crap for something minor as going pew pew pew, or dressing like J-Weezy, or smelling like you just hotboxed your car

You would be in violation of the law if you released a firearm to someone smelling like that. Read the 4473 again. You're knowingly releasing a firearm to someone who's lying on a federal form.

Frankly, I don't care if someone recreationally uses drugs on occasion. Call it the libertarian in me. But if you can't simply take a shower and NOT hit the bong before you go to a GUN STORE, to buy a deadly and dangerous piece of machinery, you fail the common sense intelligence test.

And any gun store employee who releases a firearm to someone who fails that test, also fails the test in my opinion.

Look, it's just not that hard to be nice and respectful, but firm. "Look, I'm really sorry man, but I can't sell you a firearm while you're high or smell like being high. You're more than welcome to come back another day and I will be happy to help you."

Chances are, they won't come back, and you haven't compromised your customer service.