Utah - Local gun shop employees are D-bags....

[novak1911freak]

Recently, I have seen a trend that local (Utah) area gun store have ass-hats as employees.....

Now, I have to preface these stories with the fact that I am not an SME, I've never been 'in the suck' but I shoot as much as I can and I try to spend more time and money on the software than I do the hardware.....

Yesterday, I was at one of the local fun stores.... I am looking at the plastic gun case, wanting to compare the SW M&Pc, the SW SD9 and the Glock 9mm (19 and 26 models).....

When the employee comes over, I ask to see the SD9 first and he, at first seems helpful, getting the gun from its spot and hands it to me... I wanted to see what the trigger pull and reset were like compared the M&P and the Glock...(It sucks, by the way).... I asked what his opinion was and he said that he didn't have trigger time with the SD but he has shot its predecessor before and it was fine... I asked if he was talking about the M&P, his response was a very cold, 'No.' Nothing more.... I then responded, 'oh you meant the Sigma.' His response was 'yup.'

After I looked at the SD9, I looked at the M&Pc, which in my own ignorance had trouble because I am not familiar with the M&P and its magazine disconnect and when I removed the magazine to facilitate easier slide manipulation to test the reset, the trigger wouldn't fire, I will say that he was helpful when he showed me a technique to bypass the disconnect by keeping the thumb on the slide release while cycling the slide.... but this is where he began to cop an attitude of, 'You like guns?! Oh how cute!'.... I then saw, a Glock 26, and at the time, I was not sure, which model it was (26, 27, 33, 39).... so I asked to see the 'Baby Glock'.... that must have pissed him off because, with an annoyed look on his face, he said, 'The Glock 26?' 'Baby Glock is just a nickname.'

After finishing up with the pistols, I asked if he had any Troy rails and he said he only had one but it was for a midlength rifle so I probably wouldn't want it... My AR is a midlength Noveske so I explained that would be fine, after seeing the rail, it was the MRF variety and I am looking for the VTAC or TRX model.... I think he started to realize that I was not such a newb when I asked if he had any AAC Breakout comps in stock as I saw several of the Blackouts but, alas, no Breakouts....

I then asked about the new Aimpoint Pro and he said that it was basically an M2....Now, in my research, I thought the Pro was closer to the M3.... so I started to mention the differences, starting with the dot size and he said that the M2 can be had with the 2 MOA dot size... I know currently that the M2 is only available 4 MOA....

Shortly after that I left....


This is not the first time, nor is it isolated to one store.... A couple of months ago, I wanted to see the new SW Bodyguard 380 and a few other pocket semi autos....so I went to a different fun store.... I asked the person behind the counter, who was free if he had the SW Bodyguard .380, the other employee who was already working with a customer chimed in, 'You mean the .38.' I said, no, I am looking for the .380 semi auto version.... His response was that there was no such pistol and the pistol was SW's version of the LCR.... That employee went on to help his current customer so I asked the guy who was helping me to see the Keltec P3AT and the Ruger LCP... the employee showed me both and proceeded to tell me that the Ruger was the best of the 2 and that Keltec ripped off the Ruger design through industrial espionage..... I was done at that point....

About 2 weeks after that episode, I was at a local sporting goods store(Not Cabelas), again looking at pocket guns.... I asked to see the LCP again and was helped, I then asked to see the Sig P238 that was on the rack.... The employee walked over, handed me the Sig and said, 'You don't want the Ruger, get the Sig! Sig sounds cooler than Ruger!'

I hadn't been in a gun store/sporting good place since that time until yesterday.... It isn't so much the incorrect information that bugs me, it's the attitude that accompanies it..... Especially when you try to share what you know, they aren't having it and it comes across as 'How dare you! I work in a gun store!'

I wanted to post this in the general gun forum but I don't have enough posts to do so..... I had to get that off my chest....

[TOrrock]

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

[chadbag]

From the descriptions I was trying to ID the stores...

I avoid most of the stores because the dudes working there seem to be pretty ignorant most of the time. Too bad really that that is the face of the industry for many people.

[novak1911freak]

From the descriptions I was trying to ID the stores...

I avoid most of the stores because the dudes working there seem to be pretty ignorant most of the time. Too bad really that that is the face of the industry for many people.

The first place rhymes with the word Fug's
The second place was the WVC/Taylorsville version of the large Ogden outlet
The third rhymes with Gortman's Hairhouse

I couldn't agree more with what you and Templar said.... I am going to have to only buy ammo from the wal mart......

[chadbag]

The first place rhymes with the word Fug's
The second place was the WVC/Taylorsville version of the large Ogden outlet
The third rhymes with Gortman's Hairhouse

I couldn't agree more with what you and Templar said.... I am going to have to only buy ammo from the wal mart......

One out of three ain't bad (#3). I had #1 at a place that rhymes with "Bet Slum" and did not have a guess on #2...

I met an FFL through an internet FFL list back in 94 and he has been my guy since... I occasionally will stop by a place to check on something specific (usually SW or Cabelas) and look at the guns and am never impressed by what I overhear.

[MarkG]

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Couldn't agree more. That's retail for you.

Honestly, though, is it reasonable to expect that some wager working for said peanuts is going to have enough trigger time on every gun and accessory in the store to give you objective feedback?

[variablebinary]

I know people personally at Doug's and Get Some.

Your mileage will vary depending on who is scheduled that day.

[Corey]

I used to go to Get Some to use the range on my way home from work because it was convenient. Finally quit going because I couldn't stand the horrible attitude I would get from the staff and some of the stupid things I would hear them say.

I do work part time on the gun counter at Cabela's and have corrected fellow employees a few times when they started to embarrass themselves. Of course, it is also good to remember that as many horror stories you hear about the guys behind the counter, they have just as many about the customers.

As for me, I know what I don't know and am not afraid to tell a customer "I don't know, let me see if I can find out for you." I also try to avoid giving my opinion about a gun unless I am specifically asked.

Your mileage will vary depending on who is scheduled that day.

And that is gospel truth everywhere right there.

[MarshallDodge]

I know people personally at Doug's and Get Some.

Your mileage will vary depending on who is scheduled that day.

Agreed.

Gun salesman are no different than any other salesperson. Sure, they should be 100% knowledgeable on every gun or accessory in the store and should try each and every one out so they can tell you what is best but it just isn't going to happen.

They get people from all walks of life coming in and asking about hunting rifles and shotguns, AR15s, big bore revolvers, and tiny carry guns. They are not going to know every detail about each one and I guarantee they will not have the same mindset as you.

There is a guy up at Impact in Ogden that I know pretty well and he is very knowledgeable but even we disagree on what may be the best gun to fit certain needs. Just try to put yourself in their shoes for one day. I guarantee you will think differently.

I try to glean as much information as I can from local shooters, gunshops, and the Internet. Take it all and pick what you think is the best pieces of information and then make your decision.

[Zhurdan]

Agreed.

Gun salesman are no different than any other salesperson. Sure, they should be 100% knowledgeable on every gun or accessory in the store and should try each and every one out so they can tell you what is best but it just isn't going to happen.

They get people from all walks of life coming in and asking about hunting rifles and shotguns, AR15s, big bore revolvers, and tiny carry guns. They are not going to know every detail about each one and I guarantee they will not have the same mindset as you.

There is a guy up at Impact in Ogden that I know pretty well and he is very knowledgeable but even we disagree on what may be the best gun to fit certain needs. Just try to put yourself in their shoes for one day. I guarantee you will think differently.

I try to glean as much information as I can from local shooters, gunshops, and the Internet. Take it all and pick what you think is the best pieces of information and then make your decision.

Impact... ahhhh... the porn store. I like Kevin and Gil there, the rest... not so much. Mainly because they are fixtures there. They've been there for years. Kevin is pretty "no nonsense, buy what you want" kinda guy. Gil would sell you his mother, but he's an interesting guy none the less. He still remembers my name every time I walk in the place (mainly because his commission check probably has it printed on it) and always has some off the wall story to tell during checkout. There's a couple younger guys there though that wear race gun rigs and like to fondle their gun while they're talking to you... kinda makes me nervous.