I’m Grande Queso, Nick Leghorn’s confidential source for all things firearm industry related. During an alarming lapse of good judgement this evening, Nick has decided to abuse his newly acquired title of “editor” at TTAG and allowed me to pen a guest column. And the topic of the day is the firearm professional/customer relationship.
First, a 15-second biography: I’m a licensed manufacturer and SOT of firearms, even though I can barely put together furniture from Ikea. I’m an NRA certified instructor, I enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset and magdumping my full-size Uzi. But, enough about me – lets get down to business.
The firearms business is very misunderstood. The mainstream media wants to portray gun salesmen as liars, irrational people who are in favor of the collapse of society just so they can show how prepared they are. Generally uneducated and ignorant people.
Actually, that’s not the case. Many of us are just trying to make a living and some of us can actually spell and use grammar correctly, although many are too old to really care anymore. One thing they find that remains constant, though, is that on one side you have the industry and on the other you have the customer.
Call me old fashioned but people treated my father with respect, and he would respond in kind. That’s the way I grew up and was taught to do business. Not anymore. I’m constantly reminded of the phrase, “The customer is always right” whenever it’s convenient for the customer. My follow up to that is the person who coined that phrase died broke traveling London via bus.
Evolution has brought the terms “customer service” and “good will,” which once meant treating people right and taking care of business professionally, to a modern definition which is roughly translated as “I am the customer. You are the retailer. You are getting my money which makes you my slave.” I think that’s unacceptable.
Respect is a two way street, you have to give respect to get respect. Or, alternately, as viewers of the hit show Deadliest Catch who remember Captain Phil Harris shout, “You’ve got to earn it!” I agree.
As with all businesses, I have good customers, I have bad customers and I have some customers from hell. I refuse to let the customers from hell ruin my business. To better understand the relationship, let’s look at all three species:
Good Customers – I love my good customers. I’ve heard stories from industry colleagues where customers bring them venison backstraps during season, snakes (I know a gun dealer who has an 8-year-old daughter that loves snakes, so customers bring them in for the kid – nice gesture!), cigars, even the occasional bottle of scotch. I’ve been known to receive the occasional meatball sub, chicken wings or have the #1 meal at Chick-fil-A delivered to me at no charge by someone who works at the restaurant and knows I’m stuck working late, doing paperwork.
These are awesome people. They’re MY kind of people. They make it all worthwhile. I have a few doctors that come in every once in awhile and since I don’t have health insurance, I invented my own HMO. Every time I get sick, they stop by and make me healthy in exchange for ammo. Maybe not the perfect system, but it works for me.
Bad Customers – this category covers a lot of ground, but if you have your retailer’s personal phone number (whether it’s home, cellular, or hunting lodge) don’t abuse it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a blind the first day of duck season, only to get a call from someone looking for an AR 15 at 7:45 in the morning. I don’t interrupt your quality time, please don’t interrupt mine. This is that whole ‘respect is a two way street’ thing kicking in. I’ve had people call at 11:30 at night after seeing that I responded to an email. They apparently figure that if I’m able to write an email response, I’m happy to pick up a phone. Being realistic is just common sense, a trait lost on too many in this day and age.
Customers from Hell – There’s a fine line between your standard bad customers and customers from hell. Most bad customers don’t know any better. The customers from hell are another story.
The past 6 months have yielded an unbelievably high number of customers from hell, thanks to the action – or rather the inaction – of gun control measures in Congress. Due to demand, everyone is/was/will continue buying every firearm-related good ever produced on the basis of fear of a legislative shift, paranoia, or pure capitalist speculation.
A bad customer will expect me to match a price that I gave them two months before Sandy Hook. A customer from hell will find a post on an internet forum or Facebook from two years ago advertising an AR15 lower parts kit at $55, bump it and get everyone to fill my inbox with orders or share it with all their friends.
Being realistic or having attention to detail – seems to be a lost art.
Just this morning, I had an interesting case that I will have to lump in the customer from hell category. This is a low volume customer and everything he had purchased yielded profits of under $100 for calendar year 2012. He sent out an email to 198 people in his address book outlining his displeasure with the way he was treated at the local BMW dealer. He put 198 people in the “To:” field, so that anyone who made a reply and hit “Reply All” would deliver the message to all 198 recipients.
I typed out the following reply. “Hey, I don’t get paid enough to listen to your bullshit so stop sending me this crap.”
Upon reflection, I realized that such a response was unprofessional and rude. I sanitized it and sent a message indicating politely that personal matters are none of my business and I would appreciate being left out of such a discussion.
Greg replied back:
As a professional software developer of over 18 years, I’m perfectly aware of the concept of blind carbon copy versus carbon copy. I used CC on purpose. I wanted to get people riled up. I wanted to spread the news about my discontent with everyone, and I hoped that everyone would forward the email on to other people they know, as I had asked. I also hoped that responses would come back throughout the group. If you are unfortunately receiving unwanted emails, I obviously have judged you wrongly, and as I stated in a previous email won’t be sending any more business your way. Thanks for your assistance in the past, Greg.
Now, what any reasonable individual should infer after reading these email exchanges are:
- I am apparently not only a gun dealer, but also some form of mental health professional.
-
By being Greg’s gun dealer, I am somehow beholden to him to listen to his rants about his BMW lease. My job is to get riled up about it, forward his angry wordstorm via email to all my customers and organize a boycott of the local BMW dealer on his behalf.
-
In the spirit of honesty, I have forever lost Greg’s business because I refuse to partake in these types of shenanigans since he has expected me to further his cause.
If anyone gives a damn, Greg is upset that the dealer wants $600 to replace two tires on the car instead of the $400 he agreed on. He’s deployed a scorched Earth/Sherman’s March to the Sea PR campaign over $200.
This is an example of where someone oversteps their bounds as a customer. Unless you have established this level of relationship with me in the past, involving me in your personal dramas first thing in the morning is not the right way to cultivate a friendship. In this case, all Greg has done is filled my inbox with messages from his colleagues suggesting a BBB complaint and posting on the BMW dealers Facebook page. All the while, keeping me from dealing with my other customers.
Unless you’re a close personal friend, you pay me for exactly the amount of time it takes to deal with your firearm and your firearm-related issues, and nothing more. If you want to complain about how your BMW dealer screwed you out of $200, I’ll be happy to listen at the shop rate.
Moral of the story: don’t be a customer from hell. Please respect our profession, please treat us with dignity and please don’t call the deer stand the first day of the season. And Greg, if you’re reading this, don’t take this personally but….. I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR GODDAMN BMW.
The customer is always right, until they’re wrong. I have seen some incredibly rude people in retail establishments that would have been tossed out of a bar for their behaviour but think it’s okay to behave that away at the local store.
You didn’t ask for my life story, and I respect that. Please recognize I didn’t ask for yours.
It would be a totally different story over a few beers, but the one in front of me – *I* bought that.
What immediately popped into my head:
Ron White – You Can’t Fix Stupid
(Language NSFW, relevant part runs for 30 seconds from start point)
“This guy told me his entire life story against my will.
This guy raped my ear.
This guy forcefully shoved unwanted information into my earhole… ‘No means no.’
This guy’s telling me stories somebody else told him, about somebody they know.
I was third generation don’t give a fvck.”
Nice video. When she started talking about “trigger creep,” it made me think of RF and the accusations leveled against his propensity to take pics of fine-looking ladies. It’s all good.
If I ever get an NFA trust drawn up, a suppressed SBR in 300 BLK will be my first project.
Greg, NO ONE gives a shit about your first world BMW problems.
We are all far too busy giving extra shits about our first world ammo availability problems.
we need to replace NRA firearms training with the New York Times “Criminal Subservience” training. Then, we can all just get along.
This just reinforces my perception that people don’t say or do anything that doesn’t benefit them personally, and more often then not, they say it in the way that best fits their story.
Guy drives a BMW and he is getting his underwear all twisted on an extra $200 for tires. As the retired VP of sales of our company use to say ” Sometimes you have to fire your customers.”
Conversely, I used to work at a big box home improvement store whose management bent over backwards for even the most asinine customer demands, while simultaneously refusing to ever back their employees in any potential misunderstanding or disagreement. I had a department manager that used to talk of quitting and “getting promoted to customer.”
We don’t care about his BMW troubles.
The Truth About Cars, however… 😀
“The customer is always right” was coined by someone who NEVER dealt directly with a “customer” before…of that I’m sure.
That being said, it is a two way street. You get what you give: if you talk down to people, gouge prices, or just generally act like an a$$hat, I think you’re fare game for customers from hell. However, if you sell quality merchandise at fair prices and treat people as you expect them to treat you…that’s a business that I will be a repeat customer at. It’s all about perspective.
Or as Obi Wan say “From a certain point of view”…:)
Speedway fires cashiers that try to defend themselves and the cash register during a robbery. Customer service is insane in this country.
I feel bad just going to a gun store and just asking to see something I don’t intend on buying that day, but the range doesn’t have everything.
Fired for defending the register?
Liability insurance, maybe, but – wow.
FC, I don’t want to be a bad customer or a customer from hell. I just want to go to the shop, buy what I need at a fair price and leave. That’s the “relationship” I have with my favorite LGS — it’s entirely arm’s length. The people there are polite, reasonably knowledgeable and fast. So am I. I’m in, I’m out and I’m happy. I have not, and never will, bring any of them a sandwich. Because if sandwich delivery is what it takes to be a “good customer,” count me out and call Domino’s.
Ralph, right there with you. I love people who know what they want, get in and get out and let me get onto more pressing matters. Sandwich delivery, although not mandatory is nice when you’ve been working all day on an empty tum.
This was super irrelevant. So in order to be a good customer, I have to bring my FFL random gifts?
You missed this article SciAm posted a few weeks ago. It includes such gems as suggesting the 19,766 people who killed themselves with guns in 2011 did so, “…[T]hrough no fault of their own.”
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=firearms-research-the-gun-fighter
I had a customer come up to my counter as state “All your stuff is way too expensive.” I assume that was an opening salvo to start a haggling session. My response was… “Yes it is”. End of conversation. Firing customers when necessary.
The customer is always right when they have a leg to stand on and they are paying good money.
I try to be that good customer. When I ask my LGS his opinion, I want to hear it, not what he thinks I want to hear. Groupthink is the destruction of this culture.
“Groupthink is the destruction of this culture.” >>> + 1
Having seen how “FirearmConcierge” treats his customers, I can tell you that you aren’t getting the whole truth in his little ‘stories’, which he likes to spam on Reddit 20 times a day. Respect is not his forte.
Why do you hide behind anonymity? Put your name out there and the name of your business for all to judge.
I urge the readers of TTAG to avoid this guest columnist in the future.
Wow – censorship.
Quit hiding behind anonymity and post your Beemer’s plate numbers out there! Or should we just look for the one with new, overpriced tires driving in the opposite direction of FC’s shop?
Ha! I win this internet battle with indomitable wit and cunning. Good day, sir.
The word “infrastructure” as its commonly used is nonsensical and jargon. It means anything and everything. And nothing.
I’m all about telling someone to fuck off when warranted but I think Cody was a little heavy handed on this one. In my meaningless opinion.
this is great news, too bad it will be awhile before the builiding is expanded, new equipment is procured, as well as additional employees. Remmy ammo is fine by me sans their 22 thunder BS (worst 22 ammo that i am aware of) but i would buy some in a heart beat these days.
I’ll second that on the Thunderbolts. I wrote up a “warning” post for RF a while back about it for the noobs complete with pictures and descriptions of how less than 100 rounds of that crap and my rifle and pistol took over six hours of cleaning, half a bottle of solvent and 2 ruined bore brushes to come clean. I’ve never had a problem with lead fouling like that. Post must’ve gotten circular filed somewhere…guess I needed to step my game! Seriously though, that stuff is dangerously low quality.
Remington? Remington? Isn’t that part of The Obama Corp.
What hurts the gun grabbers more than anything is that they cannot control the narrative like they could in the 20th Century. The next generation of voters do not pay attention to CNN, MSNBC, Fox, New York Times, Time Magazine and other “old media” voices. YouTube, Facebook and blogs are the “new media” where no one is in control of the narrative and everyone’s voice is heard.
After the Internet achieved critical mass in the late 1990s, no federal gun control legislation has been passed since then. Whether or not you consider that fact coincidence or evidence of the role the Internet and new media plays in preserving our constitutional rights, it’s nevertheless interesting. The historical trends of the public opinion of gun control corresponds to the Internet achieving critical mass in the late 1990s. According to Gallup, in the early 1990s, over 70 percent of Americans believed laws covering the sales of firearms should be made “more strict.” In 2000, that number dropped below 60 percent. In 2008, that number dropped to below 50 percent. 2012 marked the lowest percentage of public opinion for “more strict” laws with public opinion in the low 40s. The only reason public opinion jumped back over 50 percent was because of the Newtown tragedy and it’s very likely that public opinion will again drop below 50 percent before 2014.
It’s hard being a gun grabber in these days of information freedom.
This factory expansion, which might — might — be completed in a year, proves that the end of the ammo shortage is nowhere in sight.
Even Remmy isn’t so stupid that it would add capacity in a market won’t need it over a year from now. And Remmy, especially Remmy, would never do anything that the G didn’t embrace. Remmy’s entire business plan focuses on government purchases. It’s a defense contractor, and it’s not going to bite the hand that feeds it.
I expect that all of this production will go to the government. Hey, Remmy: KMA.
NO ammo here and DHS is traceing mail orders
I drove by this factory earlier this week. Was wondering if they did tours. I have a lot of respect for companies that bring jobs to rural areas even if it is probably only for the lower labor costs. (That is if you consider 30 miles from Little Rock to be ‘rural’)
What bloomjerk can’t stop is her talking to other women about how she is not a victim anymore. This is what it takes because of media blacklisting, Randy
I don’t know about you but I have heard that PPL who hve been preparing for the comming melt down recomend COMMON ammo
Yet just another exercise in douchbaggery, and bafoonism. period.
The knee-slapper in all this is that the Bloomberg attack ads say voting against gun control = “going Washington.”
If only.
Was there ever a “no takedowns” vow for defcad.ORG? I believe that was the intent of the planned defcad.COM, a separate enterprise from the .org site.
The 300 offers nothing that my opressed 30-30 cannot deliver (in spades) and I’ll never be short of ammo
The situation has changed, he has to adapt to the changes. I know I wouldn’t promise anything like never taking files down, just because you might need to. If he didn’t bring the files down his dog might get shot in the night. If he doesn’t have a dog, the alphabet crew would shoot the neighbors dog instead.
One of my customers is a pretty durn good gun shop.
Before he descended into the barely-human creature pictured above, the guy would regularly steal from his friends, pick fights with folks who were otherwise minding their business, and couldn’t be left at your home unsupervised for fear of him looking up CP on your google-machine. Another of his favorites was “Guess where Conn shit” and let’s not forget taking explosives to high school. The man had more than enough chances to right himself and walk the straight and narrow, but he chose not to. Sadly, this outcome was inevitable. There is NO doubt in my mind, the sleazy “significant other” he had at the time was involved in this sad attack on another member of our species. They were two of a kind. Lying manipulators, as addicts so often are. It saddens me that she escaped punishment in this case. I’m counting on Karma to deal that blow.
Am I the only one put off by this rant?
No, the customer is not always right, but email filters can fix a lot of evils. Petty annoyances are not worth alienating a customer over. That is clearly a case where the customer is right.
As for calling at odd hours, why did you give them your phone number in the first place? That seems to be an expected outcome. You might think of getting a business only phone if that bothers you so much.
I guess business is pretty good to put out all these petty grievances as though they were at all worth bringing up to strangers.
If I had a wedgie up to my armpits I’d want to shoot someone too.
This sounds a lot like FirearmConcierge who frequently posts ob Reddit. FC comes off as arrogant and self-righteous on reddit, as he does here.
So, a good customer gives him gifts and a “customer from hell” ccs him on ad (admittedly annoying) email that would have taken exactly 3″ seconds out of his day if he just hit delete?
FC frequently blasts his customers on reddit for offenses as minor as saking if he’ll price match a conpetitor or taking 3 hours to reapond to his email. He is also suspected of creating sockpuppet accounts to give himself positive reviews.
I’d never spend a penny with FC because of his attitude. Don’t give him a soapbox to broadcast his whining to a larger audience.
No doubt, the IRS will being their probing in 3..2..1
Pro gun, anti sun.
Also: when will Borat be home?
Just try to f America.
or
The recently crowned un-official Mrs 6 Guns au deuce at home in her off hours.
::rant::
Why is it that when someone wants to rattle off a list of the most pro-gun states Virginia is never mentioned (i know, we’re a commonwealth – not a state)?
OC is legal irrespective of weapon length
CCW requires only a 3 hr no shooting class and minimal paperwork
No silly ‘permit to purchase’ like NC
Private sale is unregulated
How much more gun-friendly can you be? Yet we never get a nod.
I’m as red blooded as the next guy but this picture is not appropriate for this blog. In my opinion you crossed the line. Just sayin …
“Only in America”
“Flip it open and insert cartridge.”
Foreplay Texas style.
I’m gonna blow you away.
They are incredibly lucky that they were not plugged.
I know that given that situation I would at least cleared holster and waited to see what the f*** was happening with my gun down by my side out of view.
She’s printing.
I think I need to frisk her in case she is carrying concealed.