A problem with shopping local
- Thread starter BlueHeelerFl
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TomJ
Contributing Member
This is an over-generalization. We have a number of smaller, family owned LGS' in the Chicago area as well as big box stores, obviously. Some of the smaller LGS' are fantastic while others leave a lot to be desired. I wouldn't portray all small businesses negatively because you're unhappy with one.
jhb
Member
speaking about local guns stores if I dont know them well and their hours well I call ahead before going.
I dont bother asking what they have or ask for particular items. as usually its a 1 or 2 person deal and they dont have time to tell me everything on the phone, or go and hunt for something and ignore a customer standing with cash in their hand.
the one thing that many lgs do that irks me is they tend to let gunstore flies and/or their buddies hang out all day and talk and get in the way while buying nothing. meanwhile ignoring customers looking to buy.
that is a very poor business habit that makes me go elsewhere. I do like to chat a bit and can be a gunstore fly sometimes, but the second a customer walks in I shut up get out of the way and let the business do business and make money. I dont finish my stupid tale im telling first. I shut up and move. I do this cause I am a customer and the gunstore owner/employees can't really tell me to shut up and move. they could but most wouldnt. I know better though. wish more gunstore flies would figure this out.
anyways that bad habit is what helped box stores grab the new shooter market and keep them. more than about anything.
I dont bother asking what they have or ask for particular items. as usually its a 1 or 2 person deal and they dont have time to tell me everything on the phone, or go and hunt for something and ignore a customer standing with cash in their hand.
the one thing that many lgs do that irks me is they tend to let gunstore flies and/or their buddies hang out all day and talk and get in the way while buying nothing. meanwhile ignoring customers looking to buy.
that is a very poor business habit that makes me go elsewhere. I do like to chat a bit and can be a gunstore fly sometimes, but the second a customer walks in I shut up get out of the way and let the business do business and make money. I dont finish my stupid tale im telling first. I shut up and move. I do this cause I am a customer and the gunstore owner/employees can't really tell me to shut up and move. they could but most wouldnt. I know better though. wish more gunstore flies would figure this out.
anyways that bad habit is what helped box stores grab the new shooter market and keep them. more than about anything.
If I'm not sure, I’ll check Facebook first. If that doesn’t tell me anything I’ll call. It takes less than a minute to do both of those.
I agree that it is frustrating to find a closed sign when it is tough to take the time to stop by. My barber, a single mom, was doing that for awhile. A few of her customers expressed sympathy for her challenges but the need to consider the challenges others face as well. She did better and the business did better.
This thread is a reminder that communicating both ways is important. If time is tight and valuable, call. If you run a business, keep in touch with your clientele. What helps one party usually helps the other as well. Respect for each other's time is something we have lost with the big box stores, but they have their negative aspects as well. Same with respect for other posters. It doesn't cost anything and reaffirms that we are here for each other.
This thread is a reminder that communicating both ways is important. If time is tight and valuable, call. If you run a business, keep in touch with your clientele. What helps one party usually helps the other as well. Respect for each other's time is something we have lost with the big box stores, but they have their negative aspects as well. Same with respect for other posters. It doesn't cost anything and reaffirms that we are here for each other.
daniel craig
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Do they have a phone number? This time of year and with covid I like to call ahead for this exact reason.
Things like this always read to me “I didn’t take 90 seconds to plan ahead so I’m going to take it out on something/someone else.” I worked big box retail gun selling and it always made me roll my eyes when someone complained about far they drove to get there. Like, dude, we have a website and phone number. It would have taken you less time to call us than it did for you walk from your couch to your car.
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Dragon breath
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We had one lgs here that was very hard to deal with. They didn’t have a website. And half the time, they didn’t answer the phone when they were there. Then their was the owner. If you went there looking for a pistol, he would try to sell you a 1911. No matter what you said you were looking for. Range gun, 1911. Small gun for pocket carry, 1911.
You will notice that I said ‘had’. They went out of business.
You will notice that I said ‘had’. They went out of business.
dranrab
Member
Not all small local businesses are deserving of our support.
.308 Norma
Member
Maybe not, but praising small, LGSs, while running down large, conglomerate sporting goods stores is kind of a tradition.
buck460XVR
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Ignorant comment or astute observation? By the majority of posts in your thread here, it appears to be the latter.
I understand your frustration, been there myself more times than I want to recount. I too work 9-5:30 as an "essential" employee. I also work quite a few Saturdays. Add to that, life's way of making decisions for you that you don't want made. I too look forward to going to the range and letting off some tension while improving my proficiency. Shown up there to find that it's closed because of a "Hunter Safety Range Day" or a "Special shoot/competition". What I don't understand is the need to vent that frustration on social media. You don't tell us what LGS this was or where it is. Odds are 99.9% of us wouldn't know of it or ever get close enough to use it. What good is the use of the bandwidth then other to give you the chance to vent? We have a local ma and pa pizza/ice cream shop about a mile from our cabin. It's in the middle of the best motorcycle riding in the state, and adjacent to the best canoeing river in the state and thus, is always busy. Thing is, ma and pa don't need the money. They open when they want and close when they want, even tho they do post "business hours". Sometimes on a really busy day, they just close because they are tuckered out or some customer wizzed in their Cheerios. Don't help to complain, because they don't care. Their house, their rules. Don't like it, they have no issue with you going somewhere else.
I myself have gleaned a lot of good information from THR in the last decade. Kinda the main reason I come here. Many times when I ask a question, the answers are not what I want to hear. What one needs to realize is that everytime you make a post, you open yourself up to not only praise, but criticism too. Some of it is constructive, some of it is just mean. Sometimes hearing not what I wanted has made me rethink my original choices/opinions. Sometimes responses give me things to consider or think about that never crossed my mind.
CapnMac
Member
That's fair--there are plenty of places if all you want is an echo chamber.
To also be fair, your lament can be read as "Why are not more LGS run by Scrooge and forcing their employees to work on Christmas Eve, or a similar holiday?"
Ok, could the store have put up a notice that they were closed, on the door, or on their website--but, such things are easy to forget when the Boss just said, "It's Christmas Eve, y'all take off early." Perhaps the boss noticed how many other places were closed or were going to be closed on Christmas Eve, too.
Maybe the boss was expecting a big delivery from the distributor or a warehouse, and those were canceled, and the boss felt that being open for a day with bare or barren shelves would be unlikely to generate enough sales to go unlock the door. When you are self-employed, you have to get your last quarterly tax payment into the IRS before 31 December. Which may mean the boss was tied up with the book keeper/accountant, who was also juggling a holiday schedule.
Perhaps the Boss had been there, at 0800, and put out such inventory as he had, and not seen a single customer. And decided the traffic in customers was not going to pick up any, and locked up early. Maybe the ventilation for the range conked out, or needed some down time. Maybe Boss' wife called and said "Go get [thing], before the stores close, please." Many are the things that could cause a mental slip to not put a note on the door, or the web page.
It's hard to make it on only a paycheck, but it far harder to make a payroll.
LGS remain valuable in our fractured economy. One of the last places where not only can you be hands-on with the goods, but also interact with local people.They represent a dynamic in the wholesale distribution of "our" wares--ammo, accessories, firearms, licenses, the whole kit and kaboodle.
I heard on radio news today that the percentage of small businesses that have permanently closed since the lock downs began is slightly over 20%. Think about that ... over 1 in 5 gone for good.
If I have a gripe with a small business I might grumble about to a friend , but I sure wouldn't launch a public screed critical of "shopping local". (excerpted from the thread title)
If I have a gripe with a small business I might grumble about to a friend , but I sure wouldn't launch a public screed critical of "shopping local". (excerpted from the thread title)
Captcurt
Member
Even though I have a FFL and use several distributors I still purchase things from my LGS. The owner has been a friend since 1975. We hunt and fish together. If I need a set of scope rings, spur of the moment ammo or reloading components I go there. If some one wants a gun that I can't get, and that happens a lot, I send them to him. In return he has me list guns that we have no market for locally. He is a H&K dealer and has gotten a couple of SP5's lately. He would be lucky to get $2500 here and it might take years to sell. I sold the first one online in 6 hours for $3500. Yep, we be mates.
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