LAX Range (Inglewood, CA) pisses me off

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Gunsnrovers

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Long rant. Sorry.

I tend to use LAX Range in Inglewood, CA because they are 8 miles away and it's an easy run for a quick range session. As I can't currently stand for more then 1 hour before my back starts spasming, driving an hour to the other ranges just doesn't make sense.

Anyway, today I went in and expressed interest in a Springfield GI they had for $369. Sorry sir. We sell to LEO only. ***?!?!?!

Then, as I was signing in, a young guy came in with a think Carribean accent. He wanted to rent a guy. Guy behind the counter cops an attitude and his tone is VERY condecending. What kind? The customer looks a bit lost and points at the wall. Do you have any Berettas? I get checked in at this point and don't hear the rest. A few minutes later, in walks the Carribean guy with a compact Glock and a box of ammo. I shoot for about 20 minutes aware that he is in the next lane (I'm worried because it seemed he was clueless). I notice he has not shot once yet. Peeking around the corner, I see him struggling to load the magazine. Then I see him shoot 3 rounds and then he went silent for another 15 minutes. I turn the corner and I ask if he is OK, and he looks up with a lost puppy look. I ask if he would like some help and he smiled, "Yes! Please." I show him how to load and give him a very basic run down of range safety, sighting, etc. He explains that he is visiting family and that he is a crew member on rental yachts in the Carribean. With all the pirates and violence, he wants to know how to shoot when he gets back to work. After helping him out for an hour, he is putting holes roughly where he wants at 7 yards.

I realize the range doesn't and should not screen customers, but at the same time, what they did smacks of sheer negligence. If I had not spoken to him, there is a good chance an accident would have occured. Of the three rounds he fired, one went into the floor. One the wall to his right, and one on paper. He was afraid to look down the slide (he thought the casings would come right back at him). Giving a guy who has obviously never handled a pistol a compact Glock when there is a wall full of rental full sized pistols just seems wrong too. I think it's obvious the clerk did it
out of spite. I sent the guy back into the range shop to ask to switch to a full size Glock, which he did.

Anyway, I'm thinking the convience of LAX Range isn't nearly as attractive as it used to be.

Sorry, but it was lousy first range experience of 2005.
 
Well, I think if this is the kind of crap you get at this place, it is time to move on. For me, customer service is a vital and important part of how good a business is runned. Don't give them yours.
 
I would think that giving a guy a pistol that has never shot in his life, and letting him figure it out on his own is very dangerous. Especially with them being a commercial range, I would expect no less than a full explination of the controls, four rules, and having a RO right there for the first few shots.

I once made the mistake of not fully explaining the controls of my 22/45 to a new pistol shooter. He asked where the safety was, as he was getting ready to shoot the gun, I just pointed to the back and said 'it's that one right there'. He hit what he thought I meant, and the loaded mag dropped rght out the bottom into the mud :banghead:

Everyone gets explained all the controls now before they shoot, regardless of how long they have been shooting.
 
They won't sell you a firearm, but they will take your money to let you shoot.
That reminds me of dealers at gun shows that give discounts only to LE. If I wanted to buy something from them I would put it back down and walk away.
Do they ask for serial numbers at this range?
 
I went to an indoor range in north Raleigh, where they have a 3 second rule between shots. I started doing slide lock reload drills with one round in each mag with nine mags total, and was asked to either to use one mag at a time or leave. Now I know that I'm not that fast on a SL reload, so I asked "what if I just slow down†nope was the reply, the lady with wide tailgate and blonde hair behind the range counter said take it or leave it.


I left, and will never come back ever.
 
"wide tailgate"....me thinks she doeth have MUDFLAPS!".....Man,thats the best description ofa Fat@$$ed PITA I've heard in a LONG time...Thanks,I needed the laughs. :)
 
it's hit or miss at LAX range....some of the guys are friendly and courteous, others are @ssh@ts. the only time i go there is during my lunch hour at work since there are other ranges i live closer to and prefer to frequent on weekends or weekday evenings.

the good, they have lanes for rifles and shotguns. the bad, i once came in with my own ammo, and the guy behind the counter had the gall to say, "next time you come in, we're going to have to ask you to purchase your ammo from us, otherwise we won't be able to stay in business." i said, if i rent your guns, i'll be happy to do so, otherwise, i'll continue to bring in my own rounds.
 
Sorry, but it was lousy first range experience of 2005.
Click to expand...
I understand it wasn't the most fun trip, but I wouldn't call it completely lousy ... sure the range should have been more careful when renting a gun to someone who doesn't appear to be a shooter (especially because he could have just walked up to the firing line, droped one round into the mag, chambered and blew his own brains out ... this has happened enough that some ranges won't rent a gun to someone who was alone). Plus any gun shop that has an "LEO Only policy" on items that the law doesn't require it will not get a dime from me.


But lets look at the silver lining here ... you got the chance to set someone on the right path ... someone who may really need to know how to handle a gun ... you may very well have saved this guy's life and the lives of his shipmates somewhere down the road. At the very least you may have added another shooter to the world, and that alone is a good thing.

looks like your Shooter's Kharma is +1 today :D
 
Talk to the manager! Not the clerk, not the gunsmith, not the assistant manager, but the person that's responsible for keeping the cash flowing in and the doors open. Tell them that sluffing off a one-time customer can mean putting off long time repeat customers real and potential.

The indoor range I use has an orientation for all new shooters. It also has a staff that understands helping inexperienced shooters become safer more competent shooters also means they are more enthusiastic shooters that spend more money.
 
I asked about the LEO-only sales once. I was told that the city of Inglewood would not allow gun sales except to LEO's. Don't exactly know if this true or not but thats what I was told.

My bigger issue is that they allow LEO to present from a holster but not anyone else.

As for the counter-person attitudes, the older asian guy who works there can be a bit of a jerk from time to time. Everyone else there seems to be OK.

When I first started shooting there they did ask if I've ever fired a gun before. If not they do a quick run down of operation and safety.... though I did have to help one guy who was trying to load rounds into the magazine backwards once... kept my eye on him until I finished up.

Its not perfect, but I live very close by.

drc
 
Gun shops and ranges are really starting to get on my nerves. I'm 18 years old, very young compared to the normal business an average shop gets. Until about 6 months ago, I had very little exposure to firearms. Unfortunately, neither of my parents, despite being raised by pro-gun hunters and collectors, were exposed to the hobby. My limited experience included rifle shooting in the Boy Scouts (which taught me the excellent safety techniques I still practice today), and my Grandfather (father’s side), who was a collector in his more prosperous years, though living on a fixed income since before I was born meant he rarely went shooting if ever, as I never recall a time even hearing about a trip to the range. This coupled with my mother's absurd fear of firearms ensured my "newbie" status among the normal shooters as I became old enough to purchase firearms myself. I have, however, had an outstanding resource to aid in my informal education: the Internet. Without complete strangers like many on this board and others, I wouldn't know 1/4 of the little I already know... I still have a long way to go. Yet, I walk into gun shops in the area, and I constantly get the, "it's some stupid kid with no money that wants to be like the movies" treatment. Let it be noted that in the past 6 months, I've spent well into the four figures on my hobby (probably 1/2 to 3/4 of my limited income, although I am a college student on scholarship). I’ve simply had a great time with it. Perhaps it’s a natural predilection towards firearms and shooting given my lack of prior experience.

The problem is most shops constantly fail to recognize and appreciate the bigger picture. For starters, those who run gun shops and ranges must not place shooters into any stereotype. Like many hobbies, shooting is universal; anyone and everyone have the potential to enjoy shooting, meaning anyone and everyone is a potential customer. Second, and more important to the bigger picture, is the need for new and younger shooters possessing a knowledge of firearms and ultimately, an understanding of the FACT that the mere existence of guns in a society in no way relates to the existence of crime. Unfortunately, most, if not all of those who I've read here understand this, so I'm really preaching to the choir more than anything else.

I know this is getting long, but if you’re still reading, I’m about to finish up… My other grandfather (my mother’s side), who was an avid hunter, made his living as a dentist. As such, he was blessed with the means to purchase Luxury cars. My mother would tell me how he would get in the morning (this was 80’s and 90’s from what I understand) and unshaven, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, would walk into the upscale car dealerships and would purchase a car based largely on how he was treated. The moral goes without saying. Bottom line is that if we want our hobby to survive, gun shops must operate with the mentality our society has come to expect: the customer is always right and everyone is different, but their money is worth the same amount. If it were me behind that counter, until otherwise indicated, every new customer that walks in must be treated like they have never touched a firearm but have obviously taken interest with an eagerness to learn, and have $10,000 in their pocket.

Sorry for the rant, but this is clearly a problem aiding those who would like to see our hobby destroyed.
 
Hey Gunsnrovers! I was there today with my son at the same time and saw the same man you referred to. In fact I helped him load the compact
up a couple times and thought wow, what is this guy doing by himself unsupervised on this range. I was concerned and initially thought about asking the mgmt to look after him, but got the impression that they were too busy to watch over the range. Especially after one of the shooters unloaded 10+ rounds out of his semi-auto in less than three seconds which is also supposedly a no-no there.

You wouldn't happen to be the guy who let my son and I try the Sig P229 would you?

cheers, js
 
Just chiming in about LAX.

I think i know which @ssh@t you are talking about. Dark short haired guy who looks like he had a a broom surgically implanted in his posterior. Went there once with a friend. Friend checks in, no biggie (he's a regular). I check in and ask to rent a gun. @ssh@t sucks on his teeth, asks what gun i want, and after i tell him, he lets out this sigh of disappointment.

if he doesn't like the work, why doesn't he leave? If I manage to go there again, I'll be sure to complain...didn't do so then cuz I was trying to enjoy my days visiting my friend.

:cuss:
 
Since we're talking about ranges. I'd thought I tell you about one of my "bad" range stories.

Range is Chabot in the Bay Area.

I'm a 50 bmg shooter. And I know some ranges don't allow it, so okay, I usually call a new range the first time before I lug my rifle and gear down. I called Chabot and asked if they allowed 50 bmg's. Sure, they said, come on down.

So I show up on a Sat, looked around and didn't see any signs restricting calibers. At the window I asked again if they allowed 50's. No problem.

So I take my rifle down and set up far as I can from the other shooters as to not disturb them as best as I could. Anyways, I get off two rounds and was about to fire a third round when this ******* comes running down to my lane and starts screaming a time out. He then proceeded to chew me out in front of everyone there about not being able to shoot 50's. I told him that before I came, I called and then checked again at the window and at both times was told 50's were allow.

"Yeah their allowed" he said, "but only on Tuesday through Friday". How the fudge was I supposed to know that, there were no freaking signs posted. I packed up my stuff and demanded my money back and swore I will never ever ever give any of my money to Chabot. Haven't been back there for over 3 years now. I wonder if I should maybe give them another chance. Have heard a lot of my friends say they shoot there all the time. :confused:
 
"Yeah their allowed" he said, "but only on Tuesday through Friday".
Click to expand...

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this. I could speculate that perhaps the individual in question confused .50 BMG with .50 AE or .50 Beowulf. Given the fact that you were approved by the person at the window on an alleged .50 BMG prohibition day gives me the impression that the "Tuesday through Friday" claim was probably fallacious. While the story is pretty funny and absurd, I could see a person make up an excuse like that in a vain attempt to save face.

If it were me, I'd give them another chance. However, in my situation, with a lack of decent ranges and gun shops in the area, it's nearly impossible for me to stick with this hobby without giving everyone here a second or third chance. If my situation is unlike yours and you are given good alternatives, I wouldn't bother.
 
I may be able to understand how this attitude toward customers comes about, you know kids coming in handling every gun under glass and not buying anything. Or some foreign guy comes in and doesn’t really understand anything about shooting but wants to learn, time is money time is money and so on. Well, I do have some views about that, and some ways to correct them.

1. Handle each customer as the only person in the place, when done ask if there is anything else that you can do for them.
2. Smile a lot.
3. Talk to each customer as if they were your friend.
4. It’s okay to tell a customer that “I don’t know, but I can find out.â€

Simple stuff like that, may not land you a sale, but when the time comes, that person will come to you, with cash in hand, just like any other product that you can sell.

Yes, time is money, but like money, you can invest your time with a few simple social courtesies, and have them pay off later.

Word of mouth can bring in BIG bucks.
 
Joe,

I was the guy in the lane right next to him on his left shooting the 1911. You must have been the guy who came over every so often to help too. He was a nice guy and did seem to really want the help.

The guy I have problems with there is the older Aisan guy with the skin condition. He was the one who checked in the Carribean guy on Sunday. Earlier in 2004 he dry fired my pistols when I came to the range and gave me a ration of sh*t about removing the magazine disconnect on my HP. I called the range manager that day and gave him an earful about handling other peoples firearms. They don't seem to dry fire customer pistols anymore (at least that I've seen!).
 
GnR,shine that place and go to Sharpshooters in Torrance.Never had a problem there,and good customer service,ammo is a little pricey,but what range isn't?
 
Sorry to verge slightly OT but is there a listing and "ratings" of the LA area ranges online somewhere? I live very close to one but as all the others seem to be a 30-90+ minute one-way drive, it would be great to know which to avoid.
 
I'm not sure how accurate this one is but here is a site that appears to list a bunch of ranges. I have not ever heard of a lot of these so I can't speak to how accurate it is. Are you in the L.A. area more of the Orange County area?

http://www.caoutdoors.com/Gun_Clubs.htm
 
I guess that's why I like the outdoor ranges, and no range officers around to have an attitude. Members only.
 
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