| So I don’t know about you, but after 12 years of living with (and loving) a gun nut, I have visited a lot of gun shops in a lot of different states. From South Carolina to Wisconsin, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas I have shopped gun shops large and small and there is one thing that seems to happen no matter what type of shop I visit: arrogant and annoying gun sales people/shop owners! Now this isn’t true of every shop, I have visited some amazing gun shops with fantastic owners and employees and I was always more than happy to give them my business, but I have also been to some places where poor customer service seemed to be the norm (I won’t name names). You know the saddest thing is that the bad places outnumbered the good nearly two to one. As HD and I build our business I often look back to bad experiences as a way to train ourselves what NOT to do and how NOT to treat our customers. With so many bad experiences to pull from, we have a lot of opportunity to build better relationships with our customers and be the best little gun shop we can be. |  Image created at memegenerator.net |
Because I am not sure of other shops motives for being open, I can only go by our own. We are open to provide quality firearms, supplies, and skilled gunsmithing services to our customers – and of course to make money – our passion is to make sure that every person who leaves the shop goes away happy with his or her purchase, repair, or (even if they don’t buy anything) their experience. Our customers come from all walks of life and we don’t care if they are men, women, fat, thin, rich, poor, country redneck, city slick, firearms novice or shooting expert – everyone is valuable to us. We feel honored that individuals from all backgrounds are interested enough in the products we offer and the services we provide to come through our shop door. At our shop people come in as guests and, most often, leave as friends. It thrills us when a customer invites us to join them for a little target shooting, attend one of their gun club meetings, or tag along on a hunt (even if it is just for prairie dogs); these types of invitations mean that not only are we doing our job, we are creating relationships with our customers and THAT is what our business should be about!
Why and where do so many gun shops go wrong when it comes to customer service? After much contemplation I have narrowed it down to three of the things that gun sales people/shop owners do that make them look like total jerks and make customers head for the door. Here they are – in no particular order (all are exceedingly annoying):
Why and where do so many gun shops go wrong when it comes to customer service? After much contemplation I have narrowed it down to three of the things that gun sales people/shop owners do that make them look like total jerks and make customers head for the door. Here they are – in no particular order (all are exceedingly annoying):
1. They are ARROGANT! Ugh, arrogance is simply repulsive in any situation but especially so in a customer service situation. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines arrogance as an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions. So many of the men (and even some women) who work in (or own) gun shops have that attitude of “let me share all the things you don’t know with you, make you feel as uniformed as possible, and remind you 9,000 times about why my experience is superior to yours (or anyone else’s for that matter)”. This is not the way to sell guns or services people! It is such a turn-off and makes me want to turn right around and head back to the car. These employees need to remember that the folks who come in as novices are just as valuable (and possibly more likely to buy a gun) as those customers who come in and can have an arrogant B.S.-fest. Just because a customer is new to the world of guns doesn’t mean they haven’t done their research, spoken with those individuals they feel comfortable with as experts, and evaluated their own needs and uses for a firearm. Gun shop owners and employees can I make a suggestion? Unless they are asked for keep your comments, experiences, and evaluations of the customers’ skills, wants, and needs to yourself. Let your customer advocate for him/herself without having to listen to the trite, boring, or outlandish stories of your own awesomeness!
2. They IGNORE you! Yikes – this one is pretty bad too! No one likes to be ignored, especially when they make it a point to come to your shop hoping to spend their hard earned money. I have seen shop employees do a onceover of a customer and decide immediately that they are not worth the time it takes to even say hello; it infuriates me! Don’t overlook me as a viable customer because I “look poor” – some of the richest people I know look scruffy and some of the poorest people I know will save for months to get a new firearm. Don’t disregard me as a valuable patron because I am not the “beautiful” woman – average looking women make just as much money as beautiful (scantily clad) women and are sometimes more interesting to talk to. Don’t devalue me as a consumer because I am “too young” – their presence in your store is valuable and though they may not be at an age where they can purchase their own firearm, the time you spend with them could pay you back in large dividends when their “of age” birthday rolls around.
3. They OVERWHELM you with information! This one is not as bad in terms of ick factor, but still drives me (and others I have spoken to) up a wall! Information overload is a great way to leave me confused, indecisive, and unable move forward with the plan I entered the shop with. Now this issue is not as intentional as the other two, it comes from a place of helping and service, but leads to a customer feeling confused and disoriented. Many people can only absorb so much information at one time and then they shut down – by dropping a full-on seminar on your customer you may end up driving them away. It is so very important to give your customer information, but a ton of data, technical tidbits, and background may not be the right information. Ask open ended questions, find out what your customer wants to know, and then give them that information – along with any other information that would be crucial to operation or safety.
Image retrieved from: http://www.50-best.com/will_ferrell_memes/pics/when_im_overwhelmed.htm
Hopefully, if there are any gun shop employees or owners out there reading this blog they can reconsider some of the ways their customers feel about the service (or lack of it) they are getting. Our industry is full of awesome people with great experience who bring immeasurable value to the marketplace. I don’t want you to hide your light under a basket, but I also think you should try to avoid blinding people with it. Be there for your customer, answer the questions they have and make sure you are asking them the right questions, let them know that their value is not dependent on the dollar amount they are able to spend, the knowledge they come to the counter with, or their physical appearance. Don’t judge them based on first impressions – if they judged you like that (you guys know who you are – you come to work dressed like you are headed for a desert siege) they might make assumptions about you and avoid you and your shop. I promise that if you put your customer at the center of your shop’s success by making sure they feel valued, comfortable, and respected your shop will build a faithful following!
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