Scoundrel
01-31-2012, 08:29 PM
I'm all for buying from small, local businesses. I think the USA needs to have more of those, and more consumers need to patronize those businesses when it is reasonable to do so.
But, on the other hand, I think that small businesses need to make it reasonable for customers to do so, and not expect customers to pay significantly higher prices without correspondingly high customer service levels.
Let me tell you about a local gun shop that sprung up in my town this last fall. I noticed them because of an A-board on the road I travel a lot. I went in to check them out, and the place was still being set up. Despite the fact that I was obviously interrupting them during setup (hey, their doors were unlocked), they welcomed me warmly.
Their attitude was good and they were friendly. It was very different from other established gun shops I had been in. They didn't have a lot of inventory yet and it was chaotic, but I was impressed.
A few weeks later, I was ready to buy a gun. I had just been told about the PM9, went and rented one at a shop 25 miles away, and then also learned about the CM9. I went back to the local shop and ordered it. Production was still ramping up, and it took 2 months to get it. When I picked it up, the price was about $25 more than they had promised, but I let that slide. They had my gun.
I had ordered some magazines with it, and they did not have those. There had been ordering mistakes. Oh well. They made it right eventually (I should mention that the price on those increased a few bucks from the promised price, too).
A few months later, I went back and bought an M&P 15/22. Again, their price was not the best and I did not beat them up about it. I knew what I wanted, I told them to get it, and I paid their price for it.
Repeat, very recently, for two derringers. When one of the derringers blasted itself apart, I told them about it, but I didn't try to make it their problem. I am working with the manufacturer on it.
I had also ordered a couple of "zombie hunter" t-shirts that I saw hanging on their wall and liked. It took a couple of months for those to arrive, too. Again, ordering mistakes. I don't remember for 100% certain that they told me a different price, but when they arrived they were $30 each. I was expecting $20. Also, I found that the zombie hunter design was on the BACK of the shirt, not the front. The front has a small stupid-looking company logo for whoever designs the shirts. I felt obligated to purchase them anyway, having ordered them, and I did.
So, now you have the background. Four gun purchases with no hassles on pricing, limited amount of time spent in their shop hmmming and hawing and not buying things while taking up their time.
Now let's talk about what's really on my mind, what has just happened.
A few weeks ago, I was in the shop (when I bought those shirts and picked up the derringers), and the guy showed me an AR-15 they had put together. He said that they were going to start having ready-to-go AR-15s there, for $800, so people could just come and pick one up.
Well, a few days ago, I went back to get one. But it was nowhere to be seen. Turns out, it was in pieces in the back, and they couldn't/wouldn't reassemble it as it was for that price. But they offered to work with me on putting together one with similar features.
So we looked at some rifles and some features, and I wrote up some stuff on a sticky note, and he said he'd get back to me when the shop was less busy and he had time to look it up. The next day, he sent me an e-mail with a quote for $1049 out the door for a pre-assembled AR that wasn't what I had asked for.
I went back to the shop and we spent some more time looking at AR models. Turns out the shop was closed, but he told me to stay anyway and look. I really appreciated the amount of time he spent with me on this. But, he couldn't get exactly what I wanted, and couldn't get any lower than $979.
In fact, we were looking at one for $1286 that was probably what I wanted, more or less.
So I went looking at other local shops, with no better results, started looking online, and then found the M&P 15 Sport for $699. I asked the local store about it, and he could not get it. None of his distributors had one. But I found that Cabela's had three of them (85 miles away).
So I went to Cabela's and bought it.
Now, I am getting this big attitude from the local store guys. How could I have done that? How could I have gone and bought a gun from somewhere else that was exactly what I wanted to start with, for $500 less than what they wanted me to spend at their shop? They're a small business, you know, and their time is valuable.
I spent some time in there today trying to talk about it with them. The guy who had spent the time made himself scarce, and his son talked to me about it. I explained my point of view on the whole thing, covering the bait-and-switch with the $800 AR-15 starter model, the fact that they could not get the model I wanted, and that I would have been happy to buy it from them, and pay more for it, if they had been able to get it, and that we were talking about a $500 price difference here. Not $50. $500. That's three digits, starting with a 5. I also mentioned that it seems as if they have forgotten that I bought four guns from them with the last six months. That seems to count for nothing now, because the 5th gun did not work out. I mentioned that I, myself, am a small business owner, and I do value their time - but that I also have to be careful about setting my customers' expectations and then switching up to something more expensive on them. It makes people unhappy, and they've done it to me several times.
He warmed up a little toward the end, and what I intend to do next is stay away for a while and let them cool down. Maybe by the time I am ready for some AR accessories, they'll have pulled their heads out. If not, I think I might be done with that particular local shop, and I'll be "talking" with CTD about those AR accessories.
But, on the other hand, I think that small businesses need to make it reasonable for customers to do so, and not expect customers to pay significantly higher prices without correspondingly high customer service levels.
Let me tell you about a local gun shop that sprung up in my town this last fall. I noticed them because of an A-board on the road I travel a lot. I went in to check them out, and the place was still being set up. Despite the fact that I was obviously interrupting them during setup (hey, their doors were unlocked), they welcomed me warmly.
Their attitude was good and they were friendly. It was very different from other established gun shops I had been in. They didn't have a lot of inventory yet and it was chaotic, but I was impressed.
A few weeks later, I was ready to buy a gun. I had just been told about the PM9, went and rented one at a shop 25 miles away, and then also learned about the CM9. I went back to the local shop and ordered it. Production was still ramping up, and it took 2 months to get it. When I picked it up, the price was about $25 more than they had promised, but I let that slide. They had my gun.
I had ordered some magazines with it, and they did not have those. There had been ordering mistakes. Oh well. They made it right eventually (I should mention that the price on those increased a few bucks from the promised price, too).
A few months later, I went back and bought an M&P 15/22. Again, their price was not the best and I did not beat them up about it. I knew what I wanted, I told them to get it, and I paid their price for it.
Repeat, very recently, for two derringers. When one of the derringers blasted itself apart, I told them about it, but I didn't try to make it their problem. I am working with the manufacturer on it.
I had also ordered a couple of "zombie hunter" t-shirts that I saw hanging on their wall and liked. It took a couple of months for those to arrive, too. Again, ordering mistakes. I don't remember for 100% certain that they told me a different price, but when they arrived they were $30 each. I was expecting $20. Also, I found that the zombie hunter design was on the BACK of the shirt, not the front. The front has a small stupid-looking company logo for whoever designs the shirts. I felt obligated to purchase them anyway, having ordered them, and I did.
So, now you have the background. Four gun purchases with no hassles on pricing, limited amount of time spent in their shop hmmming and hawing and not buying things while taking up their time.
Now let's talk about what's really on my mind, what has just happened.
A few weeks ago, I was in the shop (when I bought those shirts and picked up the derringers), and the guy showed me an AR-15 they had put together. He said that they were going to start having ready-to-go AR-15s there, for $800, so people could just come and pick one up.
Well, a few days ago, I went back to get one. But it was nowhere to be seen. Turns out, it was in pieces in the back, and they couldn't/wouldn't reassemble it as it was for that price. But they offered to work with me on putting together one with similar features.
So we looked at some rifles and some features, and I wrote up some stuff on a sticky note, and he said he'd get back to me when the shop was less busy and he had time to look it up. The next day, he sent me an e-mail with a quote for $1049 out the door for a pre-assembled AR that wasn't what I had asked for.
I went back to the shop and we spent some more time looking at AR models. Turns out the shop was closed, but he told me to stay anyway and look. I really appreciated the amount of time he spent with me on this. But, he couldn't get exactly what I wanted, and couldn't get any lower than $979.
In fact, we were looking at one for $1286 that was probably what I wanted, more or less.
So I went looking at other local shops, with no better results, started looking online, and then found the M&P 15 Sport for $699. I asked the local store about it, and he could not get it. None of his distributors had one. But I found that Cabela's had three of them (85 miles away).
So I went to Cabela's and bought it.
Now, I am getting this big attitude from the local store guys. How could I have done that? How could I have gone and bought a gun from somewhere else that was exactly what I wanted to start with, for $500 less than what they wanted me to spend at their shop? They're a small business, you know, and their time is valuable.
I spent some time in there today trying to talk about it with them. The guy who had spent the time made himself scarce, and his son talked to me about it. I explained my point of view on the whole thing, covering the bait-and-switch with the $800 AR-15 starter model, the fact that they could not get the model I wanted, and that I would have been happy to buy it from them, and pay more for it, if they had been able to get it, and that we were talking about a $500 price difference here. Not $50. $500. That's three digits, starting with a 5. I also mentioned that it seems as if they have forgotten that I bought four guns from them with the last six months. That seems to count for nothing now, because the 5th gun did not work out. I mentioned that I, myself, am a small business owner, and I do value their time - but that I also have to be careful about setting my customers' expectations and then switching up to something more expensive on them. It makes people unhappy, and they've done it to me several times.
He warmed up a little toward the end, and what I intend to do next is stay away for a while and let them cool down. Maybe by the time I am ready for some AR accessories, they'll have pulled their heads out. If not, I think I might be done with that particular local shop, and I'll be "talking" with CTD about those AR accessories.