The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Wal-Mart experience

Rifleman1776 · September 12, 2012, 08:45 AM

I use Wal-Mart because of selection, prices and (almost) everything under one roof. To a point I am a fan but realize there are limitations.
One of the limitations is understanding the people who work there (associates) have limited training and cannot always answer questions whether it is in the shoe department or sporting goods.
Recently I was in the sporting good department near the gun case. There were four clerks behind the counter, two men and two women. A man walked up and said he wanted to buy a Mini 14. One of the women spoke up and said, "We don't have that.", the second woman asked, "Do you want that in a Ruger?", one of the men asked what caliber. The customer said, ".223", the first man said "we only have it in .243". By this time the customer was getting frustrated. After all, he had said, "I want to buy....". Finally, the other man grabbed one out of the case, handed it to the customer and said, "All mini 14s are Rugers and they come in .223. Here is one." He knew something about guns and knew what he was doing. The other empolyees knew nothing. To their credit, they were trying to help but were still useless. They could have cost the store a big ticket sale and lost a customer.
Lesson is, know what you are doing, do not expect minimally trained clerks to be much help. Want more help? Go to the local gun shop where service is more expert but prices are also higher.

September 12, 2012, 08:45 AM	#1
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	Wal-Mart experience I use Wal-Mart because of selection, prices and (almost) everything under one roof. To a point I am a fan but realize there are limitations. One of the limitations is understanding the people who work there (associates) have limited training and cannot always answer questions whether it is in the shoe department or sporting goods. Recently I was in the sporting good department near the gun case. There were four clerks behind the counter, two men and two women. A man walked up and said he wanted to buy a Mini 14. One of the women spoke up and said, "We don't have that.", the second woman asked, "Do you want that in a Ruger?", one of the men asked what caliber. The customer said, ".223", the first man said "we only have it in .243". By this time the customer was getting frustrated. After all, he had said, *"I want to buy...."*. Finally, the other man grabbed one out of the case, handed it to the customer and said, "All mini 14s are Rugers and they come in .223. Here is one." He knew something about guns and knew what he was doing. The other empolyees knew nothing. To their credit, they were trying to help but were still useless. They could have cost the store a big ticket sale and lost a customer. Lesson is, know what you are doing, do not expect minimally trained clerks to be much help. Want more help? Go to the local gun shop where service is more expert but prices are also higher.