While out buying the Buck Mark, I actually did visit a couple stores. I knew where I would buy, but I also knew they wouldn’t have some other things so make a round to a couple stores and pick up the bits and pieces as I go along.
So there I am. At the store, and it didn’t matter which store… the experiences were essentially the same. Looking through the case cases, or waiting my turn, or just walking the aisle. I hear people talking. Unfortunately most of what I hear isn’t good. I hear less than ideal advice, I hear incorrect suggestions, I hear well-intentioned but wrong direction. Much of it coming from the sales guys. I cringe, but I keep my mouth shut.
Then I’m at the counter. I ask to see a gun. Guy pulls a gun out of the case, doesn’t check it to ensure it’s unloaded. I lost count of how many times the sales guy covered me with the muzzle (I’d side step and take other measures to avoid the muzzle). I grant they take solace in their company policy that the guns in the glass cases should be unloaded, but that’s still no excuse to violate rule #1 (be it Jeff Cooper’s rule 1 or NRA’s rule 1). I say nothing, just keep my awareness up.
On my drive home, I think about the things I heard, the things I experienced. I think to myself, should I have said something? When a sales guy is giving bad advice to someone, or one customer says something to another that’s wrong… should I speak up? I feel I shouldn’t because it’s not my conversation, I shouldn’t be eavesdropping (I’m not trying to listen, but you just can’t help but hear their conversations). They didn’t ask my opinion, why would they want to hear mine, and who am I in their eyes that they should care and heed what I have to say? Then with safety violations, should I ask the sales person not to cover me? Would it matter, because if they’re violating the rules, how is chastising/correcting them going to improve anything? Should I tell the manager? Would that matter because if he tolerates the behavior now, what would my complaint change? Furthermore, there’s only so many gun stores in town and I don’t feel like becoming known as “that guy” and having a difficult time getting good service.
I want to say something because it’s hard for me to watch such things going on around me. But social graces and a rationalized feeling of “it’s not going to improve anything” keep me quiet.
Should I bother?
Stuff From Hsoi 
Had the VERY same experience yesterday at Cabelas. Once the sales guy was done covering everyone with the muzzle, Mr. Older Yuppie decided to sweep me several times at head-level with a very lovely Benelli.
I felt my blood pressure spike and I got my powder and left before I stuck that nice Italian shotgun up his yuppie ass and break it off. And I too wondered if I shouldn’t have said something, or just kept bobbing and weaving noticeably (once I saw what he was doing.)
I was at Cabela’s one time… a guy being the counter was fidgeting with a gun. Racking the slide over and over, twirling it around his finger… just like a nervous habit needing something to do with his hands.
The more I think about this, while I may not jump into a conversation that may just have less than ideal product advice, if there’s safety violations going on I’m probably going to say something… especially if it’s being done by the staff. I may not make a big deal out of it (e.g. “please don’t point that at me” or just obviously use my hand and redirect that muzzle), but I’m probably going to say something. I mean, bad advice is one thing, but flat out safety violations is another.
At least, I may try it once and see how well it goes over. Just have to keep cool when I do it. 🙂
I wasn’t sure I was going to keep my cool, so I left instead.
I think next time I’ll ask for a manager if it’s an employee, and will likely redirect the muzzle if its a customer. I need to come up with a reasonable pre-determined thing to say though, else I might not be very nice about it.
I agree. I think there’s a need to come up with some pre-determined thing that helps to address the situation… else yeah, whatever comes out of your mouth in the heat of the moment may not be best towards accomplishing the goal and keeping the situation reasonable.
Question is… what? 🙂 It’s tough to answer, since every situation will be different.