Strange "advice" at a gun store

[WEC]

I was buying some accessories from a local gun store (I won't mention which one to protect the identities of the parties involved), when I came across a very interesting and perhaps erroneous exchange between one of the gun store employees and a customer.

The customer was looking at some pre-owned Sigs, a P226 and a P229 Equinox, to be specific. I heard him say that he likes the barrel length of the P229 (I believe he was looking for a CCW) but he enjoys the grip length/feel of the P226. Here's where the situation took a turn for the bizarre. The employee says, "Let's try this." He takes down both weapons and then proceeds to try fitting the P229 slide and barrel onto the P226 frame. It didn't go all the way, but it seemed the employee kept trying, until he finally decided it wasn't going to budge.

If that wasn't enough, the employee then decides that the reason the customer likes the P226's grip is because of the longer magazine, so he then puts the P226 magazine in the P229, and hands it to the customer, (almost as if proudly) saying, "Or! You could run with it like this!" I was simply shocked, and wanted to say something, but then again, I'm not a Sig expert nor am I an employee of the gun store. I wanted to tell the customer to try the P229 SCT or at least get the SCT mags for the Equinox. I walked away for a little bit, then returned later to see that the customer decided to buy the P226 after all. So I believe there was a potentially dangerous situation that was averted...

Now, I know a thing or two about Sigs, but IANASE (I am not a Sig Expert), so I was wondering if anyone could corroborate my thoughts that the gun store employee was a bit... daft?

[ecd1211]

Yes, the guy behind the counter is a maroon (in the words of Bugs Bunny). He must be the owner's nephew...

I had a guy behind the counter at a local Academy Sports a couple of weeks ago who was showing me the three Para 1911s they had -- he racked back the slide on one and then didn't know how to release it. I'd never handled a 1911 before (or, at least, not since about 1980 when I was in the Army) and had to show him how to do it.

[Mike1951]

Since I haven't worked in over three years and have been shooting for over 45 years, I suggested to a friend that I might try to get a job at the local chain.

His response was, "Just remember that the customer doesn't want to hear what you know. The customer wants to hear what he already knows."

Not exactly the same situation, but I reconsidered after deciding he was right.

[barres]

The Counter Commando actually wasn't too far off (likely by accident) on the magazine interchangeability. The P226 mags will work in the P229, assuming they're both chambered in the same caliber. Sig even endorses an adapter, called an X-Grip, that will fill in the gap between the P229 grip and the bottom of the mag, giving you the grip length of the P226 and the slide/barrel length of the P229. If you are interested in the X-Grip, they can be found (and for other pistol models, as well) at Top Gun Supply on the web.

[TDDude]

I would suspect that Gun sales is just like any other job. There will me maroons and experts. There will be old hands and beginners. Don't be surprised if the clean cut, peach fuzzed and bright eyed new counter guy is a bit off in his facts. However, if I'm seeing some gray around the temple and a quiet authority radiating, I'll expect a bit more in the way of advice.

I would think that the true experts won't be behind the counter unless its the owner/manager of the store. The expert will be out competing or teaching or something similar.

I for one would love to work at a gun store and I know I would be good at it and I would love it.

I'm fairly certain I would starve doing it.

[WildBill]

I would think that the true experts won't be behind the counter unless its the owner/manager of the store. The expert will be out competing or teaching or something similar. I for one would love to work at a gun store and I know I would be good at it and I would love it. I'm fairly certain I would starve doing it.

The advice you hear at most gun stores is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Some other things to ponder:

Unless it is your own store it would be hard to earn a living or even be "successful" working at a gun store. Even if it were your own store it would be hard to make a living. You could probably earn much more working in a chemical plant. The profit margin for an employee-owned gun store is very small. You just can't compete with Academy on price for the brand and models they carry.

Owning a gun store is a business and business needs profits to survive and grow. If you love guns, like to shoot them and know all about them and enjoy talking about them fine, but you need to sell guns to earn a living. A lot of guns. Think about how much money you are going to have invested in inventory if you if had one of all of the guns you would like to own. You also have to do business things. Payroll checks, rent, phone bill, shipping and receiving, paying invoices, keeping the place clean, etc.

Working in someone else's store is hard too. You may think your Kimber is the best gun out ever made, but if your store doesn't sell Kimbers you are going to have to sell something else. Something you may not like or even dislike. Even if the store sells your favorite gun, you need to sell the customer what they want, not what you think they want. You can sell only what you have, and what the boss tells you to promote.

[PBR]

Well gun shops and stores know their stuff most of the time but Wal-mart, Academy and others like that let anyone work that area. I have overheard people asking them questions and their response sometimes has made me LOL --

[dukesean]

Sounds like the salesman had heard about some ambiguous interchangeability between the two guns, and without ever verifying them or trying them for himself, decided to break out those nuggets of information as a sales pitch on the customer, who I'm sure had even less information on the two guns.

Did you see if the customer ended up buying either of the two? Being a multiple Sig owner and fan, the whole story makes me chuckle a bit. I can just visualize the whole trying to force the slide onto the frame thing, and then finally giving up and, in an effort to save face, hopes that the 226 magazine will fit into the 229, and lucky dog, it did!

[WEC]

Sounds like the salesman had heard about some ambiguous interchangeability between the two guns, and without ever verifying them or trying them for himself, decided to break out those nuggets of information as a sales pitch on the customer, who I'm sure had even less information on the two guns.

Did you see if the customer ended up buying either of the two? Being a multiple Sig owner and fan, the whole story makes me chuckle a bit. I can just visualize the whole trying to force the slide onto the frame thing, and then finally giving up and, in an effort to save face, hopes that the 226 magazine will fit into the 229, and lucky dog, it did!

In the original post, I wrote that the customer luckily went with the 226, so the whole thing ended up being a moot point. I love the term "Counter Commando." I'm really gonna start using that one!