Part 6, getting to the gun story

I somehow kept playing in the gun world. I did not have extra funds, so I learned to use layaway really well. I always had a gun on layaway, sometimes two at a time. Most of my time and money was spent at Cross Hairs gun shop. I remember three people working at Crosshairs, Dave, the owner, Dennis (an Ex-con), Who I think worked under the table; and Dan. Dennis was always helpful and tried to earn your loyalty. He was foul-mouthed, and crude, and said everything that was not PC. While I did not agree with many things he said, I liked him because he did not give a crap, and he was real. The guy would bash you and every other person behind their back; that was just him. He would give me a box of ammo every time I bought a gun, and that was all the time. I would put a firearm on layaway as soon as I paid the last one off. Dennis also would adjust prices for me all the time. I started to think he was doing it without permission from the owner, and it made me feel like I was stealing. I bought a few guns from Dan, too. Dan Loved to talk. He was good with people but also a salesman. He tried to guide me to specific guns I did not want, which was a no-go. Don't get me wrong. I like Dan, and I respect his knowledge. All this interaction with gun people started to form what I believed to be a better way of doing business.

Points I believe are important in business. They may not pay the bills as well but I feel like a better person at the end of the day.

1. Honesty is the first thing. 2. Sometimes, the buyer knows more than you do. 3. Don't direct people to guns, but rather inform them why you think it would be better and let them decide. 4. Sell only things you believe to be good quality items. 5. Never upsell an item. 6. Let the customer know you don't care what item they buy as there is nothing to gain by selling them any particular item. 7, Do your best to make your customers feel like family. I always offer customers a soda or water. If they are unsure of an item, tell them to go home and sleep on it. There is no pressure to buy at my shop. I inform my customers why it is best to buy locally and how they save money. I also tell them If I am not the best deal, they are welcome to buy it online and ship it to me. Just give me a chance to be the best deal.

One day, I stopped by to pay off an Arm I had on layaway. There were two arms in the shop I wanted, and one was a 357-mag pump rifle that had been on display for over two years. The price was around 1200.00, and that was an expensive buy for me. I had asked many times to put it on layaway. The owner would not. I would say to Dave, "I could have paid it off many times by now." It took me about three paydays to pay off a gun. He would not do it. Dennis said to me He did not believe Dave wanted to sell it. I said, then put not for sale on it. I wish I had bought that rifle. It would take me ten more years to find something else. I did not see myself as one of Dave's shop boys. You see, if there is a seat in a gun shop, there will be people who view the gun shop as a second home. If you put in a table and chairs? You may as well serve food, too. They will move in.

Dan later quit working at crosshairs and opened up a gun shop. He told me he regretted putting a couch inside his shop. People move in and stay all day, or multiple people come in as if it was their shift. They often feel the need to become a salesperson. The problem with this is, that they are homeless-looking, don't know much about many of the items, and are very opinionated. They feel like they are part of the team. Often, they scare off new customers or give a less inviting impression to other customers. Remember, if they are there daily, they are part of your business.

Now, don't get me wrong. It is nice to have other people around when a sketchy-looking person walks in. There is safety in numbers. Dave or Dennis would ask me to say a while, knowing they were concerned about the other customers in the shop.

One day, Dave (the owner) was talking on the phone. I was walking around killing time. Dennis was busy filling out the gun logs in the back of the store. Dave was talking about the Republican primaries. Mit Romney and John McCain were running for President. Dave said to the person on the phone. We don't need a Morman as the president. I told Dave, you can apologize for that remark as I am a "Mormon." Dave said, so is my sister, and he would not apologize. I said, so is Insulting a customer that spends 10k a year acceptable here? He looked at me and blew me off as if he did not need me as a customer, and he did not, but he did not want me as a competitor.

I was so pissed. I walked to the back of the store where Dennis was. I told him what had happened. I thanked him for his excellent service and said I would never enter this business again. I turned and walked out. Dennis chased me down to apologize and asked me to reconsider. I said, never again.

I found myself without a go-to shop, which was a blow to my hobby. I was out of the best shop in the area.

My Dad gave me a business package and program to open a gun store or Home FFL business the year before. I had not done anything with it as it required reading a lot of material. He asked me often if I was working on it. I was not, but, today was a new day, and I was mad. I started to read up and fill out the paperwork. I had bumped into Dan from crosshairs someplace in town. He asked if I would return, and I told him I would start my own gun business. I believe I hit a hot button for him. He must have considered doing the same because he quit working there a week later and started selling guns out of his home.

I started buying from Dan. It would take a while to get through the background process as I had a problem with my past, but I did not know about it quite yet. Dan had tried to convince me not to bother with getting an FFL. He would take care of me and pointed out that you can often get the same guns at a lower dealer cost online. That turned out to be true. Often, firearms are sold below most dealers' prices. Dan was a good friend and a good business person. Good deals and service enabled me to procrastinate even more when starting my business.