Dang it....just cause you KNOW something.....
An older man who is a regular in the store comes in about twice a week. He is one of the smartest people I have EVER met....
BUT
Dang it.....nobody likes to see him coming!!!! He just HAS to say something about any and every teeny thing he overhears, sees or THINKS anyone will listen to. If you are helping a young person pick out something for plinking he will go on and on about his past plinking experiences. If you are helping a couple pick out something for "the house" he will go on about where good places in the home are to hide guns.....just in case. If you are looking at shotguns with a trophey winning skeet shooter he will quote article after article on every type of skeet stance there is.
It ticks me off to no end to have anyone in the store when he shows up and starts his crap. It isn't helpful.....not at all. It just runs people off to have him do this. It never fails. Each and every time....people leave if he starts in on them. Once I said to everyone....."here he comes....I bet he will talk about whatever one thing I mention....no matter what it is." So I went out and said only one word
canteloupe
and just stood there. He took about a minute...and I actually thought I was wrong when I started to walk away....then it happened. The 10 minute long speech on how he had grown them every year for the past 3 years and what the biggest one he had grown was. I know he is lonely...maybe bored...likes guns and we are his kindred people of choice to spend his lunch break. But dang it....just because you KNOW something doesn't mean you have to share.
Selling is like a dance at times. You walk around showing people items and speak with them getting a "feel" for what they might be in the market for. You listen, watch how they react to what you say, watch to see if they handle it easily or look like its giving them germs. To all of the sudden have some guy walk up and spatter "helpful jibberish" is just about enough to grab a hose and walk back into the store and squirt him down at times!
BUT
Dang it.....nobody likes to see him coming!!!! He just HAS to say something about any and every teeny thing he overhears, sees or THINKS anyone will listen to. If you are helping a young person pick out something for plinking he will go on and on about his past plinking experiences. If you are helping a couple pick out something for "the house" he will go on about where good places in the home are to hide guns.....just in case. If you are looking at shotguns with a trophey winning skeet shooter he will quote article after article on every type of skeet stance there is.
It ticks me off to no end to have anyone in the store when he shows up and starts his crap. It isn't helpful.....not at all. It just runs people off to have him do this. It never fails. Each and every time....people leave if he starts in on them. Once I said to everyone....."here he comes....I bet he will talk about whatever one thing I mention....no matter what it is." So I went out and said only one word
canteloupe
and just stood there. He took about a minute...and I actually thought I was wrong when I started to walk away....then it happened. The 10 minute long speech on how he had grown them every year for the past 3 years and what the biggest one he had grown was. I know he is lonely...maybe bored...likes guns and we are his kindred people of choice to spend his lunch break. But dang it....just because you KNOW something doesn't mean you have to share.
Selling is like a dance at times. You walk around showing people items and speak with them getting a "feel" for what they might be in the market for. You listen, watch how they react to what you say, watch to see if they handle it easily or look like its giving them germs. To all of the sudden have some guy walk up and spatter "helpful jibberish" is just about enough to grab a hose and walk back into the store and squirt him down at times!
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Alrighty then....it seems to me like you have 2 clear choices...
1.) Tolerate that old guy
or
2.) Confront him. Tell him he is welcome in the shop, so long as he does not interfere with sales. If he continues to interfere with sales, he will be asked to leave.
You don't want to be mean, but he is interfering with your sales. You want validation that it is okay to tell the guy his advise and consultation is not welcome. For as many voices of validation that you will get, you will get as many who will beg tolerance. If you are waiting for a solution to drop out of the sky that will satisfy both, good luck.
It's your choice to make. This is one of those situations that call for an "executive decision." Part and parcel of owning a business. For as many friends as you make, you will make an equal number of enemies.
Do what you gotta do. Make a decision you can live with, and don't feel that you have to explain or make excuses to anyone.
Game over.0 -
Confrontation. It can be a delicate thing.
My cousin sets up a display at the county fair for his brick patios, sidewalks and driveways. I'll go to his display (a giant patio with pond and such) hang out, bs with him, but if a customer talks to him with interest and questions, I'll fade back and let him do a sell job. It's the polite thing to do. He's there to make sales and a living.
He is just the opposite. If he was in my situation, he would probably be there in the midst of the conversation.0 -
Nobody said it was easy....
I'm not unsympathetic, really, I'm not....I have a huge soft spot for seniors with all thier quirks and quieres, because I deal with a lonely old man looking to feel useful everyday.
But confrontation, is not so much an art as it is a discipline. There are confronational people, and there are non-confrontational people. And if you don't know on which side you are, and you are a business owner, you better learn which side you are on post haste. If you are non-confrontational and need to be confrontational, for the sake of the business, do it and be unapologetic about it. You aren't a business owner to make friends, you want to make money.
RIght?0 -
I know what will eventually happen....so far he hasn't cost any BIG deals. People sitting on the fence and "looking for a deal" guys are all I KNOW for a fact he has had opportunity to mess with. There will come that day that either I am stressed to no end and he is just in the wrong place at the wrong time....or he blows a big deal and I am forced to say something. Right now I am just letting fate run this silly game in hopes he finds what he needs to fill his time. If he keeps it up I have gone over and over what I would like to be able to say to him.....I just hope he understands that I am not trying to run him off. I just need him to not interrupt what is going on with certain customers.
I would put a sitting area in the store....but I think it would be a bad thing. Gun stores aren't like hardware, drug, or any other stores on the planet. The longer people sit and talk the less likely they are to buy anything. Plus, there is a lot of "horse trading" in little groups sitting around.....that is NOT cool to do in a gun store (at least not for the store owner.)0 -
what are you doing up at 2:23 AM? 0 -
15 yr old was given a BMW...home loan papers not heard from...Winchester box not here yet....Grandmother in nursing home for "rehab" getting over being in hospital....ATF pulled one of my biggest customer's 4473s last week...dishwasher broken...motor being replaced in my car and driving my brother's used (uncomfortable) mustang that I have already "sold" to someone and they want it asap.
Lots going on....and my sleepy-time med didn't take affect.0 -
where i work there is a group of old farts that come in at least twice every day, they talk about absolutely nothing, nonsensical blubbering, such as where their hat was made, how heavy it is (they say weight has something to do with quality??) what their brothers neighbors best friends dogs middle initial is, you just have to ignore it as hard as it may seem, or just ask him to give you a few minutes with the customer 0 -
Locust,
Have you ever thought about bringning him on as part time counter help? If this guy has as much knowledge as he implies, then say "hey, you know what you're talking about because you've done this, that, and the other thing...why not get paid to talk about it?" He'll either talk it seriously and accept the offer to work, or try to be humble saying something like "Oh no no, I could never sell. I just like to come in and talk about em." He'll either be honored at the fact you want to use is experiences and knowledge or be a little embarrassed that he won't come in for a while. His visits would then start to taper off to once a month. You won't be catering to his needs to be his earpiece but he'd be flattered you want him to work in shop. If he says "OK, I'll do it" then you could train him to welcome the customers, find out what they are there for then hand them off to you or another sales person. Or you could use him to promote your shop by hosting a monthly get together at the shop, offer coffee and little cakes and let everyone stand around to BS for a couple of hours. He'd get to talk to a larger audience about his experiences and he'd stop coming in as often because he'd be looking forward to that monthly meeting. Plus, you'd increase your sales because the first pack will bring someone with them the next time and they may be first time buyers, on the fence but just didn't know who to talk to about anything.....0 -
i use to run a roadside produce stand and had a guy like that. i wanted to get rid of him because he annoyed customers and sometimes me too but for one he did things that did help and he was a lonely old guy with no family and i felt sorry for him. 0 -
This man has a GOOOOD job....lets just say he makes mo-ney....he comes in on lunches and days off. Plus, he doesn't KNOW anything but trivia and such. He wouldn't be much help really. Personality is one "key" thing to being a good salesperson....and you all KNOW about gun snobs and know-it-alls. He is just going to be my thorn to bear. I just whine and complain a lot. 0
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