Sales Clerks, gotta vent

Sorry, gotta vent.

So I'm looking to for a work light to replace my ARC. It hit me that a Surefire L4 would be right up my alley. And hey! Bonus! Surefire's sold by local retailers so I can maybe have one in hand when I needed it today. Called authorized dealer Gander Mountain, clerk took five minutes to check every ...single...light for a "L4" before he determined they didn't have any in stock. Yes, he checked the incandescents too.

Really wanted the light by Friday, so I figured I'd try Dunham Sports, a competing sports store. After waiting three minutes for the camping section I got the camping clerk. I confirmed he was the flashlight guy in the store. Asked him if they carry Surefire lights,
"'What' lights?"
Surefire lights, flashlights. Do you carry Surefire brand flashlights?
"Um... we have Mag lights. They're a good brand."

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

sigh.
I quit.

Whenever I am at a place that sells flashlights (such as Frys) I can't help but talk to other buyers, particularly if I see them making what looks like a bad mistake!

I don't know where I would go even in this GIANT Houston area if my intent was to buy a particular Surefire light....

Somewhere in Houston is a police supply shop. They sell SureFires.

Don't keep us in suspense, Mich. Did you get you a new Mag light?

William at Texas Tactical Supply is in Houston. Heck I gotta pay state sales taxes but still order from him - good prices and service. Keith

[ QUOTE ]
Empath said:
Don't keep us in suspense, Mich. Did you get you a new Mag light?

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

ROFL! ! !

Ah thanks Empath, I needed that.

No, I ended up ordering an L4 from someone here on CPF. Better price and incredibly better service. I should have added that as the moral of the story.

[EDIT]
Wait, scratch that. I did end up getting a mag. Yeah... I figured it wasn't fair to follow an ARC with an anemic minimag so I got the 2d Maglight model. Fitting it into my pants pocket like my ARC wasn't easy, but a lot of nice people throughout the day asked if I was happy to see them. It was working out ok until I used it to light my way as I was walking in a dark area. Due to the large hole in the beam I missed the large hole in the sidewalk and twisted my ankle. Unfortunately the bulb popped as the mag hit the ground. In a puddle. Fortunately Mag knows their incandescent bulbs are for sh... are delicate, and included a spare. Unfortunately the maglite isn't waterproof so the housing had water from the puddle in it. Thinking I could run the light to dry it out I left it on. However, after only 30 minutes the batteries were so depleted that the bulb was only giving off an amber glow. This was good because it made it so you couldn't see the scratched up type II anodizing from the fall. However it was bad because it left me with the color recognition capabilities of a near-sighted golden retriever. About that time one of Mag's lawyers showed up, said it was my fault their light looked bad, served me an injuction and siezed my light.

I can't imagine I'll have better luck with a Surefire...

LMAO!!

Look on the bright side - at least he TOOK the light... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I like it when youse guys make funny!

lol im not the smartest person in the world but man .some of the people around here in retail are frigin morons. aka radio shack lol.ya got questions they have blank stares or rude remarks...circuit city im suprised they find there way to work..kmart is very good.see im smart lol i dont want whip from sasha lol.

There is one guy at the local Gander Mountain who not only knows lights, but can quickly see what's in stock, and will (GASP!) actually check with other stores to see what's in their stock. He'll let you know how long it'll take to transfer an item in for you and will call you to let you know what's going on. Ask him about SureFires and he won't say "Huh Wha?" I made sure the manager knew what was going on. The nerve of some people... being polite AND helpful to customers. Gonna ruin the reputation of some salesclerks doin' that.

One of the Radio Shack stores here gave me a hard time over a return. I phoned head office and they straightened it out. Even though the manager was only following policy, his store was fined $100. Point is, each of us can make a difference for everyone. Be patient, be polite, but be firm if you feel strongly you're in the right. Also, I often go out of my way to educate salespeople about products they sell. After all, there's so much happening these days, it's very difficult for them to be on top of everything. Most seem appreciative. I've even directed a few to this forum.

I called a Turner's Outdoorsman (west coast) store this afternoon, asking if they have a SureFire KL1 in stock. They clerk replies, "What's that? A gun?"

I've been to at least of couple of Turner's stores, and they each have a nice, free-standing glass case filled with SF goodies. They even sell the stuff for a little less than full retail...imagine that!

Theres a knife shop in Costa Mesa's South Coast Plaza that has one of those glasses cases with all the Surefires in production. But the thing is, below that the glass case was was filled up one foot from the base with accessories. It was like one of those crane arcade games with the stuffed animals.

plaza cutlery, SF's flagship store... one of these days when i'm in the area i must get batts, but they won't sell the 12pack box! just individual cells, at 2 bux a pop (still cheap compared to elsewhere)

Lately I've been in two or three stores that sell SF and no boxes of 123's for sale, just the two packs. Does SF still send out boxes to stores or not?

Also hard to find in store are MN01 lamps for the E1e and KL heads (any of them). Are these not available or are stores just not ordering them? Online seems to be better but why are these so hard to find in a brick and mortar store?

Cabela's store in dundee michigan has a display of shurefire lights and to my surpize the person behind the counter knew what they where!
Last I checked they did not have the L4 though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Oh Please!

Nearly ever time I go into Radio Shack either I end up with an attitude or giving an education to a know nothing sales type.

I usually tell the sales type to leave me be and Im just looking. It's when Ive exausted all my internal resources that I ask for assistance. But that is a last resort.

This pattern is so bad my wife worked out an alternate advertising slogan for them.

"You have questions, we have assholes!"

Kind of sums up the situation.

I remember one day some poor guy was having trouble with his CB set. I think it was a break in the cig lighter wire. I tell the manager and the customer wait a moment, run to the car, get the tool bag, and fix it in about 5m. They were stunned, the chance of running into someone with tools and the ability. Ive done that many times. It's fun to mess with peoples heads.

One day I got ticked with a sales type and got backed into asking him a question. So I did "Do you have a bi directional thryistor with at least a 300 volt range?" The guy gagged! I pulled a 'Triac' off the wall and paid a buck 49 for the experience of watching him choke. Ask one for a Metal Oxide semiconductor field effect transistor. For the rest of us a Mosfet. Someday one joker is going to tick me off too far and im going to tell them that a thermonic emitter is something covered in the boy scout manual.

Later guys.
Jack Crow
(Thermonic Emitter aka Real Men Use Tubes!)
Are we having fun yet?

Michigan Man,

Thanks for the laughs, they came at just the right time /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Brightnorm

Write a note:

Ask them to show you A 1D10T diode.

Almost as good as:

I Am We Todd Did

I am Sofa King We Todd Did!

Of course they have to read the second one out loud...!

When I first got involved in the CPF, I called my local electronics store to ask about the prices of white LEDs assuming that they would have. The sales clerk asked in reply " do you mean the clear ones?" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif