Is It Good For The Gun Cause To Bash Suppliers On The Open Internet?

[BugI02]

Who knows? I wonder why Starbuck's is in business. I think it's absolutely insane to pay $5.00+ for a cup of coffee and I would never go there. Some people are just more gullible than others? I think P.T. Barnum had something to say about those folks.

Just so. They don't even have the excuse of higher quality product because they take fairly good ground coffee and turn it into a drink that invariably tastes bitter and over-extracted

My personal theory is they are a coffee shop for those who don't like the taste of coffee, specializing in FooFoo concoctions where any hint of coffee flavor is overwhelmed with sugar and artificial flavors as well as allowing the virtue-signaling use of soy milk or almond milk yada yada

The coffee equivalent of mixed drinks

Edit: subtle but pleasing change to your avatar. New gun or just new picture?

 

[MCgrease08]

As stated I have no knowledge or interest in CTD but there is some reason they stay in business that we do not know. Why are they still in business? If they are hated on every gun forum how are they still in business? Toomey Manchin gun control bill was ten years ago, they survived that, survived the HRC election and Trump years, and now are surviving the pandemic years, if everyone hates them why are they still in business? This is all illogical that if they are so bad that the world hates them, their prices too high, their service is poor, why are they still here and in business?

CTD is probably still in business because they charge so much they only need to sell one brick of .22 to cover their expenses for the year.

Purple?

 

[NHT3]

Trainers that are sub standard is a different issue but I agree that we should appreciate 2A friendly business and try not to dog them on an open forum.. If you don't want to patronize someone that's your business but there is a world out there that wants to disarm us so recognizing our friends is vitally important.

 

[KLB]

Trainers that are sub standard is a different issue but I agree that we should appreciate 2A friendly business and try not to dog them on an open forum.. If you don't want to patronize someone that's your business but there is a world out there that wants to disarm us so recognizing our friends is vitally important.

So people shouldn't share bad experiences about a company because they sell guns or gun related stuff? Bad customer service should be spelled out whatever industry it is in, just as good customer service should be highlighted. I think the gun community does a good job of doing both.

 

[JCSR]

I don't want censorship in any form. If a member bashes a shop/supplier and it's unwarranted that member will hear about it. Police our own.

 

[ditcherman]

As stated I have no knowledge or interest in CTD but there is some reason they stay in business that we do not know. Why are they still in business? If they are hated on every gun forum how are they still in business? Toomey Manchin gun control bill was ten years ago, they survived that, survived the HRC election and Trump years, and now are surviving the pandemic years, if everyone hates them why are they still in business? This is all illogical that if they are so bad that the world hates them, their prices too high, their service is poor, why are they still here and in business?

Why are they still in business?
Maybe because internet bashing doesn’t matter all that much.

 

[bwframe]

Why are they still in business?
Maybe because internet bashing doesn’t matter all that much.

CTD has run a very effective advertising campaign of over the years. They have sponsored many big name shooting events and big name shooters, Caleb Giddings, the Miculek family, etc. SAF, NRA, USPSA, IDPA, Sig Saur, Smith & Wesson, etc.

 

[MinuteManMike]

I don't see how silencing oneself when it pertains to gun companies does anyone favors, except crappy companies.

 

[Ingomike]

I don't want censorship in any form. If a member bashes a shop/supplier and it's unwarranted that member will hear about it. Police our own.

BTW, I am not proposing censorship from the forum. Just trying to educate that bashing our suppliers in open forums hurts suppliers and hoping folks think before bashing…

Much of the bashing I have seen here on INGO, particularly what I have called out, is from those butthurt over a policy the business has the member doesn’t like. Recent bashing has included a store that would not do layaway, a store that asks for ID for purchase, or a range charges a once a year $5 fee for range users.

Others include a rogue RO employee and a NFA item that management apologized for and promised to correct, and complaint about a range that is just for good old boys, but others are members there with no issues.

These are not monumental customer service issues to blast out in open forums about, but you are free to do as you wish, just think about the balance between what happened and the damage that can be done…

 

[Ingomike]

If you're advice is followed no one can answer you. It might be considered bashing.

Honest opinions about the experience of dealing with a vendor should be welcome whether they deal in widgets or firearms. The term YMMV certainly applies when discussing service. My experience with a company may be 180 degrees from yours, but if we both relate our experiences honestly others can use them to aid in the decision of whether to deal with that company.

I know I'm not the only one who searches for reviews when deciding whether to buy from a company I've never dealt with.

That is not my “advise“ at all. Can we not see any difference in a thread bashing Bobcat for not have a layaway and an honest forum discussion of good gun dealers? A forum sponsor no less!

 

[Mgderf]

I have to disagree.
I think bashing a gunship, if deserved, would be a help to the shooting community, not a detriment.
Think about it.
If you bought a car from a dealership and found out that they knowingly sold you a lemon, and at what turned out to be an inflated price for the current market.
Are you telling me that you would just let it go?

More likely you would want to tell everyone you know that the ABC car dealership was engaged in unscrupulous business practices.

If you were concerned about the health of the car dealership industry, wouldn't you want to weed out the bad actors?
Would you really rather say nothing and let them fleece someone else?

 

[Mgderf]

That is not my “advise“ at all. Can we not see any difference in a thread bashing Bobcat for not have a layaway and an honest forum discussion of good gun dealers? A forum sponsor no less!

Some people's perceived grievances are out of line.
Legitimate reviews, good or bad, should be welcome.

 

[Ingomike]

I have to disagree.
I think bashing a gunship, if deserved, would be a help to the shooting community, not a detriment.
Think about it.
If you bought a car from a dealership and found out that they knowingly sold you a lemon, and at what turned out to be an inflated price for the current market.
Are you telling me that you would just let it go?

More likely you would want to tell everyone you know that the ABC car dealership was engaged in unscrupulous business practices.

If you were concerned about the health of the car dealership industry, wouldn't you want to weed out the bad actors?
Would you really rather say nothing and let them fleece someone else?

Some people's perceived grievances are out of line.
Legitimate reviews, good or bad, should be welcome.

Your second post holds the key point I am making.

If a gun dealer sold you a known bad gun they should be bashed. A published $5 charge in the transaction not so much…

 

[Mgderf]

Your second post holds the key point I am making.

If a gun dealer sold you a known bad gun they should be bashed. A published $5 charge in the transaction not so much…

Fortunately, none of us can control what stupid crap other people put on the internet.
The trick is to learn to discern fact from fiction.

 

[Ingomike]

I still don't mind honest reviews (good or bad). Speaking of business models, Yelp's whole business model is based on that. So is Consumer Reports'.

I find the whole Yelp review model to be of very limited value. The reason is, drum roll, most people are too stupid to be qualified to provide reviews. Look at the points of recent complaining here, for example.

Folks love their accountant, lawyer, you name it, refer them to all their friends then bam, they find out they got screwed. I call the referrals like that ignorant bliss, they perceive the pro is competent and refer them with the best of intentions.

Another prime example is OB-GYN and delivering a baby. I guarantee that parents of most successful deliveries recommend the doctor and most difficult or bad outcomes think the doctors is a quack and bash him. Neither is a conclusion, it is but one data point. A referral from a delivery nurse, now that is a referral of value. Someone who actually is qualified to give a review.

I find that even food reviews suck. If you look at our food posts here we all have different tastes. Only reviews by those with my taste would be valuable, If someone likes margarine and Log Cabin syrup they are not going to give my breakfast place a good review because they only have butter and maple syrup, and that might give them a bad attitude and then they get into it with the waitress and now it snowballs into bad service.

Reading a review, you just don’t know what really happened, just like the threads complaining about 2A suppliers…

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I find the whole Yelp review model to be of very limited value. The reason is, drum roll, most people are too stupid to be qualified to provide reviews. Look at the points of recent complaining here, for example.

Folks love their accountant, lawyer, you name it, refer them to all their friends then bam, they find out they got screwed. I call the referrals like that ignorant bliss, they perceive the pro is competent and refer them with the best of intentions.

Another prime example is OB-GYN and delivering a baby. I guarantee that parents of most successful deliveries recommend the doctor and most difficult or bad outcomes think the doctors is a quack and bash him. Neither is a conclusion, it is but one data point. A referral from a delivery nurse, now that is a referral of value. Someone who actually is qualified to give a review.

I find that even food reviews suck. If you look at our food posts here we all have different tastes. Only reviews by those with my taste would be valuable, If someone likes margarine and Log Cabin syrup they are not going to give my breakfast place a good review because they only have butter and maple syrup, and that might give them a bad attitude and then they get into it with the waitress and now it snowballs into bad service.

Reading a review, you just don’t know what really happened, just like the threads complaining about 2A suppliers…

With yelp, you don't just look at a single review though. You might see that a restaurant has hundreds of reviews, and you can browse through them or look at their overall rating and get a feel for how good or bad they are. If there are 100 reviews and 90 of them say they suck, they probably suck. Likewise, if 90 say they're great, they're probably great, or at least good.

 

[Tombs]

As long as you aren't running little guys out of business with pitchforks over some minor slight, I don't think there's anything wrong with raising awareness of repeat offenders.

 

[Ingomike]

With yelp, you don't just look at a single review though. You might see that a restaurant has hundreds of reviews, and you can browse through them or look at their overall rating and get a feel for how good or bad they are. If there are 100 reviews and 90 of them say they suck, they probably suck. Likewise, if 90 say they're great, they're probably great, or at least good.

Who does reviews? The regular customers that are incentivized to do so and the disgruntled. Out of the 100 the 90 that like margarine and Log Cabin gave a good review, the disgruntled will be all over the place, though I may find out they don’t offer butter and maple syrup and bring my own to try it…

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Who does reviews? The regular customers that are incentivized to do so and the disgruntled. Out of the 100 the 90 that like margarine and Log Cabin gave a good review, the disgruntled will be all over the place, though I may find out they don’t offer butter and maple syrup and bring my own to try it…

I give up Mike. You seem to be against all reviews because nobody can be trusted. Got it. Good luck in your blind searches for whatever goods and services you're in the market for. I'll continue to seek out information, good, bad or indifferent before doing so.

 

[Ingomike]

I give up Mike. You seem to be against all reviews because nobody can be trusted. Got it. Good luck in your blind searches for whatever goods and services you're in the market for. I'll continue to seek out information, good, bad or indifferent before doing so.

I never do blind searches, nor use internet rants by disgruntled people either. I seek out those that know what they are talking about. Kind of like how members here seek out HVAC advice from CM, I look for authoritative information not opinions of the masses.

Do you not see incentives to give good reviews everywhere? I sure do…