Retail Knife Stores

Loki

Loki

Joined
Mar 23, 2000
Messages
740
How can a retail store let it's sales force be so ill informed of the products being sold? I wonder into a knife store and ask basic questions and get stares, don't knows, or outright BS as answers. My latest was asking did the store buy custom knives and was told "No, you're best bet is a gun show." Guy didn't have a clue. Maybe it's the good economy and the labor shortage. Is this typical of retail knife outlets?
 
Because knife stores hire anyone with store experience and pay them near minimum.
Experts are the ones that OWN the store - and THAT is debatable.
 
Ah, this subject can really get me going. I worked in a knife store for a few years. I and another guy that worked there were certified knife junkies
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It is true that they dont pay well, but many times the lack of 'service' can be explained by more than just 'the workers are idiots'. Understand that most knife shops (retail) have prices that are on the high side, and the employees have notheing to do with that. One thing I saw many times was a customer would come in...they might be interested in the Spyderco Police model (which our company had priced at 119.95). I knew that price was very high, but in order to make it worth the customers time and money, I would bend over backwords to help them. I explained the difference in steels, I kept tons of magazines on hand to show them articles, and I enjoyed spending as much time as they wanted just talking knives. Then, as happened ALOT, they would leave saying that they could get it mail order for cheaper, they just wanted to know what they were buying, thats depressing. Or another favorite was those who bought, and darn near always came for a refund because they found a cheap mail order place, or the idiots decided maybe they should have paid their electric bill instead. It happened a few times that I got so fed up on some days, that you could walk in and ask me the same old questions, and I really wouldnt care....you would have thought I didnt know anything either. Knife stores cant afford to train everybody and pay them well, because the majority of people wont pay the prices the stores have to ask just to pay the rent and salaries. I have seen enough of these threads to finally say, cut those guys some breaks. To those that suggest (and I have seen it here) to go to a knifeshop, find what you want and then run home and order over the net....thats crappy. The knifestore people know how the game is played, and it sometimes gets quite agravating to them. You want knife stores to start letting you handle all the goods, and have employees that are knowledgable, then you have to start showing them some support. I wish all my efforts had paid off, know what happened to the store I worked at? It closed down because the majority of our customers loved to waste all out time and run home and mailorder. Looks like they dont have that shop to run to and handle all the goodies anymore.



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Richard
icq 61363141
Just some knife pictures
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=110070&a=4518795
 
my favorite time was when in a knife store, I asked the salesman if he wanted to see a nice knife. I pulled out my $450 Terzuola ATCF and let him open it. He says "smooth, probably almost as good as a Benchmade". Took me 2 days to stop laughing.

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Dave (Phil.4:13)
I Can Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens Me
 
Well, I won't not to knock tired and frustrated store clerks. I see Richard's point and I see how frustrated store clerks must get when their expertise is abused. But, some store clerks (especially here in the Philippines...) are, I am very sure, simply ignorant about knives. They just stare at me when I ask simple questions, or give answers that I really have to stop my self from laughing at. But, before I buy a knife, I research it first, so I don't have to ask many questions.

The worst part about living overseas (I will soon be leaving...)is the prices at knife stores. I inquired about buying a Leatherman Wave. That was a mistake! They told me that it cost about PHP 8,500, about $210!!! I was depressed after that, since you can get it on the net for about $60. EVERYTHING is overpriced. I'm saving my money for a large spending spree when I get back to the US.

Well, for all their follies, I love going to knife stores. There's a warm and almost glowing atmosphere around knives and knife/gun stores. I always look forward to going to places where their are lots of knives.
 
Richard - I wish I could have shopped in your store.

The retail stores in my area are staffed by snot nosed teenaged chicks who dont like knives.
 
Heh, boy, I could tell you about the little old lady and her mother behind the counter at one of the stores I visited in CA. By the time she made it the five steps to the end of the counter, she said "I only work here 3 times a week, and everybody always wants to look and waste my time". Needless to say, there was no need to open the counter. I walked out. And promptly found a great store up the street and around the corner. That store was outstanding!!

Of course, you have to put it all in perspective when you deal with knife stores. If the owners could hire "knifeknuts" like us behind the counter, the experience could be better. As for the price, remember, this is a store, they have to make money to pay the bills and employee(s) salaries, too. If I enjoy the store, the atmosphere, and it's not some snot-nosed teenager, I don't mind the extra price. It's called MSRP. Sure, you can beat it online, but you still gotta love the storefront for all the "gerfingerpoken" you can do while you're there. Let's see, I spent $39 on a SpyderCard. Does it bug me? Not at all. So the store made 15 bucks on that sale near as I can find the lowest online price. I liked the store, I liked the people. That's what I support.

Now, as for the Dave Boye BDC, I went to his showroom in Davenport. Even bought a handmade Cribbage board while I was there (Father's Day gift).

As for my William Henry Evolution (S07G), well, when it's on the Internet for $130, and in the store for $129, and you've always wanted to check one out, what would you do?

CHARGE!!!!!! :
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[This message has been edited by tobii3 (edited 06-16-2000).]
 
One thing I find puzzling is that the few stores that carry some good knives only seem to carry the serrated or partially serrated versions, even though I know those knives are available in plain also. Am I the only one who prefers plain edges?

One thing I do when I want to see a knife in person is go to a gun and knife show and just look around. I don't waste the salesperson's time if I'm not going to buy it there by asking to handle them, or asking questions I probably know the answers to better than they do. It's just helpful sometimes to actually see a knife in person. As Yogi Bera once noted, you can observe a lot just by watching. Even seeing them inside a glass display case can help me make up my mind.
 
I've returned a knife so I could buy off the net before. I feel a little bastardly. But the main reason was because I wanted a plain edge and I bought a combo-edge because that was all they had. I'll go back and get more stuff from them (I don't mind the price, just the serrations) when they realize how retarded serrations are.

A bought a lot stuff from them before, so I suppose I'm justified in returning one item after buying like 3 or 4. I took their time to look at their knives and handling them all, so I feel bastardly when I just leave and plot how I'm going to save 10 bucks by ordering off the internet.

-Chang, Asian Janitorial Apparatus
 
Another reason why I dont buy from most retail stores is because half of them won't let me touch their knives because 3 years younger than a legal adult.
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I found the easiest solution to get them to not ask age (I cannot tell a lie... so I must admit I am 15 when they ask me about age) is to flash my knives around in open view so that they know I am a knife junkie and that if they ask me age they'll lose a potential repeat customer.

-Chang, Asian Janitorial Apparatus

[This message has been edited by Comrade Chang (edited 06-17-2000).]
 
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