Just about a month ago I purchased my first firearm from Called2Arms. Because of the high demand and short supply of firearms in America today, they typically show their inventory on Facebook a day or two prior to putting it on sale. That way you know EXACTLY what they have available for purchase. It's a real timesaver if you're driving in from out of town. While perusing their FB page I saw they had four Glocks available for their August 12th sale. The store opened at 10am and I had my eye set on one of those Glocks. I drove out from Oakland early, hoping to be the first person standing in line when the doors opened. I got there at about 8am and there were already three people waiting ahead of me. Doing the math I figured I was a lock to get one of those Glocks.
So it's now approaching 10am and there are about 12 people waiting in line to get into the store. This whole experience is reminding me of the days when you had get up at 5am to go stand in line at Tower Records to buy tickets to see Springsteen or Prince. The doors finally open and everyone enters in an orderly manner. They have it all set up for social distancing and EVERYONE is required to wear a mask. They had about three employees working the counter, so things moved pretty quickly, as quickly as they can when purchasing a new firearm in CA.
When it was finally my turn, I told the gentleman helping me that I wanted to purchase one of the four Glocks that were advertised the night before on FB. He told me they were all gone. I asked him how that was possible, with only three customers in front of me? He said he didn't know and asked if I wanted to purchase something else. I asked, "What else do you have in 9mm?" He showed me two other options, but told me one of them, the M&P Shield, wasn't suited for 9mm+P ammunition. Given that +P ammo was all they had in stock, the M&P was out. I later learned the Shield actually can handle +P ammo, but that's irrelevant now. He then showed me a Beretta PX4 Storm. I didn't necessarily like the way it felt in my hand with the slick grip, but after that drive and wait, I wasn't about to leave empty-handed. So I bought it. Turns out there is a remedy for the slick grip, so it's no big deal.
Then after filling out a bunch of paperwork, including a background check, I headed home to Oakland. About an hour later I'm checking the Called2Arms FB page, and I see they have another five G19s and two G17s in stock, and they would be going on sale in 15 MINUTES! I called the store and told Alex that I was just there about an hour ago, specifically to buy a Glock, and asked if he could hold one for me. He told me they had all been sold. Yeah, I was pretty pissed.
I then posted a response on their FB page, letting them know how I felt about that experience. Surprisingly, I received a response from the owner of the store, Jerry Sterner. He apologized for the situation and told me he would make it right. Which he did. I was able to purchase the gun I wanted. After holding that Glock in my hand, I immediately understood why it was the most popular handgun in America.
I've worked in B2B sales for over 20 years. The one thing that virtually all clients told me really mattered to them when choosing a vendor, was how they responded to adversity. EVERYONE makes mistakes, most people understand this. What they wanted to know was how a vendor would respond if something went south. Would they not return phone calls and run from adversity, or would they embrace it and make things right? Jerry falls into the latter category. He is old school when it comes to customer service. I've never met Jerry, but my intuition tells me that his word is his bond.
Even though it's a bit of a pain to drive out to Modesto from Oakland, Called2Arms will most likely be the only gun shop in Northern CA that I do business with. They have some good people working behind the counter and their pricing is fair. I really like Eddie and Jeff. They are both very knowledgeable and patient when answering questions. Jerry is fortunate to have them as employees and I just wanted to give them a shout out. If you are thinking about purchasing your first firearm, this is a good place to do it. You won't be disappointed. read more