If Bass Pro Shops represents the worst possible gun store experience, MKR Tactical is the best. At…read moreBass Pro, you are literally just a number, there purely to be exploited in every imaginable way. I've had better customer service (and less waiting) at any given DMV.
At MKR, however, it's like talking to a friend--or at least to people that treat you (even when you're ignorant and don't know everything about guns) with respect. If they carried the firearm I wanted, I would've bought it from them, not the bassholes at Bass Pro. But I wanted a budget firearm, and MKR carries only the best.
When I went in yesterday, I needed help figuring out how to use a magazine loader. I literally just walked through their door with a box of my stuff, asking for help. Matthew not only demonstrated how to use the device using dummy rounds, he gave me invaluable advice about safety, gun cleaning tips, classes. Since I was not making a purchase that day, I wanted to tip him. Peoples' time, care and good advice are valuable and deserve recognition, particularly when folks go above and beyond.
My tip was politely declined. Unlike Bass, where customers are nothing more than walking money bags, MKR treats people...well, like people. I believe that ignorance is not a crime, especially when you admit to it and actively seek to increase your knowledge base. That can't always be done on your own. Youtube videos and books, while helpful, cannot give you all that you need to know about guns. Yet, in some gun stores, the so-called gun experts can be extremely condescending towards anyone who doesn't know as much as they do. ...Or anyone they THINK doesn't know as much as they do.
That's why I so appreciate the attitude of Matthew and everyone else at MKR Tactical. They aren't there to lord their knowledge over you, but to share it with you.
It's the first place I felt safe enough to ask questions because I realized pretty quickly that they wouldn't humiliate me or treat me like an annoyance. That means EVERYTHING. Honestly, it's not that hard to treat people with basic respect, but it is hard to find places that do. Increasingly, I'm finding that you really need to go to a smaller mom n' pop, locally and independently owned business like MKR Tactical, if you want to be treated like a human being, and avoid corporate monstrosities like Big Five, Cabellas, Dick's or Bass Pro--all of whom seem to have their tentacles wrapped around every urban area. The great news is that there are still good alternatives. I'm grateful for MKR Tactical and I hope they thrive for many more years to come.
