I think I'll post this here instead of starting another thread, since the title of this thread seems appropriate for what I want to rant about.
This is a recap of my experience at Blue Ridge Arsenal, a gun store/indoor shooting range up here in the Northern Virginia area. Those of you who have met me know I don't get pissed off easily, so when I tell you I was very angry about how this went down, you know it was pretty bad.
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I had a terrible experience at Blue Ridge Arsenal (BRA) last weekend.
A good friend of mine has gone to BRA a couple of times with his sons and recommended it. My little girl wanted to "shoot a real gun" so I planned to meet up with my friend and his sons- 6 of us total (two men, four children ages 7, 8, 13 and 16) last Sunday.
When we got there place was jam packed. My daughter and I got there first, so I decided we should probably go ahead and get on the list. I waited my turn in line and when I got to the counter I asked to get on the list for two lanes. One of the other clerks interrupts, "not going to happen." Extraordinarily rude, and completely uncalled for. It wasn't like I was asking to get moved to the front of the list, or wanted the whole firing line to myself for a birthday party or something. All I wanted to do was let my daughter shoot. If the clerk had asked, I would have been able to explain to him that I wanted two lanes because my friend and his three sons were going to join us, and I didn't think it was smart or safe to crowd six people (four of whom are children) around one lane. But he didn't ask that, nor did he seem to care.
I was pretty taken aback by the attitude of the clerks; I've been in the Army a long time and been to lots of indoor ranges, and everyone has always been courteous and professional, even if they're slammed with business like BRA was on that day. The only reason I didn't leave right then is because I didn't want to disappoint my daughter.
My friend and his sons show up, I explain the situation and we agree to try to wait for an open lane. My friend (retired Army SF officer) has shot there before and never had any problems. He wondered aloud to me if BRA was under new management, as it seemed quite different than the last time he had been there. After about an hour I get back in line, make my way back to the counter, and ask where we are on the list. About seven more people ahead of us- doesn't seem like we've moved at all. So I ask to clerk to go ahead and sell me the targets and ammo, thinking that will help us speed up the process when it's finally our time to shoot. He refuses to sell me anything, saying "we'll take care of it when your lane comes open." Different clerk, same poor attitude. I really thought that was strange; business at BRA must be so good that not only can they treat customers like crap, they can turn down sales. My friend is with me now and hears all of this so it's not just my imagination.
So after two hours, we're still three people deep on the list. The kids' fun meters are pegged and we have to go. I explain to the desk clerk that we have to go, all he says is "sorry guys." My daughter is pretty disappointed but she takes it like a champ. I'm pretty pissed off but I'm not going to solve anything by blowing up inside the shop. On the way out, my friend notices a BRA employee going into an office; this guy looks like some type of supervisor. My friend stops him and explains what happened and why we were leaving. The whole time he's talking, the other guy never takes his hand off of the doorknob and never squares up his body to face my friend; it's abundantly clear through his body language that the other guy just wants my friend to stop talking and go away. So we did. And we won't be back.
This was supposed to be my seven-year-old daughter's first shooting experience, and it was a disaster. We had spent a couple of days before practicing gun safety and basic rifle marksmanship; my daughter was very pumped up about going shooting. By the time we left the shop, my daughter was disappointed, I was pissed off, and my friend was embarrassed because he felt that what happened was his fault since he recommended BRA (it wasn't his fault, it was all BRA's). We ended up going over to my friend's house, ordering pizza, and letting the kids was "Despicable Me." Not what I planned on doing last Sunday, but better than waiting around in a gun shop getting treated like crap in front of my daughter.
I had intended Sunday to be a day to teach my daughter about gun safety, marksmanship,and our rights under the Constitution. Instead she got a lesson in manners, patience, and how to deal with disappointment. Those are important lessons too, I suppose.
I'm writing a letter to the BRA owner to let him know what happened, why we won't be back, and why I'm going to be sharing this story with my friends in the Army and on the Internet. I think I'll check out Sharpshooters this week, they're a lot closer to me anyway.
Just one man's experience if any of you are looking for a place to shoot or want to buy a gun in the NoVA area- don't go to Blue Ridge Arsenal.
