Customer Service: First, Last, and Always

Gunsmithing is a challenging occupation often requiring innovation, skill and the ability to think outside the box. Unfortunately, none of that matters if you cannot interact with your customers in a positive way. The days of the short-tempered, grumpy gunsmith are gone and if you’re snapping at customers and telling them what they should want and need your days are numbered! Let me give you an example. My first gun came from a neighbor when I was fifteen years old.

He was cleaning out his basement and found an old nine-shot .22 H&R break open revolver. With my father’s very reluctant permission the handgun was given to me. Mom and Dad were good Chicago Democrats who firmly believed only cops and crooks owned guns. Dad only let me have it because it wasn’t in working order and he was sure I couldn’t repair it. I scrubbed and cleaned that old H&R until it gleamed and then managed to get it working. Astonished, Dad then insisted the gun be checked over by a gunsmith.

I wanted to make an impression on the gunsmith and get a good report from him so I could keep the gun — under lock and key in Mom and Dad’s desk of course. I spent hours making sure every spot of rust and speck of dust were removed. The big day finally arrived and I walked into the gun shop proud as could be with my new found maturi ty and Dad trailing behind.

I strutted to the counter where the gunsmith was puffing a big cigar, unzipped the case and proudly presented my newly cleaned and functioning treasure to the man that would confirm my faith in both my hard work and new gun. He looked down at the gun, took a puff on the stogie and asked, "What do you want me to do with this piece of junk." Only he didn’t say "junk." I was shattered!

The grumpy ‘smith picked the H&Rup and looked it over. "What do you think?," Dad asked him. "Out of time, cost more to fix than it’s worth," he pronounced. Dad smiled, picked up my gun and marched me out the door. When we got home Dad handed me a hacksaw and supervised while I was made to cut the gun into pieces, "So nobody would get hurt." As you might guess, I have been fixing old guns ever since. I swore no other gun that came into my possession would ever suffer the same fate as that H&R.

As I grew up and started buying guns you can be assured that I never again darkened the door of that particular gun shop. I was tick led to death a few years later when the shop closed it’s doors and went out of business. If the gunsmith in this little story reminds you of yourself don’t be surprised if you wind up just like he did. So, exactly what do I mean when I say Customer Service first, last, and always? Quite simply, Rule One is that your opinions regarding a gun’s value are largely irrelevant.

The customer’s opinion is the one that really counts. The gun’s sentimental value to the customer may be worth far more than the price of replacing it. I’ve fixed Belgium-made Damascusbarreled hammer doubles that were nearly worthless in the marketplace and charged my normal hourly rate to do it. You simply never know if that worthless double is grandpa’s old gun that sat next to the kitchen door and your customer coveted from childhood.

That beat-up old revolver might have been carried by the customer’s Grandfather when he was Sheriff of Podunk. In many cases sounding off on how worthless a gun is before you hear its story is simply sending the customer to your competition. The current retail value of the gun may be of no interest to your customer. To him that .32 S&W top break is a treasure and he may simply want it fixed up to display in memory of a family member. This first rule means you need to be interested.

Ask him about the gun, how he got it, and what work he would like done. Rule Two is to be truthful while using tact and taking the time to explain what needs to be done and what the result may be. There is nothing wrong with telling him parts are unavailable, or that the gun cannot be put into shootable condition. The customer may not care about ever shooting it. Listen to the customer and give him your best advice on what work can or should be done and what it will cost.

If he asks the guns value, again be truthful. The idea is to get the job and make a profit, not to ridicule what he has and hope to

All the items in the photo are handy to have but they are not gunsmithing tools and the barrel won’t heal itself. sell him something else. Truthfully, I get a lot of that kind of work. I get it because other gunsmiths have refused the task and because I love to hear the stories about the guns and the people that used them. Often they will bring in pictures of racks of geese or a bunch of bucks with the gun proudly displayed in the original owner’s hands.

Once you get a job restoring one of these oldies keep the customer’s desires in mind at all times. Don’t make modifications he did not ask for and respect his wishes. Most importantly do your very best work. When he returns to pick the gun up take the time to tell him what you have done, what, if anything, you found out about the gun and what parts may be missing. Above all, if the gun is not safe to fire have him sign a statement to that effect and give him a copy.

Keep the original in your files to prove that he was instructed that the gun was unsafe to shoot. Provide excellent customer service throughout the entire process and showing interest in his heirloom will almost guarantee a returning customer and one that will also recommend you to others. Many times ethical questions arise when your customer brings in an antique or collectable firearm. Once again it is up to you to try to All the customer wanted was better sights.

This was necessary before anew front sight and ramp could be fashioned. convince him that refinishing a true antique will devalue the gun. In the end it is your customer’s property and you are faced with the decision to either refuse the job or talking him into repairs or modifications that do not ruin apiece of history or can be reversed putting the gun back into original configuration. I recently faced two instances of this very dilemma. The first was a Polish M-35 Radom made under Nazi

It is higher and wider than the original but can be returned to factory configuration with a file. The customer wanted his Grandfather’s rusty old Belgian-made Bulldog cleaned up to be displayed with his pocketwatch. The gun was returned to functional condition and is mounted with dummy ammo, pocketwatch, chain, cathouse token, and the Dead Man’s Hand. Was the customer satisfied? He has brought me several more jobs. occupation that had been assembled from parts.

The sights on this military pistol are small and hard to see so my customer had another gunsmith fit an adjustable rear sight and dovetail the slide for a target-style front sight. This was work that probably should never have been done to a collectable three-lever Radom slide and, worse, it didn’t improve the pistol’s accuracy as the owner had hoped.

I explained to him that improving the accuracy would entail fitting a barrel, tightening the slide-to-frame fit and a trigger job to improve his ability to break the shot without over travel or excessive pressure. I also discussed the original intent of this firearm and its value. He did not want to have it made into a targetgrade firearm for what a good, new target-grade gun would cost and we agreed to return his Radom to nearly original configuration with the addition of slightly improved sights.

I removed the offending target sights and installed a 1911 rear sight, had the front dovetail filled and extra metal added with a TIG welder and recut the ramp and front sight using a file. The new front sight is as wide as the ramp, higher and much faster to pick up while remaining close enough to the original not to be noticed by a casual observer. More importantly, it can be cut down to the original dimensions returning the gun to original configuration.

You will notice that I also sold him a three-lever receiver adding to the profit made on this job. The second gun was a Webley Mk VI that came in with a bulged and split barrel. My customer admitted to having pulled the trigger on what he thought was a dud and on the next shot the barrel split. Most likely his "dud" was a reload with no powder and the primer drove the bullet a couple inches or so into the barrel. The next shot hit the obstruction and all but ended the career of a nice Webley made in 1917.

One of his "friends" tried to fix the gun by squeezing the barrel back together with a pair of vise grips! Had he been successful with this venture I have to wonder what his plans were for the cracks and the vise-grip marks he left behind. Perhaps he thought they would heal with time. I once had a gunsmith tell me that if you were lucky your competition would be incompetent or rude and if you were real lucky they would be both. In this case the fix was simple and easy.

The customer simply wanted to know if the gun could be saved and put back into working order and how much it would cost. After careful measurement I found the cylinder, which had been modified to allow use of .45 ACP ammunition in half or full moon clips, to be within tolerance and usable. I found a used barrel listed for $75 at Apex Gun Parts Inc Palmer Lake, CO 80133, apexgunparts.com). The barrel was ordered and the gun back in a very happy customers hands within a week.

Neither of these were dramatic fixes nor is this high-dollar custom work but it is the kind of thing that pays the bills. This leads to happy customers bringing in more work and then those bills get paid every month. Gunsmithing will never make me rich but it sure is fun and interesting work. It is also satisfying and I learn something new almost every day. All it takes is the ability to listen to your customer, understand his needs and give him what he wants.

That sounds so simple but chances are your competitor isn’t doing it and he is leaving the door open for you to step through and claim his unhappy customers. AG