I call them as I see them.
Chain stores are notorious for not paying much for their help. That is how they make their money.
Here is how I would compare it,
In Pennsylvania, a average school teacher makes $50,000 a year.
They have full paid benefits, even after they retire - where I live. If their spouse has a state job with even better benefits - such as a State Policeman = they can sell their benefits back to the school district at face value and use their spouses insurance. At one time, you could go to school for 4 years with financial aid and student loans for $8000 a year. Which means a total investment of $32,000 for their education.
An average State Policeman makes about $70,000 a year. You can become a State Policeman just by taking a two year criminology course at an accredited college or by joining the military for 4 years.
Now you take a trained gunsmith that paid $28,000 for his education and also had to pay for his own room and board while he or she was going to school and you have a $40,000 investment.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it wouldn't pay for that man to take a $18,000 a year job working for Gander Mountain. Because he could have went to school for something else and made twice the money per a year - with good benefits elsewhere.
A good gun shop is not out to make a quick buck. They are there to sell guns and provide a service that you cannot get somewhere else. You are not going to take your firearm there to get it reblued, or restocked or to get the barrel crowned or repaired. All they are there for is to mount scopes or change something to a customers specification or install a sling and swivels or open sights - such as on the new turkey shotguns. Thats about all you are ever going to do there.
If a customer brings back a gun that isn't working properly, you might look at it and determine what is wrong and what needs to be done to repair it. Send it back to the manufacturer or exchange it for a new one.
By law they have to have a licensed gun smith on hand to mount scopes and do repairs. You cannot even refinish a stock legally without a license. So they will advertise the position and find some dummy that couldn't make it in the real world and pay him peanuts to make them the big bucks and be able to advertise that they have a gunsmith on hand to take care of all your new gun needs.
