imported post
adamsesq wrote:
grishnav wrote:
Wow. I've had nothing but bad experiences with the Blumenthal in Oregon.
Let me change that. I have been in Oregon's (Portland's) Blumenthals multiple times both personally and professionally. Never OC'ing but multiple times CC'ing when purchasing items that I tried on and ended up needing to move weapons around and all times they were nothing but helpful, courteous and wanting to talk about the weapons. Even my wife likes shopping there.
-adamsesq
Wow. I had nothing but bad experiences from them.
I live in Gresham, so a trip to Blumenthal is rather involved for me. Further, it's tough to make it there during their hours (9-5 Mon-Fri*)
1st trip. Was looking for something specific (forget what it was for sure, but I wanna say it was a first responder patch). Called ahead to make sure they had it. Lady on the phone answers immediately, apparently without even checking, "Plenty in stock." "Are you sure? It's a
really tough trip for me to make, and I don't want to drive all the way out there if none of the items are available." "Absoultely, we have plenty, and I'll even set one aside for you. What's your name?" "Ryan" "Okay, when will you be down?" "About an hour." "Alright, see you then!"
Show up. Totally out. Haven't had any for weeks. Drop the name of the person who took the call. They find her, bring her out. She tells me, to my face, that she never talked to me, that I must of called the wrong store. Worse yet, she wasn't even nice about essentially calling me a liar or an idiot to my face. Just monotonously factual. "I never spoke to anyone named Ryan, and I certainly didn't set any product aside today. Either you're mistaken, or you called a different store." "Is there another Blumenthal in this area I might have called?" "No, we're the only one around here."
(Like, how the hell did I have
your name if I talked to someone at a different "blumenthal". FFS)
2nd trip. Have something I just need to grab real quick. Running a little late. Call to ask if they would do me a favor and have someone stick around just a few minutes after five. "Absolutely not, but if you can be here by five, we'll let you get checked out." End up making it there by 4:50. Doors locked, lights out, nobody answering the phone (which I can hear ringing inside). Pound on it. Stick around half an hour just to see if somebody was in the back. Nope. I get, like, if it's Friday and business is slow or something. It's Wednesday.
3nd trip. Tuesday, a couple of weeks later. Show up about 3:45. Earliest I can get there. I've just become a security guard a week or so before, and want to buy all the stuff I'm gonna need (holders, belts, pepper spray, the whole shebang). Easily collect about $600-700 worth of stuff. I realize it's getting close to closing because they start
turning the lights off and lock the doors. Then I realize it's only 4:30. They are supposed to close at 5. Whatever. I have pretty much everything I needed, and at this point I'm just browsing and buying stuff I don't need. If they want the customers out, hey, fine by me.
Get to the register. There is nobody there. Somebody reluctantly wanders over from somewhere else in the store, sees the pile I've got and makes an obnoxiously loud sigh, like I've somehow wronged him by shopping at their store. Starts to ring stuff up, kinda half-assed throwing it into bags across the counter. Gets to something ridiculously stupid, if memery serves, a Bianchi Molded Nylon pepper spray holder suitable for a 2" duty belt, and says, "I can only sell this to you if you're a cop or a security guard." "Oh, well, I just became a security guard." "Let me see your DPSST card." "Okay." Then I realize I left it at home.
He starts putting stuff back in the pile. "Wait a sec, can't I buy the other stuff?" "No, I can't sell you
anything now that you've try to buy something restricted and can't prove you're a security guard." "Well, isn't there some other way? Could you call DPSST or something?" "Oh, well, if you could maybe fax it in and come back..." "Actually, it's at home, and there' somebody there who could fax it to me. Can you give me the number."
<incredibly loud, drawn-out sigh. Hard to describe. Like I just ruined his life or something all the sudden>
Gives me the number.
I call home, describe where the cert is, give the fax number. Hang up with the person on the other end. All the sudden, the rest of the lights in the store go off. It's dark save for the daylight coming in through the glass front doors. Guy punches a few buttons on the register cancelling the order and closing the register, turns and walks away. I glance over the counter and see the fax machine, with my cert coming through. Me, dumbfounded: "Uh, uh, hey! I can see the certificate coming through the..." "Sorry, we're closed!"
He walks into the back, leaving a half-rung-up pile, and what's left in my basket.
So I left, vowing never to shop there again, and ordered most of my stuff online. (Hey, at least I was able to use their shop to size stuff out and figure out what I wanted.)
To be fair, the only reason I gave them so many tries was because I had heard good things about them. Lifelong recommendations from my father and mother, who were Paramedics for 20+ years that bought most of their uniform equipment there, among others. However, my experiences were negative.
One day, I was relating this story to a fellow security guard, who recommended a new store that a friend of his was starting up called "Cuffs and Stuff" to me. Closer to my house, more convienient hours, and extremely friendly pepole. One person stayed an hour and a half late to exchange something defective I'd bought from them that I needed to use that night. Couldn't be happier, until...
I found out that the mofo's at Blumenthan were the excluseive dealer for the 5.11 Class B Dress uniform pants. :cuss:
A friend recommended the pants to me, and I liked them. Went to Cuffs and Stuff, who is a 5.11 dealer, and they told me that Blumenthal had an exlcusive agreement for that particular pair of pants in the NW market.
:cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss:
I ended up going way up the food chain at 5.11, trying to talk them into letting C&S deal the pants, but no go. So I broke my vow, and left for my fourth and final trip to Blumenthal, tried on a bunch of pairs to find the right size, went up to the counter with three. Lady says, "Did you find what you were looking for?" "Yep, thanks!" I set them down like I'm going to buy them, turn around and walk out. "Uh, sir!" Never looked back.
Ordered them online from Galls.
Years later, I ran into a 5.11 booth at a trade show. Begged them to let somebody other than Blumenthal sell the damn pants, as I still liked them. Guy there told me "Man, I just lost a major battle with my company trying to get rid of the Blumenthal exclusive on those and <lists 3 or 4 other products>. I've been hearing nothing but complaints from our customers about Blumenthal, and we've got lots of people requesting we get other dealers on board, but the uppity-upps just won't go for it! Can you tell me what Blumenthal did to you that upset you so much?"
So I relay the story. He tells me he wished he could have run into me a week ago when they were still considering getting rid of the exclusive, but that they probably wouldn't review the decision for at least another two years because they'd just done so. He takes my story down, my contact info, promises me a call back.
Well, he doesn't call me back, but I did get a call back from 5.11.
It was the same uppity-up regional I had managed to climb the latter to get to before, who tells me that he's sorry that they have the exclusive deal with Blumenthal, but it's not likely to change soon. I asked if he knows how they treated me. He said he's been fully briefed. He then suggests I go to Blumenthal to size them, and order the pants from Galls or QM Uniforms.
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
So that's my Blumenthal story, and why I'll never set foot to spend money in one again. And why I'll always encourage other people to think twice.
Additionally, one of the other security guards I worked with also said they were racist toward him (checked out a group of white people first, even though he was in the front of the line, and then said something like, "How can I help you, boy?"). Can't personally verify the story, but this wasn't the type of guy to embellish much, and he defiantely wasn't one to call racism lightly (you shoulda heard the things we called each other while we were bored workin' our shifts all night). Take it for what it's worth.
*IIRC, their hours vary, and I can't remember exact times. Times used in story are relative to actual closing time that day.
