ARMS & THE WOMAN Store Achieves 50 Percent Threshold With Women Customers By Lisa Parsons-Wraith Good old-fashioned customer service seems to be a buzzword for women. When women walk into a gun store, they want to be acknowledged and courteously assisted with finding the best firearm or accessory to fit their needs. Sounds simple, and huge strides have been made in recent years to dispel the image of gun stores being a place for “good ol’ boys” only. Competition for discretionary dollars is fierce, however, and luring customers away from online shopping is a daily challenge, but many dealers are finding success by offering unbeatable customer service and training. Sandy Barnett, owner of Ballistic Therapy Indoor Shooting Range & Gun Shop in Boerne, Texas, said she has a passion for helping women be safe. From the start, she wanted her business to have a warm, welcoming atmosphere where women could learn about firearms safely. Even the name of her business was conceived with women in mind, she noted, saying women tend to do a lot of “retail therapy.” Her store, Ballistic Therapy, focuses on making sure women were comfortable and owned firearms to fit their needs. “Buying a gun is like buying shoes or a purse, you have to find something that fits,” she added. Barnett said she has made it her mission to be the friendliest gun shop in Texas, “We’re always willing to help and we go above and beyond to provide great customer service.” Firearms training classes is one of the biggest draws for women. Ballistic Therapy offers a “Handgun 101” and “License to Carry” class. Barnett said she’s looking to offer tactical training classes next, as women have requested to take the next step in their training. Safety is the order of the day at Ballistic Therapy, “We’re very safety conscious,” she noted. “People say, ‘I’m coming back because I like the way you guys keep the range safe.’” Barnett said it’s also important to have females on staff. She serves as a “License to Carry” instructor and she employs a female manager. “Our approach is to have females fit females — we feel Sandy Barnett says her store’s emphasis on safety, quality customer service and support for women’s shooting groups — as you can see in this advertisement — have all contributed to its recent success in welcoming women to the shooting sports. we’re unique,” she said. Ballistic Therapy uses their wide range of rental guns to give women a chance to test out the fit and feel of a firearm before they buy. Welcoming women’s shooting groups has also helped Ballistic Therapy build its female customer base. They support A Girl & A Gun Shooting League, The Well Armed Woman and a private women’s shooting group. After the events, range officers are available to help women break down and clean their firearms free of charge. “Ladies really like this, it’s a chance for them to get to know their gun through and through, and get comfortable and train with it,” Barnett observed. Sales of cleaning supplies also go up after one of these sessions, she added. “Retail Therapy” At Work When it comes to selling women firearms and accessories, Barnett stressed there is no perfect “one size fits all” gun or holster. Ballistic Therapy has a small boutique area for ladies T-shirts, hats and accessories. She said most women go through a process of trial and error when buying a holster, “The biggest challenge for women is holsters,” Barnett said, “I’ve tried a lot and I haven’t been impressed with the current holster offerings. I’m still looking for the perfect holster.” UPLULA UNIVERSAL PISTOL LOADER Generally, IWB holsters work well, and women who wear skirts like the elastic band garter holsters, Barnett said. Material preferences vary, but many women find leather and Kydex sweaty, so they prefer a neoprene holster. One of the products Ballistic Therapy can’t keep in stock is the UpLULA speed loader from Maglula. “The age range of most of the women I train is from 30 to 60 years old,” Barnett said. “Their dilemma is arthritis in their hands or weak hands, and they can’t load the magazine. The best training aid for ladies is the UpLULA.” Subscribe to SI DIGITAL www.shootingindustry.com 30 JULY 2016
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