Coal Creek Armory

With the recent posts on the CCA blog, I've started wondering if this is part of a plan to better engage customers. (They are looking for a new General Manager, too.)

I've been going to Coal Creek for over a year now. I took the Basic Handgun and my Carry Permit course there. I've been shooting on the range and even got the membership.

Generally, I'm pretty happy with them. I'll point out some of the bad experiences below, but other than the Lane 2 problem, these were things that happened quite some time ago. Coal Creek does seem to be trending in the right direction.

You occasionally get less than stellar customer service. It's strange, too, because the same person can be extremely nice one day and condescending the next. I know that those of us that are new to guns can ask some dumb questions and it can get tiring, but we are still the customer.

A friend inquired about transferring a gun from Buds and he got a very rude response about the rates they would charge if it was something they had in stock. I have no beef with the policy; they are out to make a buck, but the delivery was uncalled for.

When I took my Basic Handgun course, they changed the time, but didn't bother to tell the people that had signed up. We all had rushed there after work only to wait 30 minutes. We were told that we should have checked the website. Really? You couldn't have called?

And the target carrier on Lane 2 moves like a glacier. It's been this way for a long time and they should really get it fixed.

Oh, and did I mention I was a new shooter? One day we were shooting a rental Glock .40 and were given a box of 9mm for it. Nobody got hurt, but it could have been nasty.

I don't mean to focus too much on the negatives... I know several people that had good experiences - from making purchases to attending classes and I'm still planning on renewing my membership. It is always a good day when I can shoot a few rounds and swing by Bojangles for a cajun filet biscuit.