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I was reminded of this incident by the "Because it's ILLEGAL" thread. Decided to post it seperately because I don't want to hijack the other thread.
My last job was at a privately owned, one-off hobby shop, which dealt primarily in plastic models and model railroading (HO and N scale). It was a pretty sweet gig, because there was no uniform/dress code, my uncle worked there (isn't nepetism great?
), and because we got an AWESOME discount (40% off anytthing not previously marked down). Plus, I am a hobbyist myself, and when it was slow, we were allowed to work on our own projects.
Anyway, onto the story (one of only a few SC stories I have form this job). I was working a weekend shift with one of the full-timers (who we'll call BC). It was just the two of us. I took a call from a customer who was looking for a particular type of battery with a specific molex-style connector on it, usually used in R/C cars and boats. Now we dealt only minimally in R/C (we didn't do R/C cars at all), and it was not my area of expertise, so I handed the call off to BC, who did know about this stuff. He spoke with the guy for a few minutes, and eventually offered to set aside a battery he thought would suit his purposes so he could come in and take a look at it. So he got one out of the locked display case and stowed it behind the counter so he could immediately show it to the guy when he came in.
Fast forward an hour or two. One of our regulars (we called them our VIPs. They were the ONLY people aside from store staff who were allowed to use our bathrooms) was in and we were chatting with him. BC went off towards the back half of the store to help an other customer while I stayed up front to watch the register and the door. The door opened, and in rolls this guy riding a Segway.
Now, I had never seen one before, but I knew about them, and wasn't all that impressed by the concept. I was more concerned, however with this guy potentially bumping into other customers or the merchandise that was stacked on the floor. (This place was and still is a fairly small shop. At the time, we had way more stuff than we had room for, which was probably a fire code violation, but we were already in the process of securing a larger retail space in the same plaza, which we moved into a year later, thus solving the crowding issue, but anyway). And this guy wasn't slowing down either. He drove right into the aisles on this thing.
I went and found BC, who was already heading back up front.
Me: We have a Segway in the store.......
BC: What?! Huh?! *Segway rolls around the corner; BC does his best not to sigh out loud*
*SSC (Sucky Segway Customer) is already demoing the Segway to our VIP by spinning it around in circles*
BC: Is there anything we can help you with, sir?
SSC: Yeah, I called earlier about the battery.
BC: Ok, I have that up at the front counter, but before we do that, you might not want to drive that around the store too much, because there really isn't that much room in here.
SSC: oh, okay *hops off Segway, leaving it blocking the end of an aisle*
BC: Did you bring in whatever it was that needed the battery?
SSC: Yeah, my son has it
SSC's son - who I hadn't seen come in - walks over from the first aisle wielding a fully accurate, 1:1 scale M4 carbine Airsoft rifle. I mean, this thing looked and felt like (he let me hold it) a real, US Army issue M-4 rifle (the M-4 is a shortened, carbine version of the more well known M-16). It was black, with fully accurate details including a Colt Firearms stamp on the receiver, functionary military style SAFE/SEMI/AUTO safety switch, stacking swivel, everything. The ONLY thing that told you this wasn't an actual assault rifle was the bright orange plastic cap on the muzzle with the BB sized opening in it. It turns out this thing was electrically powered, and that's what he needed the battery for.
Now I should point out that this thing was HIGHLY illegal to own. They aren't even allowed to be imported into the USA (iirc), and Massachusetts law specifically outlaws toy guns like this one. I don't know how he managed to get his hands on one, but he did, and he son had walked right into the store carrying this thing out in the open. He was VERY fortunate that the local cops weren't around at the time, or he may well have gotten shot! He's also likely that one of our other VIPs - who is a police officer - wasn't around at the time either.
Now I don't remember the actualy conversation we had with this guy, but here's the gist of it. The battery we had was the right battery, but it had the wrong connector (it was a situation of having either two female or two male connectors). we could sell him the battery and a chager, but he'd have to swap the connectors around so that he could hook the battery to the gun.
But more than that, BC, the VIP, and myself could not emphasize enough that the kid must NEVER stay outside the back yard with this thing, or otherwise go where someone might see him, because it was ILLEGAL and if a cop saw him pointing it, then at the very least it would be confiscated, or more likely he'd end up being arrested or he could well end up shot! We also said that they should take great pains to keep it concealed on the way home (the VIP gave the guy a very large plastic shopping bag he happened to have to keep the thing out of sight when they left the store) just in case they were to be pulled over.
And this guy just didn't get it. He kept saying "oh it's just a toy" and that the bright orange muzzle cap made it legal (WRONG!!!!!!!) and that we shouldn't worry about it.
BC: Sir, I understand that it's just a toy, but that does not make it legal. Massachusetts state law specifically forbids this type of weapon. And even if it WAS legal, it looks so real that the cops may well not notice the difference before they shoot you or your son dead.
SSC: But it's just a toy!
Now, add one final factor into the mix that we hadn't noticed at first: this guy was BLITZED. His breath reeked of cheap beer. So not only was he in possession of an illegal weapon, but he had clearly driven to the store (and had operated a Segway) under the influence. So it was no wonder why we couldn't get through to this guy.
I don't remember if he actually purchased a battery from us or not (this was three years ago), but the sheer stupidity and downright incredulity of the incident has stuck with me ever since. He did finally leave (on the Segway, with the gun in the aforementioned plastic bag), and we were sorely tempted to call the cops on him, but we weren't able to get a license plate number, nor did we see which way he went out of the parking lot.
We ended up talking about this incident for weeks afterward, and made a point of telling our police VIP about it the next time he showed up. He told us that had he been there, he probably would have done a citizen's arrest (since he'd have been outside of his jurisdiction) and called the local cops on the spot, for the DUI if nothing else.
This is one guy I would not be surprised to read about in the Darwin Awards some day.
EDIT: Apparently these guns aren't illegal. I did not research this prior to posting the story because this happened three years ago, and because I took what I was told at face value. It is illegal in Mass for a minor to purchase one, but other than that, they seem to be legal, as long as they aren't used in a crime (of course). Still, it was pretty stupid to go walking around in public with one of these.
My last job was at a privately owned, one-off hobby shop, which dealt primarily in plastic models and model railroading (HO and N scale). It was a pretty sweet gig, because there was no uniform/dress code, my uncle worked there (isn't nepetism great?
), and because we got an AWESOME discount (40% off anytthing not previously marked down). Plus, I am a hobbyist myself, and when it was slow, we were allowed to work on our own projects.Anyway, onto the story (one of only a few SC stories I have form this job). I was working a weekend shift with one of the full-timers (who we'll call BC). It was just the two of us. I took a call from a customer who was looking for a particular type of battery with a specific molex-style connector on it, usually used in R/C cars and boats. Now we dealt only minimally in R/C (we didn't do R/C cars at all), and it was not my area of expertise, so I handed the call off to BC, who did know about this stuff. He spoke with the guy for a few minutes, and eventually offered to set aside a battery he thought would suit his purposes so he could come in and take a look at it. So he got one out of the locked display case and stowed it behind the counter so he could immediately show it to the guy when he came in.
Fast forward an hour or two. One of our regulars (we called them our VIPs. They were the ONLY people aside from store staff who were allowed to use our bathrooms) was in and we were chatting with him. BC went off towards the back half of the store to help an other customer while I stayed up front to watch the register and the door. The door opened, and in rolls this guy riding a Segway.
Now, I had never seen one before, but I knew about them, and wasn't all that impressed by the concept. I was more concerned, however with this guy potentially bumping into other customers or the merchandise that was stacked on the floor. (This place was and still is a fairly small shop. At the time, we had way more stuff than we had room for, which was probably a fire code violation, but we were already in the process of securing a larger retail space in the same plaza, which we moved into a year later, thus solving the crowding issue, but anyway). And this guy wasn't slowing down either. He drove right into the aisles on this thing.
I went and found BC, who was already heading back up front.
Me: We have a Segway in the store.......
BC: What?! Huh?! *Segway rolls around the corner; BC does his best not to sigh out loud*
*SSC (Sucky Segway Customer) is already demoing the Segway to our VIP by spinning it around in circles*
BC: Is there anything we can help you with, sir?
SSC: Yeah, I called earlier about the battery.
BC: Ok, I have that up at the front counter, but before we do that, you might not want to drive that around the store too much, because there really isn't that much room in here.
SSC: oh, okay *hops off Segway, leaving it blocking the end of an aisle*
BC: Did you bring in whatever it was that needed the battery?
SSC: Yeah, my son has it
SSC's son - who I hadn't seen come in - walks over from the first aisle wielding a fully accurate, 1:1 scale M4 carbine Airsoft rifle. I mean, this thing looked and felt like (he let me hold it) a real, US Army issue M-4 rifle (the M-4 is a shortened, carbine version of the more well known M-16). It was black, with fully accurate details including a Colt Firearms stamp on the receiver, functionary military style SAFE/SEMI/AUTO safety switch, stacking swivel, everything. The ONLY thing that told you this wasn't an actual assault rifle was the bright orange plastic cap on the muzzle with the BB sized opening in it. It turns out this thing was electrically powered, and that's what he needed the battery for.
Now I should point out that this thing was HIGHLY illegal to own. They aren't even allowed to be imported into the USA (iirc), and Massachusetts law specifically outlaws toy guns like this one. I don't know how he managed to get his hands on one, but he did, and he son had walked right into the store carrying this thing out in the open. He was VERY fortunate that the local cops weren't around at the time, or he may well have gotten shot! He's also likely that one of our other VIPs - who is a police officer - wasn't around at the time either.
Now I don't remember the actualy conversation we had with this guy, but here's the gist of it. The battery we had was the right battery, but it had the wrong connector (it was a situation of having either two female or two male connectors). we could sell him the battery and a chager, but he'd have to swap the connectors around so that he could hook the battery to the gun.
But more than that, BC, the VIP, and myself could not emphasize enough that the kid must NEVER stay outside the back yard with this thing, or otherwise go where someone might see him, because it was ILLEGAL and if a cop saw him pointing it, then at the very least it would be confiscated, or more likely he'd end up being arrested or he could well end up shot! We also said that they should take great pains to keep it concealed on the way home (the VIP gave the guy a very large plastic shopping bag he happened to have to keep the thing out of sight when they left the store) just in case they were to be pulled over.
And this guy just didn't get it. He kept saying "oh it's just a toy" and that the bright orange muzzle cap made it legal (WRONG!!!!!!!) and that we shouldn't worry about it.
BC: Sir, I understand that it's just a toy, but that does not make it legal. Massachusetts state law specifically forbids this type of weapon. And even if it WAS legal, it looks so real that the cops may well not notice the difference before they shoot you or your son dead.
SSC: But it's just a toy!
Now, add one final factor into the mix that we hadn't noticed at first: this guy was BLITZED. His breath reeked of cheap beer. So not only was he in possession of an illegal weapon, but he had clearly driven to the store (and had operated a Segway) under the influence. So it was no wonder why we couldn't get through to this guy.
I don't remember if he actually purchased a battery from us or not (this was three years ago), but the sheer stupidity and downright incredulity of the incident has stuck with me ever since. He did finally leave (on the Segway, with the gun in the aforementioned plastic bag), and we were sorely tempted to call the cops on him, but we weren't able to get a license plate number, nor did we see which way he went out of the parking lot.
We ended up talking about this incident for weeks afterward, and made a point of telling our police VIP about it the next time he showed up. He told us that had he been there, he probably would have done a citizen's arrest (since he'd have been outside of his jurisdiction) and called the local cops on the spot, for the DUI if nothing else.
This is one guy I would not be surprised to read about in the Darwin Awards some day.
EDIT: Apparently these guns aren't illegal. I did not research this prior to posting the story because this happened three years ago, and because I took what I was told at face value. It is illegal in Mass for a minor to purchase one, but other than that, they seem to be legal, as long as they aren't used in a crime (of course). Still, it was pretty stupid to go walking around in public with one of these.
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