Managing a shooting range means you serve a very niche clientele. You do business with firing enthusiasts, which make up a minority portion of the population. To say that you need to impress your clients every time they visit your shop would be an understatement. In fact, therein lies the success of your trade. If you lose one customer to another shooting range due to lackluster service, not many people can replace that client.
It goes without saying your customers need to be satisfied with their experience the minute they walk into your shop. And one way to ensure that is by making them feel like their safety is your utmost priority. Here’s what you can do.
Equip your shop with topnotch technology
Your shooting range should boast top-notch technology if you want to compete aggressively with other shops. And it’s not enough that you have the best shooting range target systems that give your customers an absolute thrill. You also need technology that zeroes in on your customers’ safety.
For instance, your shooting range should be equipped with soundproofing technology that efficiently reduces noise from gun blasts. This will protect your staff and customers from hearing loss.
You also need reliable security detection at your shop’s entrance. This should be complemented with a robust video security system. Make your clients feel like they are looked after.
Consistent shop tune-up
Do not wait for something to go wrong before conducting a shop checkup and maintenance. Make it a habit. Ideally, you have a consistently scheduled shop tune-up every month. Remember that you’re dealing with potentially lethal weapons daily. You can’t afford to take any risks.
Check the guns you rent out if they are working properly. The last thing you want to happen is to have a client fire a gun in the target’s direction only for it to fire in reverse. While that’s a comedy trope, in the worst of circumstances, it could happen. And you will be liable for such an accident.
Thorough background check of clients
You do not want to be discriminatory. But you also want to protect your clients and staff. So if you have the capability, do some background checks on clients that apply for membership. Ideally, you refuse membership to individuals who have been involved in gun-related violence.
For walk-in customers, never fail to ask for identification. You need basic information about the people who use your shop. You do not want to unwittingly provide service to nefarious criminals. You do not want your shooting range to be the training ground for people planning to commit a crime.
Impose a strict rule against unruly behavior
Most of your clients at any given moment are holding a gun. Others are spectators. You cannot afford to tolerate people horsing around. Or people playing pranks on each other or teasing each other. These are recipes for disaster.
Consider this scenario. Someone is playfully teasing a friend with a gun because the latter’s been missing targets. The former is oblivious to how the latter’s no longer too happy about the teasing. The situation escalates quickly, and before you know it, the friend with a gun is already shooting in his bully’s direction. While that sounds implausible, again, it can happen. So discourage unruly behavior in your shop.
Impose COVID-19 safety protocols
People at your shop will be sharing guns. Plus, if you manage an indoor shooting range, there’ll be little to zero ventilation. It will be a closed air-conditioned space. We’re still living under a pandemic. And even if most of your clients are already vaccinated, the risk of the virus spreading through your shop is still there.
Impose strict protocols for COVID avoidance. At first, your customers might not appreciate your rules. However, in time they’ll understand it’s for their safety. Your customers will thank you in the end.
Firing a gun is a real adrenaline rush. It’s a unique and out-of-this-world experience. However, a lot of things could go wrong with this hobby, too. That’s why you need to consider your customers’ welfare as earnestly as possible. Otherwise, you might end up accountable for whatever untoward incident that ensues in your shooting range.
The recommendations we listed here are easy to implement. Sure, most of them will require you to invest capital. But they are definitely worth it. If you value your clients and you want to keep them coming back, it is in your best interest to make them feel welcome at all costs.
