Tite Group Sporting, Northborough, MA

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bostonasphalt2 said:
I have used Mike's services many times for myriad things (transfers, purchases, etc) and he has always been great in person and hasn't misquoted a price for me yet. The only time I had a prolkbem, he said he would be in the shop once time and when I got there he wasn't there. I called him and he said he would be there in half an hour. BAsed on my previous experiences, I was willing to wait, and everything worked out fine.

Sometimes it about not jumping the gun and lighting up your Newport before starting to build a business relationship =.....
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True but if you make a mistake on the price and someone wastes their gas driving there and then their time waiting around for you to show up, maybe you should be willing to do something about it in order to create goodwill? Better than telling the customer you were too busy, when they called to give a correct quote and the price is what it is.
 
Got there yesterday at about 6-7 minutes before 5. Door open, flag saying "open" still outside. Walk in as one guy is walking out and Mike says "We're closed; I'm just doing a transfer".

Guess I'll go somewhere where they want my money, instead. (his door says he's open until 5:00).
 
great place to order a gun or get one transfer, not the best place to window shop. Size wise he is the smallest in the state and does the third most volume, he is a one man show and is very busy so expect to wait.
 
bostonasphalt2 said:
I have used Mike's services many times for myriad things (transfers, purchases, etc) and he has always been great in person and hasn't misquoted a price for me yet. The only time I had a prolkbem, he said he would be in the shop once time and when I got there he wasn't there. I called him and he said he would be there in half an hour. BAsed on my previous experiences, I was willing to wait, and everything worked out fine.

Sometimes it about not jumping the gun and lighting up your Newport before starting to build a business relationship =.....
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riiiight... because my green-backs aren't good enough. the business relationship starts when i speak to an obvious FUDD who is off his meds.

dwarven1 said:
Got there yesterday at about 6-7 minutes before 5. Door open, flag saying "open" still outside. Walk in as one guy is walking out and Mike says "We're closed; I'm just doing a transfer".

Guess I'll go somewhere where they want my money, instead. (his door says he's open until 5:00).
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you don't say?

seanodonnell51 said:
great place to order a gun or get one transfer, not the best place to window shop. Size wise he is the smallest in the state and does the third most volume, he is a one man show and is very busy so expect to wait.
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is that you mike? [rofl]
 
wolf223 said:
riiiight... because my green-backs aren't good enough. the business relationship starts when i speak to an obvious FUDD who is off his meds.
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I will definitely give you that. However, I think since my first few experiences were positive, I chalked up the one "bad" one I had to being an off day. It happens.
 
I use Mike for pain free transfers. He gladly accepts items shipped from individuals and gives you no shit for getting items privately compared to what he has on wall. I fine that his in stock items are competitively priced. Ammo is GS priced with personal defensed least marked up.

I'll gladly drive the 40mins to get there so I don't have to deal with the other FFLs around that try to make you feel like your robbing them for buying elsewhere and transferring in.
 
I bought a .22 from him recently. Although I had to go on a weekend because of snow I had a positive experience with his shop and would come back again.
 
dwarven1 said:
Got there yesterday at about 6-7 minutes before 5. Door open, flag saying "open" still outside. Walk in as one guy is walking out and Mike says "We're closed; I'm just doing a transfer".

Guess I'll go somewhere where they want my money, instead. (his door says he's open until 5:00).
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You sure you didn't go in there asking for a compact hi-cap 9mm gun like a glock? And he told you that he didn't have anything like that in stock.

Also, that "FUDD" served for his country, so I don't think that's a fair statement at all.

Mike has always taken good care of me. Yes, his hours may be a little erratic, but it's not a big deal to call before heading over. Also, walk into a restaurant 5 minutes before closing and see if they are happy to serve you....
 
crazymikie said:
Also, that "FUDD" served for his country, so I don't think that's a fair statement at all.
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there are plenty of FUDDs that are veterans.

crazymikie said:
Mike has always taken good care of me. Yes, his hours may be a little erratic, but it's not a big deal to call before heading over. Also, walk into a restaurant 5 minutes before closing and see if they are happy to serve you....
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Oh, really? Well lets take a look back in time about my experiance after I called him before I made a visit...
Dench said:
I had a similiar experiance last time i bought a gun from him. I called in the AM to make sure he would be there, he said he would be there at my estimated arrival time and asked me to bring him a ice coffee. I showed up at the exact time with his coffee, with him walking out of his shop locking his door. he said he was going for lunch and would be back in 1 hour. He didnt really want the ice coffee either i had to hand it to him to get rid of it. didnt offer to pay for the coffee.

i came back, picked up what i wanted and left. havent been back since. Mikes a nice guy when you get inside the shop, but the long drive plus being forced to wait a hour is enough to say i most likely wont be going back.
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crazymikie said:
Also, walk into a restaurant 5 minutes before closing and see if they are happy to serve you....
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When I used to work at a local gun shop, if that person slipped in 1 minute before closing, they were helped out and not rushed at all.
 
I always thought Mike was a pretty decent guy. He's always had time to chat while I was there kicking tires. Since he works alone did you ever think he was holding back a brown turtle head or the Mrs. might have been making a "special nooner" trip home for lunch? Since you were waiting you could have gone across the street and volunteered at the GOAL office. They'd appreciate the help and you'd have earned a good feeling down deep inside.
 
crazymikie said:
You sure you didn't go in there asking for a compact hi-cap 9mm gun like a glock? And he told you that he didn't have anything like that in stock.
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He didn't give me any time to ask what he had.

crazymikie said:
Mike has always taken good care of me. Yes, his hours may be a little erratic, but it's not a big deal to call before heading over. Also, walk into a restaurant 5 minutes before closing and see if they are happy to serve you....
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1 - I don't carry his phone number on hand. Didn't see the need to, AS HE HAD A SIGN OUT SAYING HE WAS OPEN.

2 - He's not a restaurant... and depending on the restaurant, they may very well be happy to serve you. Makes it much more likely you'll return.
 
crazymikie said:
You sure you didn't go in there asking for a compact hi-cap 9mm gun like a glock? And he told you that he didn't have anything like that in stock.

Also, that "FUDD" served for his country, so I don't think that's a fair statement at all.

Mike has always taken good care of me. Yes, his hours may be a little erratic, but it's not a big deal to call before heading over. Also, walk into a restaurant 5 minutes before closing and see if they are happy to serve you....
Click to expand...

He had my phone number and he could have called me back with the correct price. I think I spoke to him two times on the phone before I drove down there. But no call, just attitude when I reminded him he quoted me a lower price over the phone. Oh and that was after waiting around for him to show up for our appt.
 
You know it Bro!
Dench said:
there are plenty of FUDDs that are veterans.



Oh, really? Well lets take a look back in time about my experiance after I called him before I made a visit...





When I used to work at a local gun shop, if that person slipped in 1 minute before closing, they were helped out and not rushed at all.
Click to expand...
 
szaino said:
Anyone know where Mike is? Haven't been able to reach him the last 2 days- left messages, email.
Today his business phone mailbox is now full.
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Same question. There was a note on his Closed sign, but I didn't have time to stop and read it driving by.
 
I've bought a number of items from Mike. He loves to chat and things tend to take a while. He's an interesting guy with an amazing record of military service.

I can't and won't dismiss any of the issues raised here. But I kinda like the guy, even with his faults, and will buy from him again.
 
Mike is difficult to get ahold of at times. When I picked up my transfer about a month ago, I found out that he really is a good retired military guy. He is much nicer to deal with in person compared to by phone. He told me that he is to busy for a retired guy and is trying to figure out a way to work less and enjoy his life more. So if you want something from him, be patient, eventually you will get what you want. This state needs more FFL's like him.
 
I've had a few dealings with Mike. Real nice and personable guy and really small storefront. Professionally, well- he can run his business however he likes.

If I can catch him on occasion when I am in the area without inconvenience to myself then sure, I'll continue to do business. Otherwise, it's best to visit another place with set hours.
 
the only thing he has going for him is that GOAL is right across the street. so you can stop in and see the good people that bust their ass for the GOAL members.

other than that, it's like a route canal dealing with that guy. that said, i have referred people to him in that area.... i still can't imagine why. but i do so with full disclosure that i don't like the guy. -see my previous post.

i'm am of the mindset that if you don't like your job, quit. find another one. if you don't mind being dicked around, then thats the place to shop and do business with. i guess it's easier for you "eastern New Yorkers" aka western Mass. [laugh]

i could honestly care less about his military service for obvious reasons as well.
 
I like Mike. My first time in there he was patient and polite with my newbie questions. Since then, in the past 6 months, I've bought two new guns from him. Prices were fair for both.
I've been in there when there were 2 or 3 customers and he gets around to everyone. Meanwhile we share stories. The people I've talked with in the shop are either repeat customers, have been referred to him, or are picking up transfers.
My shooting club's members like him for online purchase transfers. He has a good price on the CCI Standard .22LR ammo I use in my S&W Model 41 for bullseye competition. I recommend the shop.
 
Mike is definitely not running your average gun shop. He can be hard to get a hold of at times. But he's a decent guy, serves the community well, and I've always been pleased with my dealings with him.
 
I haven't been to the shop in about 9 months, and everytime we did business it was always straight to it, just the way I like it and sometimes shoot the shit for a little bit after, not much but I got his vibe. Out of the 15 or so times I've been there, there was only 2 times where he had said he would be there and wasn't when I showed up, and 2 other times where I showed and said he was closing up and I explained it was just a transfer and he had told me to come in the next day, my opinion is that he is a good guy and does good business, the 4 times I just explained, I figured he probably had some really important personal stuff going on so I don't hold that against him, I can see if the ratio was higher like 7 or 8 times I'd probably have more to say, obviously for some people 1 or 2 times is enough to have negative feedback and that is understandable.
 
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