![]() ![]() “But that package often has the web giant's name on the box instead of the name of the product that's inside. “Why should they align themselves with a brand when click-and-swipe buying habits put a product on their doorstep the next day?” Thomas says. Technology has completely changed the buying experience. These days retailers are finding that younger buyers are nowhere near as brand loyal as their parents. But many did stay, and with new hires he now has 85 full- and part-time employees. As the new strategies evolved, the staff members who didn’t buy into his program departed on their own terms. “I insisted that the staff treat every customer in a manner that would make them feel wanted and appreciated,” he says. Thomas made it clear that he expected all staffers to focus on the needs of the customer. Today, when a customer asks or needs something in a different department, no one has to say, ‘That guy is out to lunch you'll have to wait an hour.’” “I wanted every staff member to be able to do any, and all, of the five. “There are five basic jobs in our store-sales, customer service, range work, memberships, and rental,” he says. Thomas quickly transitioned the team to a customer-focused approach and began cross-training every staff member. The store and range were neither customer or team focused.” I saw barriers at every turn that could stop a sale dead in its tracks. “There was often a sense that each staff member had to one-up each other. “There were staff members who were single-task focused and not always very friendly,” he says. Although the facility’s footprint was ideal, the existing staff created challenges for the new managing partner. A few years later, after assembling a group of investors, Thomas founded Freedom Shooting Center by taking over an existing Virginia Beach facility in 2018. ![]() It was a pivotal moment in his life, and it set him on a course to sell firearms and teach firearm training to the public. The interaction deteriorated from there, and a stunned Thomas thought, How does this store stay in business? What would it be like for a first-time purchaser? What would that shooter do for training? Go see this guy? No! The older gentleman behind the counter scoffed at his request, and in a surly tone told him, "Why would you or anyone else want a plastic gun?" He then shook his head in disgust as he handed him the pistol. Al and I visited a gun store in the town our training was scheduled in. “I was working as a training instructor at Blackwater while I was in college. The second was an epiphany he experienced when he visited a gun store as a professional firearms trainer. First, his mentor Al Clark, a former Navy SEAL firearm instructor and founder of Blackwater, imparted to him a deep commitment to sharing and translating leadership skills to the private sector. Two critical experiences brought Skyler Thomas, a former Naval Security Specialist, to the shooting-sports retail and training world. ![]()
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