Tonight my husband and I spent several hours at Sportsman's Warehouse in Bend. My husband loves to go duck hunting every fall. A couple years ago I bought him a new shotgun for his birthday and last year we picked another one out and we purchased it. Over the last couple years the regulations have been changed so that when you hunt water fowl you must use steel shot instead of lead. As REALTORS® we know the danger of children and lead based paint, so imagine what it would do sitting in the river.

Back to what this has to do with real estate, CUSTOMER SERVICE. We went to Sportsman's Warehouse with the intention of purchasing another shotgun. The gun my husband is using has too tight a pattern and it is ruining too much meat. I know those of you that do not enjoy hunting and are against it are bored to death by now, but bare with me there is a story related to us here.

Shotguns have what is called a choke in it - you must use a choke or the steel shot will destroy the threads at the end of the barrel which are what hold the choke in place. We knew from the previous year his choke although the widest spread was still too tight and he had spent some time with this and found what is called a skeet tube, this morning was opening day of duck season in Oregon. At daylight he and Max were on the river waiting, ready and excited, only to be disappointed again. The ducks were flying and hunting was good, but they will be ground up into pepperoni as the shot was still too tight.

My husband's birthday is in two weeks, I thought well here comes shotgun #3 - but when we got to Sportsman's Warehouse we were assisted by a great guy named Dave. Dave was more than willing to sell us a new shotgun, but when he heard why we were looking he said that there had to be a better solution.

Dave pulled out some books, he read, he pulled other guns, he looked at the barrels, the chokes and spent 2 hours helping us. Dave helped us discover that although my husband's gun is a Benelli which is a decent gun it is not designed to have a scatter effect. Even with the widest choke in it. However, he did help us also discover there is a choke made for this gun that is meant to give a better scatter.

So, the moral of this story which is the same as real estate is - by providing a great service to your client, you will build the relationship. Guess where we will go for the next firearm we purchase. Yep, Dave at Sportsman's Warehouse will get our business.

Thank you Sportsman's Warehouse, you have given my husband a new lease on this year's hunting season and you saved me hundreds of dollars.

Sportsman's Warehouse is located on Hwy 97 in Bend, Oregon and is not just a place to purchase your firearms. They have everything you could need for the wonderful outdoor living we enjoy in Central Oregon.