Local hobby store owner badmouthing HPR.

[Bat-mite]

I had the displeasure of hearing a local hobby store owner badmouthing HPR to one of his customers the other day. Customer was buying some Estes LPR kits for his grandson. Customer was asking owner questions about where to fly, etc.

Somehow this turned into the store owner bashing HPR, saying it was unsafe and that people at HPR launches are crazy. BTW, the last HPR launch he went to was in 1988!

As I went to leave the store, I passed by and said, "I fly high power rockets, and I don't share your concerns. We have a safety code, and when people follow it, it's a well-regulated and proven safe method."

"It's the ones who don't follow it that worry me," he said. He knew about MDRA, referring to us as "those people over there on the Eastern Shore."

He doesn't sell any HPR products and hasn't been to a launch in 28 years. So I want to know where this guy gets off bashing something he knows little to nothing about!

 

[samb]

...

He doesn't sell any HPR products and hasn't been to a launch in 28 years. So I want to know where this guy gets off bashing something he knows little to nothing about!

Sounds like you need to go back and ask him. Could be a positive experience if you handle it right, maybe bring your L3 rocket along for some show and tell. Do you do alot of business at his store ?

 

[KennB]

As he hasn't been to a high power launch since 1988, it is likely that most of what he has seen of it lately has been on the TV shows that play up the flash and don't concentrate on the safety. NatGeo and Discovery have given platforms to HPR but at what expense? One of these shows approached my club to look at filming at one of our launches; it never happened but they were just looking for some set up footage to do a super-slo-mo of a full scale V2 filled with gasoline tipping over and exploding. I'm glad our name wasn't associated with it.

Most local hobby shops don't carry much HPR stuff as the demand just isn't there; if it were, Walmart would carry it along side the Estes rockets some of them sell. As samb says, this could be a chance to do some outreach and education. Maybe offer him an idle HPR of yours for a temporary display; even if he doesn't sell HPR, the visual could spark some sales of his LPR stock.

 

[cwbullet]

I spend a lot of time selling high power rocketry to my local community. Some have seen the LDRS specials and express concerns about the danger. I usually spend the extra effort to explain that launches have a safety code / standard and that we rarely have injuries.

 

[Trident]

I'd let him know that you'd be happy to take all your hobby purchases to online stores that do not share his personal biases.

 

[Bat-mite]

Unfortunately, I don't buy much there, so I can't threaten him with losing my business. I generally go there when I want something in a hurry, or I don't want to pay shipping costs for something small/inexpensive. The fact that he already knows of the existence of MDRA and doesn't go there leads me to believe he is not looking to be persuaded. And if I talked him into it, and he saw one of those very rare accidents happen, it would be all over for him.

Hopefully the look on my face as I walked out the door let him know that maybe he hadn't won over a customer.

 

[mrichhcirm]

I suppose we could all start badmouthing r/c cars and quadrotors since those are probably his bread and butter, but what would be the point? A hobbyshop owner should know better than to bash any of the hobbies since we're all kind of in the same leaky lifeboat from a public relations and regulatory standpoint.

 

[CzTeacherMan]

I suppose we could all start badmouthing r/c cars and quadrotors since those are probably his bread and butter, but what would be the point? A hobbyshop owner should know better than to bash any of the hobbies since we're all kind of in the same leaky lifeboat from a public relations and regulatory standpoint.

This...

 

[Bat-mite]

I suppose we could all start badmouthing r/c cars and quadrotors since those are probably his bread and butter, but what would be the point? A hobbyshop owner should know better than to bash any of the hobbies since we're all kind of in the same leaky lifeboat from a public relations and regulatory standpoint.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

[AfterBurners]

I had the displeasure of hearing a local hobby store owner badmouthing HPR to one of his customers the other day. Customer was buying some Estes LPR kits for his grandson. Customer was asking owner questions about where to fly, etc.

Somehow this turned into the store owner bashing HPR, saying it was unsafe and that people at HPR launches are crazy. BTW, the last HPR launch he went to was in 1988!

As I went to leave the store, I passed by and said, "I fly high power rockets, and I don't share your concerns. We have a safety code, and when people follow it, it's a well-regulated and proven safe method."

"It's the ones who don't follow it that worry me," he said. He knew about MDRA, referring to us as "those people over there on the Eastern Shore."

He doesn't sell any HPR products and hasn't been to a launch in 28 years. So I want to know where this guy gets off bashing something he knows little to nothing about!

Maybe invite him to a launch. 28 years is a long time and a lot has changed. He probably had a bad experience, which explains his attitude toward HPR

 

[Crash-n-Burn]

Sounds like you need to go back and ask him. Could be a positive experience if you handle it right, maybe bring your L3 rocket along for some show and tell. Do you do alot of business at his store ?

This x1000. After you talk to him invite him to a launch. Let him get a first-hand experience as a spectator. A positive experience might change his opinion, hell it might convert him into a HPR guy.

 

[samb]

Unfortunately, I don't buy much there, so I can't threaten him with losing my business. I generally go there when I want something in a hurry, or I don't want to pay shipping costs for something small/inexpensive. The fact that he already knows of the existence of MDRA and doesn't go there leads me to believe he is not looking to be persuaded. And if I talked him into it, and he saw one of those very rare accidents happen, it would be all over for him.

Well since you brought this up I really do want to know where he gets off. Gotta number for that hobby shop ? No need to threaten or talk anybody into anything, just a friendly hobby conversation.

Hopefully the look on my face as I walked out the door let him know that maybe he hadn't won over a customer.

Hmm... IDK... maybe if you gave him one of these looks:

 

[tmacklin]

Maybe invite him to a launch. 28 years is a long time and a lot has changed. He probably had a bad experience, which explains his attitude toward HPR

Hey, I thought you left? :wink:

 

[watermelonman]

Is this more April Fools or is that reserved for California?

 

[bill_s]

I suppose we could all start badmouthing r/c cars and quadrotors since those are probably his bread and butter, but what would be the point? A hobbyshop owner should know better than to bash any of the hobbies since we're all kind of in the same leaky lifeboat from a public relations and regulatory standpoint.

But being in the same leaky boat usually doesn't work that way. Anything that he's not interested in that can put bad attention on things he likes, he will be against. Shouldn't be that way, but considering how random and arbitrary legal decisions can sometimes be, it's not without reason.

 

[TopRamen]

I miss my local hobby store, but the guy put a no CCW sign on the door, so to heck with him.

I know he would have never noticed my business, but someone must have gone in there and acted a fool and made him scared.

Poor guy.

 

[KidRockET]

I miss my local hobby store, but the guy put a no CCW sign on the door, so to heck with him.

I know he would have never noticed my business, but someone must have gone in there and acted a fool and made him scared.

Poor guy.

So you could open carry...

See if he wets himself...

Poor guy indeed...

He lives in the...

WRONG state...

 

[mrichhcirm]

I miss my local hobby store, but the guy put a no CCW sign on the door, so to heck with him.

I know he would have never noticed my business, but someone must have gone in there and acted a fool and made him scared.

Poor guy.

I don't know...hobby shops are so scarce nowadays that I think I would still have to go in even if he had a No Pants sign on the door.

 

[iqsy59]

I would be more concerned about the customer who was given bad advice. It is hard to speculate a particular situation, but knowing me, I would have inserted myself into their conversation and explained to the customer about our safety and then invited him and his grandson to a local laUnch.

It pleases me when I see grandfathers and their grandchildren at a launch. They are often very enthusiastic! My granddaughter turned 4 last week and we made plans to build our first rocket together this month. She, of course, wants to start with the Flying Pig that I thought I had hidden deeply in the pile. We will see who has the stronger will...

If I see a potential enthusiast, I usually do my best to get them hooked!

Cheers,
Michael

Cheers,
Michael

 

[wfcook]

That's really weird, where was the shop? I know the guys at Star Hobby really like what we do...they're the ones who sent me and the kids out to MDRA to begin with.

 

[mkadams001]

I miss my local hobby store, but the guy put a no CCW sign on the door, so to heck with him.

I know he would have never noticed my business, but someone must have gone in there and acted a fool and made him scared.

Poor guy.

Why would the no CCW sign stop you from doing business with someone?

 

[bobkrech]

Maybe invite him to a launch. 28 years is a long time and a lot has changed. He probably had a bad experience, which explains his attitude toward HPR

This x1000. After you talk to him invite him to a launch. Let him get a first-hand experience as a spectator. A positive experience might change his opinion, hell it might convert him into a HPR guy.

Absolutely correct. There's room for the local hobby shop only if there's places for the hobby to exist. Far more folks fly mod rocs than HP, but the fraction that make the move to HP are the future of MDRA and other HP clubs. If he can recommend a place to launch, he will have a steady business.

Bob

 

[Bat-mite]

That's really weird, where was the shop? I know the guys at Star Hobby really like what we do...they're the ones who sent me and the kids out to MDRA to begin with.

Check for a PM.

 

[Scott_650]

While I respect a property owner's wishes, asking me to lock my side arm in the glove box is a bit much just to shop for hobby items. Especially when everything in that LHS can be purchased elsewhere.

 

[Buckeye]

At least your LHS guy knows of rocketry. My local shop thinks they have rocketry covered with a couple RTF kits and a dusty package of B4-4's on the pegboard (at full retail price, of course).

 

[YodaMcFly]

But being in the same leaky boat usually doesn't work that way. Anything that he's not interested in that can put bad attention on things he likes, he will be against. Shouldn't be that way, but considering how random and arbitrary legal decisions can sometimes be, it's not without reason.

This, right here, is the problem that afflicts many of us in "fringe" hobbies ... Where it gets weird is when you're involved in multiple "fringe" hobbies, and you see what others don't (or, at least, you think you see it...)

At the risk of Godwining myself, and with apologies to Pastor Niemöller:

First they came for the hunters, and I said nothing, for I was not a hunter
Then they came for the HPR fliers, and I said nothing, for I do not fly HPR
...

and so on.

 

[grouch]

Is this more April Fools or is that reserved for California?

California is so forward thinking they don't confine their fools to just April 1st. Just thought I'd point that out.

 

[YodaMcFly]

California is so forward thinking they don't confine their fools to just April 1st. Just thought I'd point that out.

One of the many reasons I'm on my way out of this nuthouse.