Model Railroading > Bruce's Trains closing

My dad just stopped buy Bruce's Trains in the Sacramento area and they were putting up going out of buisness
signs. They told him they would be there about another six weeks.

Darn, I was hoping that wasn't true. (It's also mentioned in the "San Jose Hobby Shops" thread below.) I only go there about once a year, but I've been wanting to get up there to see what hidden gems they might have. When I was last there in November, they still had a few Athearn RTR Rio Grande SD40T-2s. I have also found some other oddball OOP items there over the years that the other hobby shops in Northern California had sold out of.

I hate to hear of any small business, especially a hobby shop, going out of business, but I will say this: Bruce's Train Shop was one of the most unfriendliest places I have ever shopped at. I went in there with my (now ex) brother in law a few years ago, and we were treated like small children amped up on pixie sticks and soda. EVERYWHERE we went in the store, we were followed and watched like a hawk. When we stopped to look at a layout in one of the isles (it's on top of one set of shelves), we were yelled at to "not touch it!!" (we didn't, I swear!). I wanted to look at an Atlas WP GP40 in a display counter, and they couldn't be bothered to wait on us. I also neede decals but didn't make it that far. After about 10 minutes of that, we just said "to hell with it" and drove over to Railroad Hobbies instead. And we had driven up all the way from Stockton just to check the place out since neither he or I had been to Bruce's. Now, we were not dressed like thugs, in fact, we were both wearing (clean) shorts, T-shirts (IIRC plain shirts, nothing offensive), tennis shoes and I one of my ball caps. I had been a model railroader for nearly 30 year at that point, he and I both worked for the railroad (he is still a UP conductor) and we were just there to shop and spend some of our hard earned money. In fact, I was a member of the Sacramento Modular club at the time, so the place came highly recommended by the club, and one of his co-workers told him about the place. All three people working that day treated us like crap. I did go back last winter to get paint and decals twice while visiting my sister in Sacramento. The second time I took my 3 year old niece, who behaved BEAUTIFULLY, and enjoyed playing with the Thomas wooden train table with my girlfriend while I shopped. Not nearly as bad an experience this time, but, still a pretty cold shouldered place. When asking questions, I felt like I was putting someone out or bothering them. I found the paint and decals I needed and since Savanna was so well behaved, and being the little train nut she is (her mom and dad, both grandparents and I work for the railroads), I let her pick out a Thomas train and picked up more track for her train table. The older gentleman who checked us out was very friendly, especially to her, so that was great. But the other two guys, one of whom set out the decal catalog for me and then dug out the requested decals was kind of cold, like we interrupted his break or something.

On the flip side, every time I walk into Railroad Hobbies or Rogers RR Junction in Slowdie, I am ALWAYS welcomed, and feel invited. Friendly, knowledgeable staff, and I enjoy my shopping experience. The time I took a drive over to The Train Shop in Santa Clara, I had a ball and those folks couldn't have been more friendly if they worked for Disney. Again, I hate to hear of Bruce's going out of business, but can't help but wonder if they simply did themselves in.

I got that unfriendly vibe from Bruce's trains as well, but once I got to talk to them a bit they were good people. The store is so large, I can see wanting to watch for people stealing. It had a good variety of items, that's too bad for the area. I think overall it was a nice store.

It was a fantastic store. Just cold and uninviting.

My best friend and I went there when we were in town for the NMRA/NTS in 2011. The shop was a little spartan, but I really enjoyed it. They were friendly and we spent almost an hour and a couple hundred dollars there. Hate to see it or ANY hobby shop close!


Vince Smith
Gulf Western Modular Railroad Society
Corpus Christi, TX

JLWII2000 Wrote:
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> I got that unfriendly vibe from Bruce's trains as
> well, but once I got to talk to them a bit they
> were good people.

To be successful, a store must treat customers like they are wanted. It makes no business sense to require customers to pass a "get to know you" test before they will be welcomed as paying customers. I visited several times in the last dozen years or so - less so in recent years - and not once did I leave thinking it was a place I valued. If they don't care about the customer, then the customer can't be blamed for not caring about them. When I shop somewhere, I don't need to be treated like a celebrity, but I do want to be treated like they want me to be a satisfied customer.

I won't miss them.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/12 13:19 by swsf.

Yeah, I don't expect a businesses employees to jump through hoops and do stupid pet tricks for my money, but I DO however, expect dignity and respect at least out of a company when I walk through their door looking to spend my hard earned money there. You just never know about a person's spending habits or financial status or lifestlyes anymore. That customer that you blew off could have been looking to spend a LOT of money in your place. You never know.

Case in point: A few weeks ago, I was at breakfast with my best friend, his brother and his daughter. We noticed a slightly dirty, disheveled looking guy sitting at a booth near us. I figured the guy was maybe down on his luck or something. There were three National Guard soldiers sitting at a nearby table having their breakfast. The guy kept trying to get the waitresses attention, but she blew him off repeatedly. He finally got the attention of the manager, but he wasn't trying to complain, or even asking for anything, save for the bill for the three NG soldiers to be brought to him. He paid for their breakfasts himself. I shamefully previously wondered if the guy could pay for his own breakfast. The manager processed the payment, thanked the man, and the guy left. In a very nice, newer F150 pickup parked out front. So yeah, you just never know how much coin a guy has in his pocket. I wish more businesses and their employees would wake up to that fact and take better care of their customers or potential customers.

Oh, and I hope the guy in the F150 neglected to leave the snobby waitress a tip.

Funny you should mention that scene in the diner.

In my business (hazardous waste site cleanup), it's common for $100K engineers and geologists to show up for lunch in diners looking like something the dog dragged in. Just the nature of the work. We're not tracking dirt into the place (you can't leave a haz site until you're cleaned up) and we don't smell bad, but we're typically in very unstylish and weathered clothing, wearing big steel toe boots, and generally looking like construction workers. And a lot of us have beards, too.

I used to get peeved at the way I was treated in some establishments, but I've gotten over that and now just view it as an ongoing sociological experiment. And I tip very well when I'm treated with respect.

The same phenomenon happens in hobby stores, but there are so few of them around these days that I don't get to go in in my work clothes very often.

Ah the sweet young thing I grew up with, Uncle owned the Caddy dealer in Bakersfield and they
turned away one guy, old and dirty, before figuring out that the people who owned the oil fields
didn't always clean up before going to town.

TomCarter Wrote:
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> It was a fantastic store. Just cold and
> uninviting.

I got the same vibe when I went to this store too.

Allied Hobbies in LA had the same attitude, fortunately Fred Hill from The Original Whistle Stop was able to buy the place and to keep it in business.
With a distinct change in attitude in the place!

Maybe we'll get lucky and somebody will buy them out!

It's survived this long because of a buy out. It would be a big bite to chew, it's
a big store in a tight market in a state with substantial sales tax. If you went
heavy mail order you'd be collecting tax and the state inventory tax would hurt as
well. As to the store itself and Fred, he was involved in the initial purchase, he
and Wayne Linden, so who knows? I'll see him at Seattle for the Narrow Gauge meet,
guess I'll bug him for some insight.

I used to frequent that shop when it was Whistle Stop Trains. Back then it was the shop in Sacramento to go to. Lots of local modelers made the rounds there and the store employees were great. Lots of stock on hand as well as the typical hobby staples. Around 1990 or so Railroad Hobbies had a fledgling little shop in Roseville off of Cirby, remember it being a brand new shop and very friendly as well with Mike and his son Matt running the shop.

After Bruce took things over around 1995 the whole atmosphere and attitude inside the store changed. The staff became more and more unfriendly and disinterested with customers needing assistance, even to answer a simple question. The prices skyrocketed too- everything was full Walthers pricing or very close to MSRP from the various manufacturers. Eventually I found myself making the 2+ hour drive to Roseville Hobbies (the old location and now the present location) first to buy what I wanted or needed. From then on Bruce's became the stop on the way home if I had extra time.

Recently my son and I took a trip to Railroad Hobbies where he stocked up on hobby supplies. It was good to see Mike still in the store and the staff with it's usual friendly folk answered a few of my son's questions. I had told him that we may have time to swing by Bruce's, a shop he's never been to. We ran short of time that day and for some reason I don't think he missed much.

So long Bruce's Trains.
SV

Good stories.

I was working on one of the high-rise projects in Phoenix back in the early 70s construction boom days. I went in to one of the downtown eateries to get a bite for lunch. Up ahead of me was one of the rod-busters (Re-bar ironworkers), a hispanic and looking pretty beat from a hard mornings work on a very hot day. Working for an Engineering firm, I was a little bit better dressed but still not looking like an office worker. Right in front of me were 2 young Yuppies from one of the near-by office buildings. These 2 clowns were looking at the rod-buster and making comments about how they would be glad when all the construction work slowed down and they didn't have to share their lunch hour with the construction rif-raf. I tapped one of them on the shoulder and told them "that when they are loading their brief cases into their Toyota Carrollas, the rod-buster would be putting his tool belt in the trunk of his brand new Lincoln Towncar and that he would make more money in 6 months of hard work than than you 2 dingleberries will make in a year COMBINED!" They didn't much like it, especially since there were others listening, but it sure made me feel good.

Old Bob out in Lost Wages

...whenever I've been in Sactown or nearby I would always make a stop at Bruce's to see what might be there, and I also have to say that my experience has not been that enjoyable. The staff always seemed uninterested or preoccupied and as I look back I realize I really never spent that much there as a result of the unfriendly nature of the place. As most of you, I got back in my car and motored over to Roseville and found great service and a lot more selection to buy from...

cheers,

Lorne Miller

Here's another thought I just had regarding hobby shop customer service. My girlfriends daughter doesn't know a whole lot about trains, real or model, however, she's one of those women who always tries during the holidays to find "just the right special gift" for her loved ones. She's really cool like that. Her Dad is into WWII history, so she looks for WWII items that she knows he'd enjoy for example.

She went to Rogers RR Junction in Lodi, CA several years ago looking for a gift for me at Christmas time. She went in there not knowing anything about what she was looking for, or anything about what she was looking at. She just knew HO scale and preferably Western Pacific. One of the owners, Nancy (Roger's wife) being the customer oriented lady she is immediately introduced herself to Jessica and asked her what she was looking for and offered to help. To make a long story short, Nancy answered any and all questions, got Roger involved to answer questions she didn't have answers to, and between the three of them, found something Jessica could afford, and fit her criteria: that I would enjoy it. Not only did I get 2 VERY nice WP freight cars, I got a big kick out of her excitement, and a big kick out of her telling me that night about how friendly and customer oriented Roger's was (I already knew this). We're talking about a young woman that would just as soon shop the internet than go to a specialty shop like this. Bottom line, don't blow off new or non-regular customers like Jessica either. Roger's made a customer for life out of her. Not only does she shop for gifts there for me during the holidays every year, since they also carry plastic models, she decided to try her hand at building a P-51 Mustang model airplane. (She's an airforce brat and plane nut). Where did she go to get it and supplies? Yep. Roger's, of course. She's eyeballing an A-10 Warthog there next.

You just never know about people....

RE: Bruce's (no NOT ME)hobby shop closing and their unfriendly attitude. You get what you give. There's too much competition in such a small market not to welcome customers, especially new ones.

Have fun, be safe,
Bruce "Doc" Jones
Sierra Madre CA

It was the bird in back. I think he was actually running the store. The humans would often go back there to seek clarification on how to handle the customers.

I never had any bad experiences there.

Regards, Jim Evans

FiveChime Wrote:
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> I never had any bad experiences there.

I never had any bad experiences either. It's that I never had any good ones - and I feel that is just as important.

Very sad to hear. I remember going to Gil's Train Shop in the same location back in the late 70's, then it was sold to the Original Whistlestop of Pasadena, then sold to Bruce's. Never went there after the name change. When there is nothing but Walmart left to shop at, Prices will be much higher.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/12 08:10 by BEAR8216.