OPINION8: Retail Revamp

Retail Revamp

For years I have worked in many facets of the retail industry and something is happening, and it is not good for everyone. It used to be you go in to your local electronic retailer of choice, deal with your favorite sales person and go home with some quality new toys. Now you go into whatever retailer has a sale, probe for as much information as you can and go On-line to buy because it has the best deal.
This mentality is killing the whole retail industry. Customer service is dropping because sale people don’t make as much as they used to so the good ones leave and new inexperience ones come in and the whole system goes to crap. Not to knock anyone getting in to the industry but in most cases a new guy has not learned how to take care of a customer the right way yet.
Customer’s everyday keep moving closer and closer to the online purchase and in some ways I get it. But here is the contradiction of this scenario.

How a consumer see’s it
“I want the best service for the best price.” – This will mean a sales person is going to take you to the cheapest thing on sale. This is not always the best product for the customer.
“Cheaper the better” – remember you get what you pay for
“I don’t want to be hassled by a sales person” – A good sales person is there to help you make the right buying decision. We are not all used car salesmen.

How a sales person see’s it
“Why waste my time getting all the information just to buy it on-line” – Customer are tired of being taken advantage of by bad sales people so if you work with one of those get rid of them somehow

When a customer comes in and uses a sales person’s time to find the right product and then buys it on-line that sale person just worked for free. Would you go to work for FREE?
Most retail sales person makes commission on their sales. When you buy on-line you are essentially stealing his time and money.
There are a few reasons this happens
#1 Sales person is a UBER DOUCHE and is not looking into the customer’s best interest, he does not deserve anything and customer has done the right thing to shop somewhere else. (Not online but a competitor to find a good sales person.) Message to sales people “Stop trying to steal people’s money!!!” Don’t even dare ask for that sale if you don’t deserve it.
#2 Store doesn’t have the right product in stock. This is not the fault of customer or sales person. Talk to your store manager or purchasing to make sure the right products are in your store for the customer and yourself
#3 Customer is under the impression that it is ok to come in for help if you bought it from the company’s website. It is not ok to do that. We get paid by commission so we would be working for free again. If you buy from me it is my job to service you on that product. If you use me to get the information pre-sale then post sale with no purchase not cool.

The point of this piece is not to chastise anyone person. This is the evolution of retail but SALES PEOPLE need to understand we did it to ourselves by trying to find the quick buck solution and not the right one. Consumers you need to appreciate the good sales person that you get because a great Sales person will help you for life.

Final Thought
Sales People stop trying to make a quick buck because you will make more from their loyalty.
Consumer it is OK to buy on-line just don’t use up someone’s time because they could be talk to someone that will help them pay rent