who is your mirror?

looking in the mirror

I am your mirror

In essence, we all want the same things; comfort, food and attention. We relish seeing ourselves reflected from within our surroundings. Whether it is found in the clothes we wear, level of education, chosen profession, where we live or method of transportation (i.e. do you drive a Mercedes or a Hyundai?), we are revealing part of ourselves to the world. All of this and more is known, understood and accepted throughout society.

What I don’t comprehend is how people seem to dissociate from their mirror images when it comes to behavior. They act a certain way, then take no responsibility for their actions. Do these people think we no longer notice their reflections as they rant about things that should remain within their control?

SWI (shopping while intoxicated)

Recently, I read an article in Retail Wire about the perils of drinking while taking to computers for retail therapy. SWI is certainly safer than driving an automobile while intoxicated. By itself, the practice seems harmless as more consumers make online purchases.

It becomes a problem when the shopper habitually purchases online only to regret it the next day when the buzz has worn off, promptly returning all merchandise to the online retailer or worse yet a brick and mortar counterpart. Maybe there should be a public service announcement where the message is, “don’t let friends shop drunk.”

time to take another peek in the mirror

Understandably, people buy things and then suffer from remorse. Sometimes they return product while others simply hoard it (another topic altogether). The fit may be wrong if it is apparel or perhaps the item may not be as it appears online. I really don’t have issues with consumers who don’t wish to keep everything they purchase. Things happen/change, no big whoop.

The behavior I can’t stand is when a customer tries to deflect accountability for his/her poor judgment by blaming the e-retailer for a shopping addiction. In many years of retail management, I have seen customers become abusive when a return cannot be processed because of a thrown out or misplaced invoice or cannot return special orders once shipped.  With a thunderous shout, he expects everyone to bend to his will and disregard all policy and procedure.

I am not sure there is anyone to blame for SWI. Is it really necessary to accuse either party for irresponsible spending? Rampant accountability avoidance can be found everywhere. The economy is still slow and people continue losing jobs and homes. Companies as well as individuals who can afford it the most, sit on mounds of cash, failing to help boost the flow of money. Is there any wonder that some choose to escape for a little while by shopping online with money they cannot afford to spend?

Share your thoughts about SWI or shopping in general. What do you do to elude depression?

Related articles

• 5 Ways Drunk Shopping Could Put Your Finances On The Rocks (businessinsider.com)
• Online app retailer launches a real-world store (springwise.com)
• Is online retailers killing the “Brick and Mortar” stores? (lovehateandmarketing.com)
• Holidays can fuel shopping addiction for some (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Online retailers’ latest target: The tipsy (news.cnet.com)
• Shopping While Intoxicated nets online gains (msnbc.msn.com)
• Why Do Shoppers Bother With More Than Few Successful Online Stores? (essayboard.com)
• NYT: Shopping While Intoxicated nets online gains (msnbc.msn.com)
• Brits to spend over seven million online this year (shoppingdivas.com)
• Online shopping demand troubles frustrate Yule shoppers (customerthink.com)

I want it now!

I am one of the most impatient people I know. No matter which line I choose at the grocery store, I inevitably pick the longest one. It feels as though time slows down and almost goes backwards as other patrons pass by. On the outside, I stay calm and zen-like but my brain secretly performs somersaults as the minutes pass and it is finally my turn.

How long should I wait?

no sense of delayed gratification

Waiting is especially excruciating when I want something badly. Decisions don’t always come easily, but when made, I am ready to go. It has been 3 years since I started work on an MBA, and I hate the anticipation. Urgh!

Yeah, yeah, yeah… Something worthwhile takes time. In all fairness, I have studied, worked hard, written countless papers and sacrificed a social life for the past 3 years. This is my last semester as a grad student and I don’t want to work on it anymore. I want someone to take pity on me and not make me wait.

what now?

As much as I yearn for the now moments, they still freak me out. A few weeks ago, on a lark, my husband Robert began searching the internet for homes owned by Fannie Mae. We are fortunate in that we bought our home almost 15 years ago and are not upside-down in payments or value.

Robert suddenly (there is that delayed gratification thing again) found a great house that is almost twice as large as our current home. It is selling for nearly 1/2 the original price and before I knew it, Poof! We had a pending offer accepted offer and will probably be moving in a month.

be careful what you wish for

Don’t get me wrong. The whole house process thing has been exciting, and I don’t feel as though we are making a mistake, but change is still scary. Thirty days of escrow feels like a year (delayed gratification issues) and the walls in our home seem to be getting smaller and tighter as we wait.

Some of my best decisions, were made quickly. Robert and I met on a cruise in December, and were married in October. I never looked back. Immediately after closing the bridal store I owned and operated for over 14 years, I didn’t hesitate to go back to school and earn a degree.

Well, OK. Actually, Robert sent me back to school kicking and screaming. But, that is another story. The point is that I did not wait to start school. We made the decision and ran with it.

lesson learned: find balance

Is it better to wait? My opinion is, “it depends.” When it comes to delays at the drive-thru or while shopping, waiting stinks. Impatience has its perks in that innovations may never develop if people are always fully satisfied with things as they are.

On the other hand, waiting to earn an MBA rather than paying a degree mill for a fake is worth it. Robert told me that my impatience concerning school means that I am truly ready for graduation.

When all has been accomplished, what will be next? What makes your mind race with impatience? What skills (if any) have you developed over time to combat the impatience? Share your thoughts and stories.

Related articles

• Delay Gratification (crossfitovercome.com)

What comforts are essential?

Image via Wikipedia

I just returned from my weekly jaunt to the grocery store. I know what you are thinking; who cares? After my usual trek through the wide, yet crowded aisles at Winco Foods, I bagged my purchases in recyclable bags (I try to be environmentally conscious) and headed out the door.

There is a reason for this meandering story

The other night in business strategy class, we discussed different business leadership strategies. Porter generic strategy suggests in order to gain a competitive advantage, a company must either differentiate itself or be a low cost leader. Winco has definitely approached the marketplace in the latter choice.

This journey to Winco was not much different than last week’s, but something triggered in my head. I perused the aisles with a more watchful eye. What did the produce look like How were the cans stacked? How many shoppers were in line and for how long before he/she checked out? What was up with all of the elderly couples shopping together and other seemingly trivial facts?

Can we survive without all the frills?

What is it worth to have your grocery bags filled for you at the checkout? Why does it matter if all the cans or boxes are facing the same way and stacked perfectly? Do you care if meat comes prepackaged rather than chopped up in the back by a butcher?

To me, and countless others who value-shop for groceries, clothes, cars, and other sundries, these luxuries are unimportant and useless. I actually prefer bagging my groceries. The checkers are friendly but efficient. The floors and shelves are clean and parking is no problem. I am not a coupon shopper (too lazy), but I don’t want to pay for extra frills.

Now for the differentiated model (ooh, I know you can’t wait)

Food shopping at Whole Foods is an entirely different world than Winco Foods. The produce is ripe and beautiful and I just love the gluten-free area as well as the deli and salad bar. Just thinking about it is making me hungry. They have every type of tea imaginable and exotic nut butters galore.

What is so special about Whole Foods that we are willing to pay a greater fee? Last week I bought bulk quinoa at Winco. Never did I think Winco would carry unusual grains. The reality is when I consider strange or hard to find items, Whole Foods is where I begin searching.

Whole Foods is effective at differentiating its brand as an organic health food heaven. Carts are much smaller because most people can’t afford to fill it like they would at a value store. Gone are the buzzing fluorescent light fixtures found in lesser stores.

Lesson learned: you can’t be everything to everyone.

Both brands of grocery stores are great examples of Michael Porter‘s theory of competitive advantage. Neither brand took the middle road and they are both experts in their niches. I can’t say that one is better or worse than the other. They are equally valuable to customers.

What brand do you identify with when shopping? Do you prefer being pampered and feeling extravagant as you shop for broccoli? Is bulk the way you roll? Share your thoughts on what comforts you cannot live without.

2 customer experiences – one week

I rarely have time to shop for myself and when I do, I have high expectations about what my experience should be like. Recently I had two shopping encounters that should have had similar outcomes but in reality, were wildly different.

Experience A: Michael Kors Outlet

What is missing here?

This past January I bought an adorable watch at the Michael Kors outlet in Sparks, Nevada. The associate helping me was wonderful and she helped me pick the perfect watch. I left happy, sporting my watch with the crystal bezel. Life was good!

Fast forward 6 months… one of the crystals magically fell out of the bezel. I was bummed, but didn’t consider it a big deal because I bought a watch from a good company (or so I thought).

When I went back to the store I purchased from and explained what happened, I thought they would repair or replace the damaged watch. After an associate informed me they did not guarantee the crystals and that I should have been more careful with the watch, I began to despair.The manager arrived on the scene to see what she could do (finally someone who might help).

Where do you expect great customer service?

Where do you expect to receive great customer service? Do you think it is reserved for high end services or products? We have been led to believe so, as our society has become a self-service culture.

Please help yourself

It is cheaper to have consumers ring themselves out at the grocery store. We are expected (except in a couple of states) to pump our own gas. Social interactions in warehouse type stores (i.e. Costco) are minimal.

It doesn’t matter where I am, as my expectation for a superior experience remains intact. Without a positive customer experience, one carries little hope of achieving repeat business.

My friend went to a local car lot, hoping to buy a car for her college-bound son. After walking around aimlessly, searching for someone to help her, she finally gave up and left. There was a salesman there who was helping someone else, but he never even looked my friend in the eye and said hello.

Considering a car is an expensive purchase, I would expect better than being completely ignored. Obviously, she will not be going back to this car lot or recommending her friends. The opposite is probably true in that she told me about her lousy experience and may be sharing this with others as well.

Lesson learned: customer service matters

In this economic climate, businesses cannot afford to ignore potential customers and expect to keep their doors open. Whether you work in a shee-shee  high end boutique or a value-driven large retailer, you must remember that good customer service matters every time, every day, everywhere.

Related articles

• What some people think passes for “Customer Service” (contextreallymatters.wordpress.com)
• Don’t relegate customer service to your website (greatfinds.icrossing.com)
• How to Create the Ultimate Customer Experience (lumbertribe.wordpress.com)

It is OK to ask for the sale

My reaction to a sale being lost due to ineptitude.

I just had one of those experiences that as a sales person and a leader, made me cringe. I visited the grocery store with my son to pick up a movie at Red Box and decided to take a detour to a shoe shop in the same shopping center. I have driven past this shop countless times on my way in or out of the parking lot and they never seemed to be open whenever I passed. Today must have been my lucky day!

Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

 Walking into the store with my son, we were immediately greeted by a friendly sales associate (good sign) and she asked if she could help me find something. I explained that as a retail manager I am on my feet all day and was looking for some new shoes for work.

The moment should have given her a clue (a house falling on her head may have worked too) that I might be a paying customer. That is until she asked me what type of shoe I wear for work (still ok to ask qualifying questions). She proceeded to tell me that for about $20 I could buy an insert for my existing pair of shoes and avoid buying new ones.

What, What, What!!

Urgh! Did my ears deceive me or was she trying to talk herself out of a sale? The girl was probably trying to be helpful but the first rule of sales is ask for the sale! By sending me out of the store without trying a pair of shoes on, she lost a sale and worse, a customer.

Was it the associate’s fault that she blew a chance to make a buck? Truthfully, I would lay blame on her manager, as I am sure this was not the first time she sent a customer away empty-handed. People can be so concerned with the customer experience that they forget why they are in business in the first place. I may not have bought anything had I tried the shoes on, but we will never know.

Lesson Learned

No, I will not go back into the store and teach her how to sell me something while maintaining a high level of customer service. That ship has sailed. I probably will not go in there again. The lesson I learned is that I cannot take for granted that my associates are asking for the sale every time they interact with a client. It is my duty to continue training and coaching the associates to ensure that they do not talk a customer out of a purchase.

The Meaning of Customer Service: pay it forward

The day did not start out as anything spectacular. Nothing wrong but not exciting either. That is, it wasn’t great until I altered the course of my day while grocery shopping.

Make a difference = Pay it forward!

I was bagging groceries at the local Winco Foods, when my superior spider senses (hey I can dream of being a superhero) began to twitch. The man behind me was fidgeting and looking around nervously as if something was wrong. His daughter walked up and as they started to talk I noticed myself eavesdropping. They were questioning whether or not they had enough money to pay for the groceries they had and were trying to decide what items to take off the bill.