Stores Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 8)

CONSIDER THIS / EXECUTIVE EDITOR’S PAGE StORES® Shoppers Behaving Badly BY SUSAN REDA STORES Magazine 325 7th St. NW, Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20004 202/626-8101 tore associates take their fair share of lumps for bad customer service, but I’m willing to cut them some slack after what I witnessed this weekend. Rude, ill-mannered shoppers seemed to be out in full force, and I found myself rooting for the sales associates to fire back with a nasty comment – though, to their credit, none of them did. My story begins in the parking lot, where finding a space threatens to end the shopping trip before I set foot in the mall. I admit it, I drive like an old lady and I’m perfectly content to pull into a space at the far end of the lot to avoid aggravation. Since even those spaces were filled, I pulled to the side and waited for someone to leave. In the ten minutes I waited, I witnessed some distressing sights. There were drivers speeding up and down the lot, stopping abruptly and turning without looking in an effort to land a “good” spot. My favorites are those who perform these maneuvers while talking on a cell phone. And speaking of cell phones: I’m beginning to wonder if anyone is capable of shopping without one glued to their ear. I’m not talking about a quick call to check someone’s size; I’m talking full-blown conversations taking place in the aisles, loud enough for all to hear. I watched as a sales associate offered someone help, unaware that the customer was mid-chat. The shopper glared at the clerk with such a look of disgust, it was scary. I couldn’t hold my tongue: “That was rude,” I blurted out – only to be given the same icy stare. The conversation was still ongoing at the register where the cashier had to “interrupt” to ask about the method of payment, whether she needed a box and to request a signature. This shopper couldn’t have been ruder to the cashier, and I found myself daydreaming about how cool it would be to give sales associates access to a signal jammer. The next store I visited had a number of nice items, so I grabbed my size and headed for the fitting room. Once again, I was faced with the vestiges of shoppers behaving badly. Where is it written that, if something doesn’t fit, you just leave it in a heap on the floor? Are people really this piggy? Do their bedrooms look like this? No wonder sales associates are scowling by 7 p.m.: they know they’re not leaving until the place is cleaned up, and, from the looks of the fitting rooms, that could be 11 p.m. Having worked in retail years ago, I’m definitely more sympathetic to sales associates, especially during the holiday season. It’s a tough job and they deserve shoppers’ courtesy. Yes, we all know the “customer is always right” credo. I’d just like to add an asterisk that reads “but that doesn’t give you a free pass to act like a jerk.” S RICK GALLAGHER Publisher Vice President 202/626-8103 FAX: 866/640-8136 E-mail: publisher@nrf.com SUSAN PATTERSON Assistant Publisher 202/626-8102 FAX: 202/661-3042 E-mail: pattersons@nrf.com EDITORIAL SUSAN REDA Executive Editor 516/437-1245 FAX: 866/640-8138 E-mail: editor@nrf.com HARRY LISTER Managing Editor 202/626-8199 FAX: 866/640-8137 E-mail: listerh@nrf.com MARY ALICE ELMER Senior Copy Editor 202/661-3047 FAX: 866/640-8134 E-mail: elmerm@nrf.com LUCY D. REDDAWAY Creative Director ADVERTISING & MARKETING MIKE GRIBBIN Advertising Director 410/893-8003 Mike Gribbin Therese Draddy Tim O’Connell Molly Deise Dan McClure Executive Publishing Inc. 900A Main St., Suite 103 Bel Air, MD 21014 410/893-8003 FAX: 410/893-8004 E-mail: advertising@stores.org CIRCULATION ELENA CAIOLA Senior Director, Circulation and Information Management 202/626-8146 FAX: 866/640-8139 E-mail: circulation@nrf.com DORIS MASON Circulation Assistant 202/626-8172 FAX: 866/640-8140 editor@nrf.com At STORES, we appreciate hearing our readers’ thoughts and comments. Please address your correspondence to editor@nrf.com, or contact me at (516) 437-1245. 8 STORES / DECEMBER 2007 For article reprints, including e-prints, please contact our Reprint Coordinator at Wright's Reprints 877-652-5295 or STORESreprints@wrightsreprints.com. WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Stores Magazine - December 2007

STORES - December 2007 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Holiday Shopping Extravagance What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Niche Marketing Eight Predictions for 2008 Concept2Watch Merchandising Strategy Sourcing E-Commerce Supply Chain Warehouse Management Software Contactless Payments Marketing Marketing Online Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

Stores Magazine - December 2007

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