Leap of Faith

Have you ever taken a “leap of faith?“ Recently my husband and I had toyed with the idea of opening up our own shop. I had been gathering fixtures and even went so far as to share a space with another gal in her shop.

My husband looked at me very seriously one evening and asked, “Why don’t you just open up a shop of your own?” I threw my head back and laughed. I used the excuse that it would be too much work, too expensive, etc. I came up with a million excuses, which he shot down, one by one.

I had been looking for buildings in and around the small southern town I live, with the intention of opening a small ladies consignment shop for quite sometime. I have been selling vintage jewelry online for many years and had recently begun to include vintage clothing.

In one of our meetings with a local realtor, she expressed that owning and running my own shop was a “dream”. Again, I laughed. At my advanced age I have had to let go of many, many dreams.

I am not afraid of a little hard work, and certainly have a lot of experience on the selling floor. I had actually begun my journey into the exciting world of retail in 1968. I lived across the street from an actual five-and-dime store. For you “young-uns” Yes, there were really item for sale at that price.

When I got out of high school I got a job offer for the very first job I applied for at JL Hudson’s at Northland shopping center. Thus began my illustrious career in retailing. I have since worked for JC Penneys, Sears, Kmart, AAFES, and many other companies. In fact, I have served the public for over 30 years.

Soon we found a building, which was actually located in the same shopping center as another consignment shop. We discussed the location and decided that JC Penney and Sears often locate in a center where each is a pull for the other. I did not seem an issue in the beginning. It became a bit sticky later on.

My hubby spent his weekends working tirelessly on fixtures and displays. He built fitting room out of cedar wood, in keeping with our cedar “theme.”

The day before we opened, I looked around the little shop and realized, this was my dream. I also realized that the very act of actually opening up the doors of my own shop, meant I was a huge success. Every other moment after would only be gravy. As I stood there with tears in my eyes, I felt a very different kind of security. We had built a business, but much more. We had built a dream.

We have come a very long way from the first day we started to where we are today, but it is definitely full circle. We have created a comfortable, and pleasant place to shop and my customers are very pleased to have me in the town.

CUSTOMER SERVICE ?

Whether Americans like it or not, capitalism is what keeps this country going. Supply and demand for goods and services. Exchange of monies for anything and everything available in the vast marketplace that is our country.

As some of you may know I have spent over 30 years in retail sales/management. Nothing in the whole world ticks me off more than bad Customer Service. I received my training from some of the finest companies in the business world. Including Dayton Hudson, J.C. Penney and The Federated Group. When I entered the exciting world of retail, I was still in high school.

Customer Service was always the companies’ number one concern. It was stressed to all trainees that without the customers, there would be no jobs. We were given 3 weeks of paid training and a manual. There was a test.

We were not only instructed on professional dress and make up, but also had lessons in telephone courtesy. We were put into groups and given real situations that helped us learn to interact with customers. We were taught product knowledge and eventually would earn raises and promotions biased on our expertise.

When we “trainees” passed the training course, we had real knowledge and were proud to take our place on the sales floor. We were respected. For the first time in our young lives, we had self respect.

The store trainer was second only in authority to the store manager. She was our mother and mentor. Companies realized what a valued component customer service representatives were to its organization.

Companies have long abandoned the idea. The customer is no longer important. Customer service representatives are no longer valued. The financial aspects of training became too much for them to bear. 
 
The evolution came in the 1950’s with the innovation of “self-serve”. It was more convenient for the customer. Television advertising had allowed the average consumer much more product knowledge. This could not be more false. 
 
I had a very bad experience in a Staples store this passed weekend. I asked for a product they did not have on their shelf. The assistant store manager told me she had received the item on the truck, but did not have time to go in the stockroom and look for it. She told me to call her back tomorrow and she would have it. I called back (7 working hours later) and she giggled and said she was still busy. She told me to call back in an hour. When I called back, she had gone home for the day and no one there had a clue about the item. There was no apology, no offer to find the item, nothing! 
 
This is an example of BAD customer service, but not the end of the story. I called the Staples Customer Service line and was told, after I had given the whole story, that I should understand that ‘sometimes people get busy!” Really??? Really??? 
 
Needless to say STAPLES does NOT get it. Nor will they get another penny of my money.