There seems to be no in between when it comes to Amazon and Apple (to just name a couple of controversial companies). Either you love them or you loath them.
I’ve been in retail sales of some sort since I was a teenager.
What killed the standard retail industry was lack of supply, lack of service and general inconvenience. If a store was out of something, you simply didn’t get it. As time evolved, they could call another store and you could drive there for it. Another evolution, they could have it shipped to the store you were in. One more improvement, they could have it sent right to your house! This final step took many years to reach from the brick and mortar level. Layer the item you want with poor customer service; it’s a recipe for disaster. More so, there are limited hours to be out shopping in stores. The convenience factor was not as much as an issue many years ago, before online shopping took off; but as everything else with social media, the majority of people prefer instant gratification and with ease. Customer service is still everything; if a company has a poor website for an online experience, people will go elsewhere. If it’s specific, you bet, they go to Amazon, where with what is seemingly a blink of an eye, it’s at your front door.
Apple. I’m an Apple girl. iPhone. iPad. iWatch. Laptop. Earbuds. iLove. For the same reasons above, the brick and mortar stores lost customers, lost traction, lost revenue and lost opportunity. Truth is, I spent many of my teenage years in record shops and collecting different covers, limited edition vinyl and out for first releases. Loved it and my collection. But there’s no clearer sound than digital. Let’s face it, if you shopped in record/music stores, the customer service was less than great; sometimes they were downright rude and absolutely judged you on your music genre.
Just like I’m still a book nerd and page turner. Still shop in small bookstores, but guess what, if they don’t have it, I get it tomorrow from Amazon. Sorry, but it’s true.
I support small business. Hell, I’m in small business! I love my small town stores and spend money to keep them going. It’s heartbreaking to me to watch stores empty out and retire forcefully. Without customer service, convenience and supply, it’s truly challenging to stay open. As a business, as in life, we have to continue to pivot.
Now more than ever customer service is important. You have a poor experience in a store, the odds of you going back are slim, right? And how many people do you share that experience with? And how many people do they tell? Without customers, the stores are left with no choice… the overhead to hold a retail space is immense and every customer makes a difference.
Whether you love or hate Amazon, nearly everyone visits a small business. Local coffee shop, local mom and pop farmers market, bagel place, maybe I’ll see you at the bookstore or we can meet for dinner at restaurant in town. You get the idea. Now more than ever, these places need you as they are in peril with the state mandated closures due to Covid-19. So please, consider this: if you don’t get the service you are used to or expect, please bring it to the shop owner/manager instead of social media. Give them a chance to correct it. None of us are perfect and sometimes things don’t go as planned. Please, help save these stores from closing by giving them the benefit of the doubt and going to the source as opposed to social media. The damage being done through negative social media reviews is horrid and let’s be honest, often times the customer with said review isn’t giving the full story. So please, give these owners a chance to survive. Especially now.
Again, references like above are what grows Amazon and Apple. If you don’t love them and do feel they are the cause of closing businesses, think again. We are all a part of it.
Being in the customer service industry, I pride myself on superior service and our teams work on it daily. Success takes two. Be a good customer.
Think about your influence in the demise of retail. Become the change you wish to see in the world.
If you are in the customer service industry, save your stores. Elevate. If you are a small business shopper, thank your shopkeepers. It’s an uphill battle to stay open. Show them some love. They will thank you for it.
Gym Girl Dana 