(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
A week ago, my brother answered the phone to hear a computer voice saying “Happy Birthday”. The call was from Drapers & Damon’s in Pasadena, and was a phone invitation for my Mom to come over and do some shopping.
Well, while it wasn’t quite her birthday, she did have to go over to Pasadena that afternoon for a follow up appointment with one of her doctors.
When that was taken care of, my Mom told my brother she wanted to just “go by” Drapers & Damon’s to see if she could find a few more suitable tops or blouses.
My brother let her off at their rear entrance, and tried to find a parking space. Mom was soon making her way back across the alley empty-handed.
She got into the car, and the first thing she said was “Not a soul in there even bothered to acknowledge me.”
She’d gone in, found a rack with some possible blouses, taken them into a fitting room and tried them on. But, nothing fit, and after ten minutes, she didn’t care to keep searching. So, she returned the tops to the rack, and walked back the length of the store (150′ or more) without anyone saying a thing to her. [check out Marge Laney's free whitepaper on Fitting Rooms here.]
She thought it all seemed rather rude, especially since they’d made the specific effort to call her on that very day and invite her to do some shopping!
This scenario is being played out equally across the country from department stores to premium boutiques.
The number one reason people don’t return to stores is when they are ignored, the other three are being lied to, under-appreciated and pressured.
My message to all retailers is simple: don’t invite people to a party that’s no good.
Marketing got my mom in, but the lack of sales people drove her out.
It’s not the economy that’s failing, it’s store management. Lack of retail sales training will drive customers out of business and no amount of marketing – computer or human- will save you.
