 | How to lose a sale in two easy stepsposted by Ben Archer, PartnerWednesday, August 19th 2009 @ 2:55 PM (not yet rated) |
I know Dennis made a post about this several months ago, but I had an experience yesterday that was so horrendous, I could not NOT share it.
My electric shaver kicked the bucket on Saturday morning. Now, this wasn't a big drama for me - I absolutely hate shaving, and I don't mind having a beard. However, my need to shave became greater once I was made aware of a teaching placement I had to undertake this week. So, I set out to the shops with a budget in mind (less than $100) to find a new shaver.
Once I reached the shops, I sought out the resident specialty shop in shavers. Once I found it, I walked into the shop and immediately felt like walking out. Why? For a shop that advertised itself as a specialty retailer in shavers, there was not a single shaver in the front window, or in the primary displays. I actually had to do a lap of the shop in order to find them. Once I had found them, I surveyed the products and found the PERFECT shaver. Well and truly within my budget, had all the features it was looking for, and it came with an extended replacement warranty. Perfect.
However, this was where the joy ended. Said shaver was in a glass cabinet. Now, I can understand why for security reasons, but it did mean that I required a staff member to assist me further. I looked to the counter and saw two staff members. One was on their mobile phone, and another was resting her head in her hand, reading a magazine.
I waited. Now, in normal circumstances I would have got someone's attention, but I decided to walk around the shop a bit more, and see what else was available. After about three minutes, I went back to the cabinet and pulled out my wallet and waited. By now the staff member on her mobile had finished her conversation, and said to the other employee: 'Gee, it's quiet hey?' The response? 'Yeah, except for the guy over at the cabinet'.
So, not only had I been in the shop for over 5 minutes without any form service, they had seen me and decided not to ask if I needed assistance. So, I left. Walked right next door into a major department store retailer.
As soon as I walked in, I saw the exact same shaver with a big sign saying: 30-50% OFF ALL SHAVERS. "Excellent!" I thought. Walked over to the shaver, picked it up, and tried to find the price tag. Nothing on the product. I then decided to find the ticket for the product on the shelf. Again, nothing. So, I did a lap of the floor, trying to find a staff member who, at the very least, could tell me how much this product was. Guess what? There was not a single staff member on the floor. I could have walked out with the product in hand, and nobody would have known. I put the product back where I found it and left in frustration.
I then walked to the other end of the mall to a discount department store retailer. I was greeted as I walked in, and I found my way to the department I thought I could find shavers in. I circled the department, and couldn't see them. By now I was getting desperate - I had an appointment in 15 minutes, and could not spend any more time looking. Then, quite literally out of nowhere, a staff member approached me, and asked me if I was looking for anything. I explained my situation and I was directed to the exact aisle that shavers were kept in.
I found the exact same shaver I saw in the other two stores. Problem: It was $70 more expensive than the first store, and $20 outside of my budget. After weighing it up in my mind, I decided to make the purchase. Even when I reached the checkout, I was greeted with a smile, asked if there was anything else I needed, and was farewelled.
The retailer? Big W. What did they do different?
#1 Their staff were present, both physically and were aware of the shop floor.
#2 The merchandised correctly and let the products do the talking.
The result? I went over budget and paid more than what i could elsewhere. Is it any wonder so many businesses are in strife when they cannot do these two simple aspects correctly?
