Like everyone else, I’ve done some shopping over the holidays and here are a few of my observations.
1. Doesn’t matter which store, what time I go or what I order, I always receive friendly, helpful service at Starbucks. I don’t drink coffee either. I go there because my kids love the hot chocolate and they have a small 8 oz. cup for a buck. Starbucks seems to hire people who are genuinely happy to do their jobs and make customers feel comfortable. I wonder if their interview process is like Southwest Airlines where they go out of their way to hire happy people?
2. Have you noticed the size of fast food drinks these days? The “medium” at Jack in the Box must be 32 oz. The large at McDonalds just huge and now they have an Extra Large for a $1.99. I don’t even want to know how big it is. I bought my son a piece of pizza at Sbarro last night and asked for a kids sized drink and it was still 20 oz.
3. I went to Nordstrom this week. I walked around the men’s section for about 15 minutes, left and then returned. I walked around for another 10 minutes or so before a guy asked me if I was finding everything ok. He then walked off towards the shoe department. The Men’s half yearly sale is taking place but there were very people customers around. I found a shirt and approached the cashier who asked me, “Was someone helping you?”. I said, “No, I helped myself”. If you have to ask me if anyone is helping me, you probably already know the answer.
4. I’m very impressed with the Presto.com service. This is the service that works with the HP Printing Mailbox for those who don’t have a computer but would like to keep in touch with those who do. The signup process was easy to understand and never tried to push additional services down my throat. Other website could learn from its simplicity.
5. Game stores provide some of the worst service I’ve experienced. They hire guys who can speak to the hard core teen gamer. But they have no clue how to treat anyone else. I was looking at Nintendo DS games with my 4 year old son and he walked towards the back of the counter but didn’t go behind it. Suddenly one of the EB Games employees, a young kid, jumps back towards him and says, “Hey, you can’t come back here” and sticks his arm out as if my 35 lb son is going to shove his way past. I’m done with these type of stores and will buy games from Target, Amazon, or New Egg.
6. Fry’s in Renton has a gigantic selection of DVDs. They must have six or seven huge rows lined with every DVD imaginable. But have you ever tried to find the section with the New Releases? I can go into Wal-Mart or Target and quickly find the section with the new releases. Am I blind or does Fry’s not have such a section?
7. I like how Macy’s organizes their men’s department by brand. At Nordstrom everything feels mixed together. I can go into Macy’s and walk right to the Nautica, Polo or Hilfiger section and look a shirt. I noticed that Nordstrom only does this with their Faconnable line.
8. Some of the most annoying people work at those cell phone kiosks you find in the middle of the mall. I was on the phone when I walked by one last night and one of these guys yells out, “What kind of phone do you carry?” as if I’ll just go ahead and put the caller on hold while I have a discussion with this punk. I wonder what their anger to sell ratio is?
9. A few months back I bought used Volkswagen Passat from Auburn Volkswagen. When I had a problem a week later I called the dealer and asked to speak with the person who sold me the car. His answer? “He no longer works here”. When I told him my problem his answer was the same, “Sorry, I didn’t sell you the car and person who did no longer works here”. It was very clear to me they didn’t want to listen or help me. They bounced me around to a few people, and when I’d need an answer, the person I had to speak with was “at lunch” or it was his “day off”. I eventually got things taken care of and took my business to a small, local shop here in Auburn. I got to speak directly with the mechanic who performed the work on my car. When I got my car back I noticed he’d replaced my high beam bulb free of charge. I will never again step foot in Auburn Volkswagen.
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