I Guess You Really Don't Want My Money

The last time I looked, the economy in the United States was not so robust that you could take a customer, any customer for granted. And yet, as I go about my daily routine, it seems clear to me that the customer is still a secondary consideration in most retail establishments, and a far second.

Over the weekend, I was visiting my local Toys R Us and while following my daughter around, found a couple of things I wanted to purchase. By the time we were done I had a small pile of things, adding up to about $50. Certainly nothing that would push them over the top for their numbers for the day but still, $50 is $50. Yet, at noon on a Saturday, with a fair number of people in the store, most pushing buggies with several hundred dollars worth of merchandise, this store had only two lanes open for check out. And about ten people in the combined line and no one in any hurry to either check out the customers or rushing to open another line. It took about sixty seconds for me to abandon my purchase and depart the store. I would like to say and never to come back again but as I have a daughter that still likes to play with her toys, I will be spending money there in the future, but I am certain that I will make it a point of not spending a penny more than I have to. If I can find an alternative location for the same item, I will likely make the choice to pick it up there.

Retail is bemoaning the lack of spending, yet at the same time, when their primary mission is to take my money, you would think the function of taking my money would be better managed. But then, I guess I am deluding myself into thinking that those in retail really care about the customer on the floor. In the majority, they do not, which explains why so many fail.