All the difference...

Today I had to go shopping for clothes for my mother for a family funeral. I went to a specialty mid-line women's clothing store. I was not greeted as I wandered around the store. I noticed the sizing had changed and since no one had offered me any help I went to the desk. One girl was on the phone and turned her back to me and the other completed her important task of remarking clearance items before addressing me. I gave her my mother's measurements and asked what size she would wear in their line. The salesclerk informed me she could not tell me that and I would need to bring my mother in to be fitted. I explained a second time this was for a funeral, my mother lives in a rural area 1.5 hours away, I needed her best estimate - maybe two sizes so I could at least purchase her a couple of outfits and if one did not fit it could be returned. She said this was impossible - they do not do conversion charts, she could not possibly guess and I needed to bring my mother in. Very upset I went to look at the tunics and could find nothing in what I believed to be my mother's size. I asked another sales associate for a store card and she looked at me bewildered. I again asked her for the store information and I also asked her for the other associate's name. She refused to give me the information and said I was rude. Needless to say I bought nothing at that store!

I went to another women's specialty store later this afternoon; this one a value line store. I was immediately greeted and offered help. I wondered around a while and was not finding what I needed on my own. The manager noticed I was looking frustrated and again offered me help. I explained the situation and she immediately went to work pulling outfits. She asked that I describe my mother so that she could get a better sense of her and ended up helping me find 3 possible outfits, all of which were very affordable - and actually all on sale. She also had a coupon she rang up for me and and expressed sympathy for my family's loss.

Now tell me - why is it the store that is the "value line" had exemplary customer service and the mid-line store had non-existent customer service? Our basic understanding of business is you pay more for better quality items and better service. The plot thickens when I tell you both of these stores are owned by Charming Shoppes inc. The quality of the clothing does not differ much between these two lines - especially as the manufacturer and distributor are the same. Why is there such a difference in the level of service? Now, maybe this is an an isolated incident and I just dealt with two incompetent women at the one store, but if we are truly in a recession then why do rude incompetent people still have service jobs? Why do managers keep them?

As consumers we need to support our convictions with our wallets and as sales managers and professionals we need to be constantly aware of who we have representing our brand. In this economic environment a salesclerk cannot have an off day - you could lose a lifelong customer. Everyone is hungry, lets separate the wheat from the chaff here people!