I have mentioned before that inanimate objects have a limited life span. Some of those which reside in my house rather inconveniently commit harakiri rather than face a grim end, usually in the week before a yom tov. There are other of these objects, however, that I "euthanize" and put out of their misery.
Pillows are this type of object; so are sheets and pillowcases. They don't grow old gracefully. Anyone who has ever arisen from a poor night's sleep with a crick in their neck may have been the victim of a pillow long past its prime. Almost every pillow in the house needed replacement (having been replaced at the same time years back) and I was only waiting for a great sale to come up. JCPenney obliged and put the pillows I prefer on sale for some truly incredible prices. In addition, they sent out coupons for additional savings if you spent either $50 or $75. Why am I sharing this?
First, let me remind you that a recent posting on Delta Airlines and the plane full of luggage it lost made the point that customer service is what is going to get and keep customers. Delta didn't heed that lesson, but JCPenney surely did. As I walked in the upstairs door off the parking lot the security guard greeted me with a cheery "Good morning, and welcome to Penneys." As I proceeded further into the store a different employee also greeted me with a "welcome to Penneys" and asked if I had the coupon, but if not they had one to give me. When I got downstairs to the linen department an employee working on putting merchandise on the shelves asked if there was something she could help me with. And if I had any questions I should ask her.
Well, I gathered all those pillows together and ran into a bit of a problem: there was no way I could carry them all to the checkout desk. Before I could even look for someone to help me, an employee materialized and asked if I needed help. Further, when she saw all the pillows, she said the store would be delighted to get someone to help me out to the car with my merchandise. The cashier at the desk greeted me with a "good morning" and ended with a "thank you very much for shopping Penneys and we hope to see you again." In between she asked me if there had been anything I was looking for that I didn't find, and could she help me with that. And yes, without my asking, the cashier took care of getting someone to help carry my stuff to the car. Given the weather and just feeling grateful, I asked the employee if I could give her something for having helped me to the car--could I offer money for at least a cup of coffee? She smiled, said no thank you, and then thanked me again for having patronized the store, and she hoped I would come again. She proffered her name and told me to call on her in the store for any of my shopping needs.
Now that was customer service! Sadly, the level to which this service rose is a pretty fair indicator that the stores are hurting and are fairly desperate to get customers into their stores and opening their wallets. Yet, I can't be sorry that I was treated with courtesy by everyone from the store I had reason to speak with, and a lot of others as well. There is a recognition in the courtesy I was shown that I have choices, and if a store wants me to be a customer and spend money, then it had best treat me in a mentschliche fashion.
Now to a moral to this story. A lot has been written about the execrable service available in many frum-owned stores, particularly in the Brooklyn area. Some posters and commenters seem to feel that there is an obligation to support businesses that are frum-owned, and so they put up with rude service, non-existent service and less than stellar business practices. I believe that it is more than time that this practice is discontinued. If you are not treated with courtesy and respect as a customer, walk out without buying! There are plenty of other places you can get what you are looking for. The seller/buyer relationship should not be one-sided, with the seller as more "choshuv" than the buyer. Sellers will continue to be rude and overbearing as long as customers suffer in silence and stay as customers. If JCPenney can mobilize a huge employee force to be courteous and welcoming, then just how hard could it be to get a handful of smaller store employees to treat customers well? These stores have no incentive to change their way of doing business as long as the customers let the employees and owners walk all over them.
Here's a thought: while you are shopping for Pesach get yourself something that really will help you--a backbone. As long as you are the one who has to pay for things then you are deserving of being greeted at Moishe's Market with a cheerful "Good morning and welcome to Moishe's. Can I help you with something?" If you're not, leave!
8 comments:
Narrowly focusing here, but how good a sale are you talking about and what kinds of pillows and until when is the sale?
JC Penney puts on home sales right around Pesach time. Last year I also had great experiences with JC Penney. I had bought silverware in anticipation of Pesach during one of their home sales, perhaps before Purim. Then, I see the same silverware set, that was a good deal when I bought it, go on super deal. A friend tipped me off that I could bring it back for a refund between the difference. I did that and used my newfound funds to buy some dish sets and serving ware that had been marked down significantly.
Oh, and they brought all my stuff to the pickup, and when the sky opened up and poured, the pickup people were kind enough to bring everything out and get it in my car while my kids and I stayed dry.
Ruth,
The sale is on at least through tomorrow and quite possibly Sunday. You'd need to call your local Penneys to find out. The prices ran from $5.99 up to $12.99 per pillow and they had some double pillow packs at $9.99. Some of the reallllly high priced pillows were down to $17.00 The store's own brand was on sale as well as all the Sealy Posturpedic pillows. They sold standard, queen and king in all firmnesses, although by today the variety was not as good because the sale has been on a few days. All the pillows the store sells come with at least a three year warrantee and the store is good about honoring that warrantee.
Why is 5.99 and more such a good price for a pillow? Our discount variety store sold pillows last month for 2.99 in all sizes and they work just fine. Aren't you just paying more because they are name brand pillows?
Although good customer service should be the norm, it's not. That you had such a great experience is noteworthy, and should be recognized with the management. I guarantee those employees would really appreciate it if a customore called the store manager and said I was in the store on this day during this time frame, and while all of the employees were helpful, these employees (the ones who specifically gave their names, or carried items for you, e.g.) really stood out.
Often, these kinds of phone calls become positive notes in the employee file, and if there is room for upward movement in the organization or a small bonus, this will help to move those employees to the top of the pile.
Just a suggestion... I know this time of year is very crazy for us with all of the Pesach prep, but the call would hopefully take only 5 minutes, and it's a chance to have a breather between cleaning tasks.
Unfortunately some things can only be bought in frum-owned stores: for example food (not all, but let's say meat or cholov yisroel dairy products). Otherwise, you wouldn't see me in some of the stores that I am semi-force to patronize.
I also got great customer service of the type you described here last December in my local Sears store. I also get greeted by name and treated well in my local Macy's fine china department (maybe because I buy so many wedding gifts off the registries there). I always go back to stores in which I am treated well and my business is not taken for granted.
Mimi,
Without getting into an entire posting on pillows, these are items where you really do get more with a "brand name." The tickings on the pillows contain a higher thread count and the fill has more loft and more staying power. Those that are washable wash better without clumping. My $5.99 pillows can reasonably be expected to last at least three years--the warrantee time, and probably a few more than that. The non-name brand pillows go flat as a pancake in a shorter period of time, so you are replacing them far more often. The cheaper pillows aren't filled the same as the name brand ones and won't give you the sleep support you need for your neck. This is one area where buying the name brand when it's on sale saves you money over the long run, not to mention aggravation and sore muscles.
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