Whaddya think? A person (can’t call them a customer)
walks in and you go through the whole routine, look at their
facial shape, assess their Rx needs, check out their
clothing, personality, show them frame after frame and
finally they settle on one or two. You feel great and start
talking lens options and pricing. Then they say, “Well, I’m
just shopping now – can you write all of this down and
give me my PD while you are at it?”
Simmer, simmer, burn, burn…bite your tongue, snatch
your order card off the desk, and say, “We‘ll hold that
information for you.”
Today, asking for “My PD” is like saying, “Zenni
Optical is my optician sucka!” I talk with ECPs who try to
be proactive about this. If they realize the bast..., er
client is ‘playing them,’ they try to be reasonable and
come up with a win win solution. A small fee for service and
the promise to check the Internet glasses when they arrive.
Okay, I get that – you may turn a few into loyal
customers, and you aren’t burning bridges. With the sales
of online glasses now being pushed by the giants in the
field and the popularity of all thing online increasing I
wonder if enough will be back?
The July 2011 Consumer Reports mentions, in an article
about refrigerators, that consumers should “consider
buying online. The internet has been the place to shop for
small appliances for years, and in 2010, 8.7 percent of
people who bought a refrigerator did so online…We suggest
you always visit a showroom first (italics mine) to see how
the fit, finish, and features compare in real life…”
So – get thee to a brick and mortar place, where
someone has paid for inventory, pays their help, pays taxes,
insurance, heat, and utilities, so freeloaders can paw over
his inventory and BUY IT ELSEWHERE!!! Makes sense, no?
Hey Consumer Reports, that is a big slam against local
merchants who are the backbone of our American communities.
You know the litany – this from The Times-Picayune: “Every
$100 spent at a locally owned business on Magazine Street
recirculates an average of $32 through the local economy,
according to a study released Tuesday. The same amount of
money spent at a national chain recirculates an average of
$16 back into the local economy. Conducted by retail
analysis firm Civic Economics, the study also showed that
local businesses generate four times the economic impact of
national retailers on a per square foot basis.”
So I guess we have to ask whose side is Consumer Reports
on, many reports over the years by this group (including a
study on customer service in the same issue!) suggest that
local place are better places to buy – could this be a
seismic shift in their sensibilities? Needless to say – I’ll
be forwarding this article to them – stay tuned.
