Originally posted by: Fritzo
Best Buy isn't looking so hot. Kmart/Sears might be on the list too.
Dammit I don't want Kmart to go under - Walmart is another 5 miles away.
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And Kmart sometimes has crazy clearance sales. I bought two $50 comforters for $10 each, my curtains were $5 each, down from $30, and I bought two 2-lamp sets at $12 each, I think they were originally $30-$40.
Originally posted by: brxndxn
I think all the fucking retailers are in danger of bankruptcy until they stop pissing off the consumer..
Here's some things they can do to fix their predicament:
1. Start selling cables at 100% markup rather than 1000% markup. Yes, you may sell one 6ft hdmi cable for $139.99. But, at that price, most consumers just get pissed off and order one for $9.99 on the Internet. And, since they're ordering the cable on the Internet, they start thinking they might as well order the whole damn HDTV on the Internet also.
No, most AT members will get pissed off and go online. Most people don't know any better, and just buy the Monster brand cables and surge protector to go with their new Bose electronics.
2. Open more cash registers. Don't make me wait in line for 20 minutes when it only took me 10 minutes to shop. Move some of the worthless floor people to the register.
Chronic understaffing. Kmart does it. Walmart does it. They always say that they're "trying to hire more people" as a way of shutting up people who complain about understaffing. If they overwork the people they have, it's easier and cheaper than hiring more workers.
3. Reward your smart floor people. Go back to the commission model. The guy that's selling appliances should know a thing or two about appliances!
Smart floor people know that going to Walmart/Kmart/Best Buy isn't the best idea, and that their stuff is a major ripoff.
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4. Stop limiting me to Windows Vista computers! Give me XP - or at least the ability to downgrade to XP myself. Consumers aren't so stupid that they'll settle for Vista Home Edition rather than XP Professional when they buy a computer.
Talk to Microsoft. They're the ones that try to force people to move past WinXP.
I'd prefer that they just charge $20 for Service Pack 4, or even just for SP3. Whatever, something to give them a little bit more revenue to extend WinXP.
5. Put real graphics cards in your computers. Seriously. You have 20 computers to pick from and the only one that can run Vista with the 'super pretty eyecandy' is the $2399 one that people don't even bother to look at because of the price.
Already addressed - most people think of Solitaire or Flash games when they think of games, nor could they really tell a difference between 640x480 resolution and 1600x1200.
6. Stop treating us consumers like idiots when the only idiots are typically the ones that work in your store. See #1, #3, and #4.
Oh, I don't know. There are a LOT of idiots out there.
7. NO MORE MAIL-IN REBATES. (Some stores are already doing this.. kudos.)
Mail in rebates depend on lots of people forgetting to send them in. No more mail-in rebates means less rebates, period.
8. Give me more goddamn stats! Along with a smarter salesperson, how about you post enough interesting statistics about the product that I don't have to go on the Internet to make an informed decision. I'm in the store.. I obviously want to buy something now. If there's so little information about the product that I have to go on the Internet to make an informed decision, I might just buy it on the Internet.
Real product stats means less shitty marketing tactics, meaning that the manufacturers have to make better products. That costs more money. We can't have that now, can we?
9. Stock higher quality merchandise. Yes, higher prices, so what.. I should not be limited to the Internet as the only place to buy a quality blender, tools, applianes, etc..
Don't shop at Walmart.
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10. Stop annoying me with the intercom (this applies mostly to up-scale department stores.) I should not have to hear a chime when your phone rings or any other bullshit. Play some elevator music and let me shop in peace.
Some places do this, to a degree. Giant Eagle is one such place - the floor associates all have radios.
11. Stock something different than only mainstream crap. You make it so the Internet is required to buy anything out of the ordinary. For example... ceramic chef's knife, windows xp professional oem install, laptop docking port.. this brings me to the next
Shelf space needs to be quite profitable in a retail store, moreso than it does in a warehouse.
12. Stock some laptops that are worth a damn! You will not find a good laptop in a store. I repeat.. You will NOT find a good laptop in a store. Real laptops have docking ports, quality builds, and are not shiny!.. and this yet again brings me to the next
.....
13. Stock stuff that a business would consider buying!!! Your laptops are barely stupid consumer grade. And, everything else is too.. You can't buy a commercial coffeemaker at a retailer. You can't buy a copy machine!
Business are more likely to buy in bulk, therefore they won't bother going to a retailer.
14. Be happy to see me! I walk in your store and you make me feel like I don't belong there - whether or not I 'should' be in there. Biggest offender: abercrombie. How about you attempt to make me feel good about myself? Train your salespeople to show me what I should be looking at... and again to the next..
:| Hi. Welcome to go fuck yourself, and have a nice day.
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15. Train your goddamn salespeople! Right now, they're morons. In almost every store, the salespeople are morons. But, that doesn't mean they don't have potential! Maybe it means you did not spend a single bit to train them in whatever they're selling!
Training costs money, and some people are too stupid to retain it, or else they just don't care. And if a majority of the customers are morons too, it all works out.
16. Start listening to your customers. I am one. Obviously I care enough about how horrible the shopping experience has become to post about it. Yes, I'm criticizing it - but I'm also offering solutions along with my insults. It's free. Don't complain about it. Instead, make us consumers feel like our input matters...
That's what they'll try to do first: Make you
feel like your input matters.
