What a quick way to kill your business..

[sourn]

LOL charge me to browse.. Um ya not gonna happen. I will either go to a different store or take my browsing online.

Dumbest shit I ever heard. Sure people may only go into browse to buy some place else. But that's a customer in the door, and he/she just might buy something that catches their eye. Turn them away at the door then you can be 100% sure they aren't gonna buy anything.

 

[1prophet]

Nothing new here, we have been doing this to the car dealers for years, and then cry about the double dealing, crooked salesmen, and lousy warranty service,

the internet has just allowed us to expand the practice to other retail establishments,

in the end society pays for it on the service end for most people.

And this women didn't just start charging for people browsing but the hours of (free) advise.

It's called the race to the bottom and in the end we all lose.

 

[werepossum]

These are two different things that are being talked about here.

Taking up a sales persons time with multitudes of questions and advice then not buying is kind of lame, but we are talking about a woman who wants to charge people money to enter her establishment and view her products.

I think Lotus summed it up quiet nicely on the marketing aspect of this. Scroll up if you missed his post.

But that's the point; they aren't two different things. The B&M store's resources are their sales force AND the opportunity for hands-on evaluation, so people going in to see and handle the product before buying it online are also taking advantage of the B&M store's resources to another retailer's benefit, just not to the same level. That's what drives policies like this one; even though I think it's a stupid policy, I can understand why it is in place.

One demographic B&M stores will definitely lose with these policies are those who are considering purchasing locally by preference, but come in to see how much of a hit they will take doing so. I do that sometimes; I already know what I want and what it costs online, and if I can pick it up locally for 10% to 25% more (depending on the item and its price) I'd prefer to do so. I have absolutely no problem purchasing a membership to do so and renewing that membership if I think it a good value, but I would never pay just to browse. If however she is giving advice and wants to charge for that advice, I'll certainly evaluate its quality and if useful enough, I'll pay for it.

 

[frowertr]

You guys pay a cover charge to bars, right??

My family owns a retail gift shop and I have always joked we should initiate a cover charge for the reasons that is in the OP's link.

It will never catch on though so I don't think it is worth worrying too much over.

 

[Spungo]

Did you ever pay to go to an auto show or boat show? Same thing.

I've never had to pay money to walk into a car dealership or look around an RV lot...

I like Costco. That membership fee does a good job of keeping druggies out of the store. I can walk through the whole store and not see a single mullet. It's also rare to see a woman hauling 5 accidental kids around.

 

[gevorg]

So, am I the only one here who goes to BestBuy showroom and uses a RedLaser app on my phone to purchase from Amazon, on the spot?

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Its not the same thing at all.

1 proposes charging people for entering a store and looking around.

the other is charging for membership (which has its privileges).

Its a difference is perception of the marketing of the business in question perception is reality in the sales and marketing world.

.... you mean the "membership" that provides you with the "privilege" of shopping in the store?

Sure you may think there are other "perks" with a membership but it's a gatekeeper for sure. When reading the article my first thoughts were to make it a membership store - especially since it's a niche market anyway.

 

[zinfamous]

err that's not the same. in your example you are getting a service from someone. the time and knowledge of what you need and supplying a list. i have no issue with the company saying hey you need a small payment for this.


the OP's article is that to get IN TEH DOOR you need to pay $5. that's just to get in and LOOK. not get expertise advice, not to talk. this is just to get in and look.

fuck that. i would leave.

I don't pay a cover at a bar if there isn't a band playing.

sure, like I'm going to do that for my "privilege to consume."

 

[waggy]

I don't pay a cover at a bar if there isn't a band playing.

sure, like I'm going to do that for my "privilege to consume."

no shit.

Now i college sure i paid to get in..but that was more of a chance to get laid! now? fuck you i want to drink and not paying more to just get to drink..

 

[BoomerD]

As long as the business refunds the "fee" with a purchase, I don't see this being bad.

Why should any company be expected to provide product information for free to people who buy elsewhere?

Browsing stores...that's one thing. Taking the sales staff's time...that's different.

 

[Fern]

If she has to charge admission for browsing that tells me her business model is a fail.

Sounds like her problem is that she's 'small potatoes' and the bigger stores buy in bulk at cheaper wholesale prices than she can get. She needs to get into products that they don't carry. If her business model depends on people realizing her 'services' are valuable I don't think trying to charge for them before they even get the 'service' is going to be very successful. IMO, she is foregoing an opportunity to demonstrate her expertise/value and potentially losing 'word-of-mouth' type exposure and sales.

In professions free initial consultations are common. I don't know why it should be different in hers. (This is different from taking up the plumbing employee's time with developing a list etc.) To prevent repeat freeloaders she might consider a registration on a database a requirement for free counseling.

In any case, she has a problem with her business model.

Fern

 

[lotus503]

.... you mean the "membership" that provides you with the "privilege" of shopping in the store?

Sure you may think there are other "perks" with a membership but it's a gatekeeper for sure. When reading the article my first thoughts were to make it a membership store - especially since it's a niche market anyway.

Sure but the perception is that as a member you are getting benefits.

try to charge me for browsing or asking a question, perception is you have shitty service. I will go someplace that doesn't do it.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

To be honest, I rarely buy anything in person any more because the reviews on sites like Amazon are of more value to me, in most cases, than being "hands on" with the product.

But there are exceptions -- for example, I would not buy shoes online. Some people do, but I want to make sure they fit properly. So I go to my local shoe store. But I don't try on a dozen pairs and find my perfect size and then buy them online.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Sure but the perception is that as a member you are getting benefits.

try to charge me for browsing or asking a question, perception is you have shitty service. I will go someplace that doesn't do it.

For sure. The implementation/marketing of the store's plan sucks. they need to market the move as a "membership" then it's a "positive" instead of a negative.

 

[lotus503]

For sure. The implementation/marketing of the store's plan sucks. they need to market the move as a "membership" then it's a "positive" instead of a negative.

Exactly

I had clients of a SAAS product that would put in notice of cancellation.

I'd call them to find out the issue, and tell them it's sounds like the service may not be right for them, it's geared towards sophisticated clients with larger businesses.

I can't tell you how many conversations ended with the customer trying to convince me of how it's a good fit and they are sophisticated clients.

There is a reason sociology and psychology are major components of marketing and sales strategies.

 

[Double Trouble]

I agree with the OP, this seems like absolute suicide for the business. Costco and Sams have a fee, but they can get away with it because they have a proven track record of delivering value for that fee in the mind of that consumer.

Unless you have a product that is one of a kind or you provide some service that is unique, I can't see any consumer forking over money just to look at your wares.

Think about it, companies spend umpteen bazillions to get people to pay attention to their products, charging them to look in the store is a sure way to drive away every customer.

I understand where she's coming from, but that's not going to be a good answer.

 

[Farang]

This is a huge problem for small businesses. I spoke with a bookstore owner who sees this all the time, people coming in then buying from Amazon. It's destroying her business.

I don't think the example in the OP is the best approach. But perhaps you could register customers like a club, free, and kick them out if they don't buy anything after 3-4 visits.

 

[Thebobo]

Since when has a progressive ever cared about killing businesses?

Maybe we should raise taxes on internet business to fix it?
Then we can tax the business for health care.
Then we can tax the business with an energy tax.
Does the business have handicapped access? Tax it.
What was the question again? It doesn't really matter because the Democrat answer is to tax it.

Wll ok then...

 

[mikeymikec]

You're going to see more of that going on in the future. Some of my clients go to upper end plumbing and electrical shops, spend several hours with the sales person developing a list of what they want and what will work, then going home and buy it online.

The customers in question aren't very nice people.

I think that if I ran a shop for my business and kept having the above problem, I would have a politely-worded sign in the window saying something along the lines of "We aim to provide the best advice and general customer service. If you are only coming here for advice, please at least provide a donation to ensure that we can still run a business and you can continue to get advice you can trust when you need it".

Many of those places won't help you anymore without a nonrefundable deposit.

These businesses aren't run by very nice people.

In recent years, I personally have only encountered one shop selling technology with customer advice that I would recommend without hesitation. Most big-name shops in my experience employ people who are capable of reading the information which is also written next to the product's price tag. I certainly would not pay if I thought there was a possibility that I would receive the latter type of service.

I think certainly one big reason for the decline in popularity of shops is poor customer service. In the last few years, my wife was looking for a cheap mp3 player, and because she had particular requirements we physically went shopping for one (because you can only tell so much by looking at specs and pictures), with the intention of buying an item that we had tried out from the shop which provided such service. IIRC, the first shop we went into is a big name in the UK, PC World. They had a row of mp3 players, but they were all in anti-theft security containers (not the original boxes, but large perspex containers) and switched off.

We asked if we could try out one of them. No, they cannot be removed from the security container. Did they know anything about the product they were trying to sell? No. Needless to say we went elsewhere.

 

[waggy]

To be honest, I rarely buy anything in person any more because the reviews on sites like Amazon are of more value to me, in most cases, than being "hands on" with the product.

But there are exceptions -- for example, I would not buy shoes online. Some people do, but I want to make sure they fit properly. So I go to my local shoe store. But I don't try on a dozen pairs and find my perfect size and then buy them online.

people buy shoes online? and clothes?


thats..odd. i guess that something that i'm not sure i would do. no..im pretty sure i won't. heh

then again my feet are messed up. one foot is a full size bigger lol

 

[PokerGuy]

This is a huge problem for small businesses. I spoke with a bookstore owner who sees this all the time, people coming in then buying from Amazon. It's destroying her business.

I don't think the example in the OP is the best approach. But perhaps you could register customers like a club, free, and kick them out if they don't buy anything after 3-4 visits.

I certainly am not going to hassle with registration or anything like that just to go in a store. If I can't just walk in and browse, then I'm not buying there.

The new reality is that if you want to sell something at a higher price, you'd better be able to provide some service that the online guys (like Amazon) are not providing. If you're not, then the customer is going to browse your store and buy online to get the better price. Best Buy is an example of a place that sells at higher prices, but they don't provide any significant services (knowledge, advice), so they're getting crushed by Amazon.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

The new reality is that if you want to sell something at a higher price, you'd better be able to provide some service that the online guys (like Amazon) are not providing. If you're not, then the customer is going to browse your store and buy online to get the better price.

Um, I think most retailers would be happy to take that deal. The entire point of the thread is that too many consumers don't live up to their end of the bargain -- they consume services from retail stores that need higher prices to pay for those services, and then buy from Amazon anyway.

Best Buy is an example of a place that sells at higher prices, but they don't provide any significant services (knowledge, advice), so they're getting crushed by Amazon.

And if someone feels that way, then great -- they should stay away from Best Buy.

But most of them don't. They go into Best Buy, they look at all the devices, they pick them up to see how heavy they feel, they try out the keyboard or other controls -- and then they buy the item on Amazon and rationalize after the fact that Best Buy "didn't provide them any significant services".

 

[AstroManLuca]

I have a confession to make. I do this; a lot, especially with gadgets and whatnot.
However, I still think that a store charging to look is beyond asinine.

I've done it at times, but generally I know before I go to a store whether they're likely to charge a reasonable price or not, and usually if I'm bothering to go to one it's because I want/need the thing right away and am willing to pay a little extra to buy it that day rather than order online and wait two days.

Just the other day I dropped by RadioShack intending to pick up an ethernet crimping tool. I checked how much it would cost to buy one from Amazon first. Well, the one at RadioShack was more than twice as expensive so of course I just left. If it was only a few bucks more I would have bought it.

Online stores are also almost useless for comparison shopping as well. Most B&M stores have online stores that are totally separate from their retail locations. A few are good enough to at least mark some products as "online only;" some even allow you to search for stock at your local stores. But a good number of them are basically useless. The worst by far is Sears since about 95% of the items in their store are "marketplace items."

 

[mikeymikec]

I'm fine with shops charging a little more for an item, so say an Epson multipack of cartridges costs £30 on Amazon, I don't mind a local shop charging £35-£40 for it (as AML said, privilege of having the item *now* as one reason), but two local shops insist on £47 for exactly the same product.

 

[lotus503]

Um, I think most retailers would be happy to take that deal. The entire point of the thread is that too many consumers don't live up to their end of the bargain -- they consume services from retail stores that need higher prices to pay for those services, and then buy from Amazon anyway.



And if someone feels that way, then great -- they should stay away from Best Buy.

But most of them don't. They go into Best Buy, they look at all the devices, they pick them up to see how heavy they feel, they try out the keyboard or other controls -- and then they buy the item on Amazon and rationalize after the fact that Best Buy "didn't provide them any significant services".

So the issue is we have brick and mortar stores that cannot compete on price, and they have cost increases servicing folks that have no intention on buying from them. A problem for sure

The proposed solution offered in the OP is to charge people to look around and that somehow is going to solve the problem?

as fern somewhat pointed out that if the cost increases are so much that it erodes the margins to a point the business is unsustainable the business model itself has evolved out of relevancy.

BetsBuy itself is somewhat in trouble, becasue they cant for the most part compete on price and offer nothing esle really compelling to make up for that fact. See circuit city.

Whats proposed in the Op however does nothing to address the fundamental problem and likely will result in fast tracking the enevitable.