Yesterday we went to a retail establishment looking to purchase some important items that were outside the norm of our standard purchases. We picked a specialty shop that featured the items and were soon helped by a knowledgeable and attentive salesperson. She went through the different options, carefully explained how the items worked, gave us helpful demonstrations of different features, and patiently answered a bunch of our questions.
We weren’t rushed, and we weren’t pressured to make a purchase. To the contrary, our salesperson conveyed that she understood that we were making a significant decision, respected that fact, and just wanted to be as helpful as she could be. Her explanations helped to clarify the options and ultimately made our decision an easy one.
There aren’t many stores that have salespeople on the floor anymore. Most retail operations that used to employ salespeople–like the shoe stores of days gone by–have long since gone to self-serve models. Self-serve makes sense when you are talking about pumping gas, or buying items at the grocery store, buying new sneakers, or in many other everyday settings. In those places, you probably don’t need–or want–a salesperson dogging you as you make your choices. But when you are making a decision on whether to buy something significant that you are unfamiliar with, it sure helps to have a friendly salesperson to help you in the process.
I’m sure we could have gone to many “superstores’ to shop for the items we were looking for yesterday, sifted through the offerings, and made a decision on our own. But having more information and getting our questions answered by someone who knew what they were talking about certainly made us more comfortable and confident in our ultimate decision, and I think resulted in a better decision than we would have made otherwise. I’m glad there are still full-service stores out there, with capable salespeople ready to help their shoppers.
Webner House 