Here's a true story about a shopping experience in the brick-and-mortar world. It's relevant since many of us must focus on improving interactions regardless of where they occur. Who was right and who was wrong in this interaction?
The following is a true story about a shopping experience I had recently — a bad shopping experience. No, it wasn’t an online experience. It took place in the brick-and-mortar world. But since many of us these days must focus on improving interactions, regardless of where they occur, I felt it would be relevant.
I don’t know who was right and who was wrong in this interaction. What I do know is that, as a result of this experience, I will never return to this particular store.
So here’s the setup: I asked a colleague of mine recently where he bought his Hawaiian shirts because he has a rather impressive collection. He gave me the name of the store, and I made a beeline for it, purchasing three shirts on my initial visit at an average cost of about $75 per shirt.
Shortly thereafter, some friends of mine asked me where I got my shirts, and I told them about the store. They headed over there on a Friday and found that the Hawaiian shirts were on sale for half-price. Between the two of them, they bought a number of shirts. I learned about this on Friday evening.
I was unable to get to the store during the weekend. So on Tuesday, I headed over there. Here’s the dialogue that transpired with the store owner/operator:
Store owner: “Not anymore. That was just a four-day sale.”
Me: “Oh, no, I just drove 30 minutes to get here.”
Store owner: “Sorry, man.”
Me: “Are you sure you can’t let me buy some shirts at the sale price?”
Store owner: “No way. The sale’s over.”
Me (trying desperately to get him to concede): “You know, I’ve sent some other folks over here to buy from you.”
Store owner: “Really. Who’s that?”
Me: “A couple of guys that came by last Friday and bought a bunch of shirts.”
Store owner: “Oh, yeah, I remember them.”
Me: “So you’re sure you can’t let me have them at the sale price?”
Store owner: “Like I said, you’re too late.”
Me: “Well, that’s the last time I refer anyone to you.”
Store owner: “That’s just fine with me. And don’t you bother coming back here, either.”
Needless to say, I was quite irate. I understand that sales are sales and that they have start dates and end dates. So for me to expect to get the shirts for half-price may well have been unreasonable. On the other hand, here I was, a returning customer, ready to buy more shirts and having gone considerably out of my way to get to the store. And not just a returning customer — a customer who had already influenced others to purchase there, too.
What should this store owner have done? Should he have sold me the shirts for half-price? Should he have offered some sort of concession — perhaps 25 percent off instead of 50 percent off — to create a win-win situation? Or should he have done exactly what he did?
Email me, and let me know what you think. I’ll be having Hawaiian-shirt withdrawals until I get your answers.
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