ETD: 805 More Retail trivia; Cultural faux pas from the
shopper's side; PestDetour.com
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Jul 29 02:39:31 GMT 2004
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0805 July 29, 2004
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] More Retail trivia
[3] Cultural faux pas from the shopper's side:
[4] PestDetour.com
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
List member Jan Owens offers us some retail trivia. She also has some
cultural faux pas and shopping in Bermuda. I always like to hear about
experiences folks share when shopping in other countries. It helps us be
better merchants (and people in general) when we learn other cultures.
If you opened a PayPal account between October 1999 and January 2004, you
may be entitled to a payment from a class action settlement. Under the
settlement, PayPal will pay $9.25 million into a settlement fund, to be
held in an interest-bearing account. The fund will be used (1) to make
payments to class members who submit valid claims before the claims
deadline; (2) to pay certain costs of giving notice to the Class and of
settlement administration, as approved by the Court; and (3) to pay
attorneys' fees and expenses to Class Counsel in the amount awarded by the
Court. The Plan of Allocation and Settlement Agreement which is on file
with the Court is available on the Internet at
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Today we learn about list member PestDetour.com. Tell us about your
business which will remain for posterity at our "Members: Who Are You?"
site. http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a
form there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed
this idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't
know anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] More Retail trivia
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Things have been busy, but a bit of retail trivia:
I believe that Wanamaker's invention of the price tag was strongly related
to the founder's need to set non-negotiable prices. Until this time, many
retailers were small, owner-staffed establishments. While some owners had
an idea of the price they wanted to receive, many would also negotiate
price on a case-by-case basis. When Wanamaker contemplated a larger store
and needed to hire many sales associates, having sales associates negotiate
price on every item with every customer would become chaotic. Not every
sales associate is equally skilled in bargaining, nor could every associate
be trained quickly in this skill. Wanamaker realized he needed to staff a
store, and felt that he (or his professional buyers) could establish a fair
set price, and the sales associates would be responsible for explaining the
merchandise and making the transaction.
For this, we all have a debt to Wanamaker. While some customers in
modern-day like to bargain in SOME situations, it would be a real nuisance
for frequently-purchased goods (e.g. groceries,) and merely annoying in
many other cases. Do you REALLY want to negotiate a price for EVERYTHING
you buy? My sense is that you save this extra-effort activity for the
high-ticket items where your time and hassle may actually amount to a fair
amount of money saved. ...And this can still be annoying. Car salesmen
deserve the reputation they have. Further, I still sense that in a
bargaining situation, many people still have a gut discontent that they
could have received a lower price if they had only tried harder, didn't
give in, etc. I never advise retailers to promote an atmosphere where a
customer feels uneasy. You may win the round, but the customer is less
happy about returning to the scene unless he/she compares your final price
with another retailer -- and do you really want them motivated to search
other retailers to satisfy this gut uneasiness?
Jan Owens
U of Wisconsin-Parkside
owens at uwp.edu
jan-owens at wi.rr.com
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Thanks Jan. There are some countries/nationalities where haggling is a way
of life. And, if you don't haggle, you insult the merchant.
Americans have it too easy. ;-)
George
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[3] Cultural faux pas from the shopper's side:
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Please remind your readers that many of the world's shopkeepers expect good
social manners from customers in their shops, particularly small
shops. Small shopkeepers in Europe consider it rude to enter a shop
without BOTH customer and retailer saying hello. Further, cultures that I
think of as politely formal will expect a greeting with polite formality,
i.e. not just "Bonjour," but "Bonjour, Madame." Similarly, a thank-you is
required when you leave. A few Europeans consider Americans to be very
rude in their "shop behavior," largely because we often dispense with the
social nice-ities.
While I know that European office environments are growing more casual,
many still require a SUIT for business, and no, you may NOT remove your
jacket unless you see your hosts doing so (and don't count on this.)
If you are a guest at dinner, do not serve yourself wine if you feel your
glass needs filling. It will be rude on your part, and something of an
embarrassment to the host. It is the host's job to pour wine. Again,
Americans tend to be very relaxed about these things, where the rest of the
world is less so.
From the retailer's side:
Woodbury Common discount mall, about an hour's + drive north of New York
City, has given cultural instructions to sales associates in the past,
including to fine point of not handing Japanese customers their change
directly in hand. Any change is put on a tray, and presented to the
customer. It pays to have a good sense of your major customer groups.
By the way, re: Bermuda
In another matter, I've returned from another stay in Bermuda. Retail
there is still largely small-scale, even with the merging of two
long-established department stores (Trimingham's and Smith's.) Further,
Bermuda continues to prevent the entry of chain stores,* which makes
shopping there a refreshingly unique experience. While this is not the
widest or deepest retail market, it is charming and worthwhile none the
less. Even small shops continue to launch their own e-stores online, which
is nice when you second-guess the item you left behind the first
time. While many stores promote their favorable prices on a variety of
goods (perfumes, cashmere, liquor, etc.,) others have found that they
cannot go too far down market or they lose their margin. I read that some
jewelry stores tried to stock lower-ticket items last year to encourage
more impulse purchases, but suffered on the margin even as sales
rose. While still offering impulse items, there was a return of some
larger, higher-profit pieces at a few jewelry stores.
It may be my imagination, but I seem to notice more stores posting obvious
prices that had not done so before -- perhaps the result of a note I wrote
in the local newspaper last year based on my "missing prices" research (if
I let my ego run away with me.) More jewelry tags seem to show the prices,
and a favorite linen shop now displays prices on items in the locked case,
among other new displays. However, there was still a notable tabletop and
collectibles shop the has signs posted everywhere, "Do not touch the
displays," yet continues to put the price tags on the bottom of EVERYTHING,
and provides no rate card or price list on the side. After asking the
sales associate the price of three items, I got tired of playing that game,
and just continued to browse. Increasingly, I refuse to buy anything in a
store that doesn't have the courtesy to let me do my own price browsing,
and particularly in a store where things can be very pricey.
*I should allow that there is one long-standing chain that was
grandfathered in before the prohibition on chains: Kentucky Fried
Chicken. THAT'S IT.
'Moving along, and wishing you the best. I continue to enjoy the Etailer's
Digest, but have been wrapped up at this end with an assortment of "stuff."
-- Jan Owens
U of Wisconsin - Parkside
owens at uwp.edu
jan-owens at wi.rr.com
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Doing business in other part of the world is very informative. When we
were in Tortola, we had to spend a half day with the minister of labor
learning how to do business on the island. And when I was living in
Germany I noted how people always said good bye when they got off an
elevator, even if they didn't talk while on the elevator.
Today I practice that courtesy - hello to folks in a store, on an elevator,
etc. It's amazing the positive results it brings.
I highly recommend everybody to spend some time in other countries learning
their culture. Maybe we will become a better world.
Two years ago I attended a very intense 5 1/2 day cultural course when we
were dealing with folks in the Mid East countries. The course was given to
diplomats worldwide, and my wife and I were fortunate to be able to
attend. You learn a lot when you put yourself in others shoes. One day we
had to wear our clothes inside out, then went to dinner and a show that
evening. We learned how it felt when people stared because we were different.
George
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[4] PestDetour.com
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We started PestDetour.com because we found many consumers are overwhelmed
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PestDetour has been in business since 1999. Marketing consists of Overture
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Please visit PestDetour.com
Chris Fragapane, co-President
Sierra Gold Hardware Inc.
520 Sutter St
Jackson, CA 95642
Tel: 888 221 9170
Fax: 209 223 3480
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