Has anyone gone furniture shopping lately? My daughter recently moved into an apartment and was excited to shop for a new couch and possibly a dining set, specifically the pub style with four raised chairs. She wanted to accomplish this before the move took place so that her furniture could be ordered and the delivery could coincide with the move in date, or at least close to it.
Now, she had gone with me when I went shopping for my new furniture the year or so prior but I had done most of the footwork by the time I was ready to actually make the purchase. With her, we were starting off together. Now, like most Gen Yers, she had researched on line catalogues and store sites, so she was familiar with what lines each store carried. She just wanted to see the items “in store” before she actually ordered. After all, furniture is not really inexpensive these days.
The first store we went to, we were nonchalantly greeted by a salesperson that did not approach us, which was fine because we really wanted to kind of wander around first anyway. At one point, a saleswoman walked over to us as we were discussing a dining set. I admit, I barely noticed her at first. But then I looked up as she announced to my daughter who explained she really preferred a set located across the store.
“Oh, yeah. Yeah. This set here is kind of cheap. That other one is much nicer. Yeah, I agree.”
This woman was dressed in the shortest, tightest skirt with a low cut blouse and five inch “hooker heels.” She looked as though she had stayed out all night clubbing and had just rolled in on the Walk of Shame carpet that morning. Her voice was raspy (probably a smoker) and her nails were all glittered. Never mind that she looked older than me.
Lauren and I looked at one another. Her language and attitude had piqued my interest. Being in our business – the business of providing homes for our Residents/Customers – giving excellent service is very important.
“Hey,” she added, “Have you ever been to a Big Lots? You can usually find those smaller tables and sets there for pretty cheap.”
I watched my daughter’s face take on an expression I have seen over the years. Uh, oh. She was offended by this salesperson’s implication that since she was young, she couldn’t afford nicer things. Now you have to know and understand that my daughter may have champagne taste on a less expensive wine budget, but quality is important to her and she is patient about comparison shopping and waiting for sales and deals.
“I think we will continue shopping,” I said and looked at Lauren.
Lauren turned to me and asked, “What about me says I even want to buy furniture at a Big Lots?”
Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with a discount store. However, when you are standing in a so-called nice furniture store, WHY on Earth would a salesperson, one, mention a clearly inappropriate store (not even a true comp) and two, risk insulting a customer?
We left that store and went to several others where she ended up selecting a beautiful sofa. She was so happy with her purchase and found a dining set, too, that she is willing to wait to purchase as it is much more than she can afford right now.
Sadly, I noticed that most of the stores hired salespeople who had no training in providing selection service to those walking into their stores. I wonder how many sales they are missing because of that. Plenty, I would say. All these people need is a training program geared to listening to what the customer says and helpfully guiding them to the product. Then they need a basic knowledge of the product! No one could even tell us in half these places what kind of wood a table was made from, plus they had to go to a computer to look up the price! That entire sales force could stand to get some direction from our industry!
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