Time to
burn
A couple of
weeks ago, SIA had some outdoor hard yakka work to do in the up market Sydney suburb of Bondi Beach. She was dressed accordingly.
The work
got done & she realised that it was 5 pm and that a lot of the girly shops
at the mall at Bondi Junction stayed open til 7-ish. It was a Friday.
Oh goody! After
a long day, some window shopping was exactly what she needed. Heck, window
shopping is what she needs after any kind of day.
Style: Suburban
no effort
So off she
toddled to have a wee look. In very ordinary jeans, black Melissa ballet flats,
a Target red plaid shirt and a navy (Target, cashmere) sweater, oversize. Her
hair was a mess, placed up in a messy bun. Not the intentionally messy bun
style. Rather the I am too busy to fuss with my hair style which is code for the
I am sloppy and I don’t take pride in my appearance style. The bag was a very
non descript navy patent Jil Sander tote. It cost a bomb but its beauty was
that it didn’t look that way – very subtle. Fingers were dolled up with silver
rings. For all anyone knew, they could have been costume. She would classify her look as “suburban no effort”.
What
happened
Over the
next hour & a half, she walked into Target, David Jones, Mimco, Tigerlily,
Trenery, Country Road, Zara & Witchery. SIA had a camera in hand.
The
shopping centre was very quiet by the way. There were hardly any customers in
sight.
You would
have thought the service levels would have been amazing.
But from 5.15 pm to 7 pm, the only SA which acknowledged or spoke
to SIA was the manager at the Witchery store. She greeted SIA warmly, answered
SIA’s questions & provided insight to questions which SIA was asking about
the merch. When she spoke to SIA she stopped what she was doing, looked at SIA
& gave her full attention. Her service was perfect and that’s what I would
expect.
Not a
single employee in the other stores said “boo” to SIA. That was even after SIA
was poking around in all these stores taking photos for at least 15 minutes in
each store. No acknowledgement on entry, no request to assist, not even any queries
about the photos. Nothing.
There was
hardly anyone else around & it wasn’t as if everyone was rushing to close
the shutters. They were just refilling stock, getting ready for the next day’s
trade.
Are you
being served?
Some would
say their service as abominable. Really disgraceful. I suppose you could say
that.
For me, it
was interesting. It wasn’t that their service was bad or that they snickered. Rather
SIA was invisible. She didn’t exist. She didn’t hit their radar. Of course
every SA knew SIA was there, but invisibly.
I have
heard the “invisible” comment from ladies in the past, most frequently in
respect of plus size customers. I finally experienced it.
SIA can get
all huffy & contact these stores & explain her experience in an effort
to have their service levels improved. But why bother? High street stores are
never going to provide perfect service to everyone irrespective of appearance. Even
if they train the current lot of staff, within 18 months, half of them will
have moved on.
Do I need
fawning staff? No. Frankly, I don’t even need a hello on entry. I know they do
that as it’s one of the best shoplifter deterrents there is.
But if I
have specific questions to ask or stock to request & I get stupid answers
or no answers, you can be sure that it won’t go unmentioned.
Of course if SAs are rude and unprofessional, that's a different story. What we are talking about here are the pleasantries - the smiles, the airs & graces.
But if I
walk into a store, browsing, looking like I don’t care about me, why do I
expect anyone else to care about me. Seriously, the responsibility for good
service is my own.
It’s like
relationships – don’t expect the other person to change. Change yourself. If
you can’t or won’t, get out of that relationship.
Don’t
expect stores (or any service provider for that matter) to be lovely to you.
Sure, they will do their job, but be super friendly? If you want that, look the
part. Take responsibility for the level of service you receive. If you don’t
look the part & you get great service, it’s a privilege not a right.
That means
dressing deliberately with attention to your clothes & grooming. After all, studies
show that your appearance is close to 60% of a first impression. That's well over what you say & your tone of voice. That isn’t a
myth. It’s reality. It applies to everyone, plus size, petite and everyone in-between.
If I do
happen to be in a mall with a non deliberate look, & I don’t get served with
a smile, does it really matter? Does it mean I am less of a worthy human being?
Absolutely not. But if you allow your self esteem to plummet, that’s your
doing. It’s no one else’s fault but yours. You are in control of your own emotions
& thoughts.
If you want
great service, look like you deserve it. And you’ll get it. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.
