Shawnee Love   •  
August 23, 2011

Is it just me or is it getting harder and harder to buy stuff in a store.  Not “hard” in the sense that t there isn’t a lot of options, but rather that the actual process of purchasing or paying for the items is increasingly time consuming and painful.

What I don’t understand is why some companies are making it so hard to make a purchase.  After you find the area where your items are in the store and select the one you want, then you have to make your way to the check out which I am sure is carefully designed by some type of Purchase Psychologist to funnel you through all the “impulse buy” sections before arriving at the check outs. The check outs will most assuredly have lines that are managed by ribbons where you will be asked to wait for about as long as you might wait to ride Space Mountain at Disneyland in the summer.  Once you finally make it up to the till through the gauntlet of items again designed to tempt you, you will be warmly greeted by the well trained customer service associate who will ring in your purchases, and then ask you for your identification, email address, phone number, membership card, and of course your method of payment.  I have been on numerous occasions told they couldn’t ring my purchase in without my personal information even if I am paying cash or debit.  When I ask what that information is needed for, they will happily explain that I will be set up into their preferred customer list or a member of their store which is marketing speak for the extortion of your contact information so they can mercilessly spam you later (or even sell your info if they get in dire straits).

Some stores opt for the excuse that they require that information in order to ensure you haven’t stolen the credit card/ identify of the person you claim to be buying these goods on behalf of.  I am confused why someone would go to all the trouble of stealing an identity and then use their new found wealth to buy kids clothes or milk, eggs and bread.  I gracefully now show my ID to make a credit card purchase without showing my irritation, because I know the clerk is just following orders.  However, I recently tried to return a product that I bought with a credit card at a store that checked my ID when I bought it.  I came in with my receipt and the item along with the reason for returning just as the “returns sign” required. The clerk happily took my item and told me to go get a replacement. I came back only to be asked for my name, credit card and driver’s license again.  Seems to me they would be better to collect the data on the problem with the crappy product I had to return rather than re-collecting my personal information.

If I owned a retail store, I would think almost all my energy would be focused on ensuring my customers would find it as easy as possible to make a purchase.  Wouldn’t you?

I would ensure:

• Things are logical and easy to find.
• It is easy to reach everything.
• Everything is priced appropriately.
• I had eye pleasing displays.
• I was never out of stock
• Check out lines are efficient.
• Customers could find a knowledgeable employee who could answer their questions.
• There were a variety of options for paying.
• I brought in special items upon request.
• We greeted every customer with a smile and a hello.
• I was open the hours most of my customers shopped.
• I wouldn’t ask for my customer’s first born to make a purchase or return.
• I would carry quality products so my customers shouldn’t ever need to return the item.
• Even if customer’s voluntarily gave me their information, I would NEVER EVER spam them or sell their info.EVER

At risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, doesn’t this sound a lot like basic customer service to you?