I was at The Village at Park Royal last week. If you have a Retail Store, you are aware, that January means one thing...CLEARANCE TIME! When I go into a store in January, I expect to see 2 things: A regular priced section...with new Spring merchandise, and a SALE section, with clearance merchandise. The store windows may have different messages,but each store should have something on sale.
We headed into a store that had huge BOGO signs in the window. I know from experience, that BOGO can mean several different things. You have to enter the store, and read the signs, and especially the small print to understand the offer.
In this store, the sign on the first rack said " Buy one get one 50% off." Other racks had signs that said "BOGO." Some racks had no signage, yet had sale prices marked on each tag. There were also a few racks that had no signage, and no sale prices.
The store had a poor layout. There was a maze of racks, with no defined SALE section. My friend took a few items into the change room. While I waited, I observed a conversation between the sales associate and the only other customer, at the till. The customer's items had come to a little over $100. The customer disputed the amount saying that if 1 item had been $34, then the second item should have been $17, not $24 as she had been charged. She had 4 items in total. The associate kept pointing to the till and saying that the amount was correct. The customer then walked over to the rack with the SALE sign that said, "Buy one item, get the next item for 50% off", and read the words out loud. The associate said that perhaps the customer had forgotten that tax was charged on each item. The customer asked for a pencil and paper, to manually add up the items, and asked the associate to re-do the transaction in the till, doing 2 items, and then 2 items, and read her the total. There was more explanations, and the customer left.
By this time my friend had chosen 3 items, and I warned her that there seemed to be confusion at the till. My friend put her 3 items down on the counter, and the conversation proceeded almost identically to the other customers. My friend got irritated, and muttered something about false advertising, after learning that to take advantage of the BOGO, 2 items would have to be from the same rack...otherwise it was the sale price as marked. Things were further confused as my friend had only 3 items. The associate actually suggested that she purchase a fourth item, to take advantage of the larger discount! To my complete amazement, my friend purchased her 3 items. As we left, I believe I heard the associate let out a sigh. I felt sorry for all of us.
When we were outside, I looked at the Store window again and realized that all the huge sign said, was BOGO. No small print, no other information. I told my friend that I was surprised that she would reward the Retailer by making a purchase when she was clearly being mislead. She said that the one piece only cost $10, so it was OK. I also felt empathy for the associate, who's marketing department had designed the misleading and confusing sign package. I believe that this associate was doomed to replay this comedy of errors with every customer she served. How motivated would she be to come to work the next day? The other issue, was the fact that the store was very heavy with sale stock. The stock looked to be from the past 2 or 3 seasons. Why didn't the Retailer want to clear the stock in a legitimate way, with a simple: Buy one get one free? I know that Spring stock is arriving every few days, Don't they need the cash flow?
I checked out this Retailer's website and found the home page covered in 'Promotion Speak.' Here is exactly what their Promotion Poster said:
" Buy one, Get one 50% off
all sale items
item of equal or lesser value, select styles.
Offer subject to change without notice."The website was the only web presence this Retailer had. Too bad they didn't have a business Facebook page. If they had, they would have been able to have a dialogue with their customers. Some of those customers may have commented on the Retailers convoluted and misleading BOGO promotion. Perhaps someone in their marketing department would have read the multiple negative comments, and considered a solution to the obvious problem. Perhaps the store managers and associates would have gotten in on the conversation, allowing customers to know that the BOGO policy was changing effective immediately, and offering all customers who shopped their stores in the month of January a $10 coupon to be used, NO STRINGS attached, anytime they like, as an apology for the confusion.
But they don't have a Facebook page. I don't believe they have a future, either.
Have you ever had a Retail experience like this? Did you complain? Leave a comment here, or on my Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Cavern-Retail-Consulting/130690110314227
I am not moving to Hawaii. I am moving somewhere closer. 
I have been continuing to work on my Cavern Retail Consulting website. It has been about 3 weeks since my last post. In that post I outlined my first steps:
I was at The Village at Park Royal last week. If you have a Retail Store, you are aware, that January means one thing...CLEARANCE TIME! When I go into a store in January, I expect to see 2 things: A regular priced section...with new Spring merchandise, and a SALE section, with clearance merchandise. The store windows may have different messages,but each store should have something on sale.
I have been doing a lot of reading this month. Reading articles,e-books and white papers on Retail and Social Media is a big part of my job as a Retail Consultant. Most business owners are far too busy operating their businesses to do a lot of reading. I summarize and present the information I think the owner needs to know.
This is a very cute baby. This baby is just learning to talk, so communicating with him is a bit of a challenge. Sometimes he seems to be saying something and I don't understand...and I expect it's the same situation for him, with me. 
Shortly after New Years Day, I started working with a company to design my new CRC company website. I am going to blog about the various steps involved in building a B2B website from scratch.
I just got back from a trip to the Okanagan. I was only gone for 5 days...but I really had a LOT of e-mails waiting for my attention in my 'IN' Box. So, for the last few days, I have been sorting through them. I realized that of course, it is January! January seems to be the month where if you are studying Social Media and or Marketing, as I am...every organization is coming up with a recap of last year...or a forecast for this year!! I have downloaded and printed my fair share of relevant articles, and e-books in the last few days, but this morning I read something that really got me thinking.
Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but January means one thing to me: ORGANIZATION!! I love this month for 2 reasons: wiping the slate clean from last year, and planning for this year. I merchandised this section, and a few more at Langley's Well Seasoned. last week. It was time to assess what happened during this year's Holiday Season. The easiest way to do this, was to have a good look at the stock left in the store...and analyze what percentage was left in each category, in each section. Once the new year starts, it's time to have a look at your store and decide what still works, and what doesn't. It becomes crystal clear what items sold, and what items did not. This time of year, when stock levels are at their lowest,it's a good idea to count what you have, and if need be, move some things around. Freshen it up. I guarantee that you will have customers coming in and asking you when you received this 'NEW' stock...that is not new at all...just front faced, and displayed in a new and different way. Don't waste this time! Take a good look around your store and be HONEST with yourself. How do things look? What fixtures need replacing? What needs to be re-painted? Make a plan...and get started. Aside from the physical items and stock in your store, what else do you need to work on this year. Do you have an advertising plan in place? Have you been planning to launch a monthly newsletter? Do you have a business facebook page? Do you want to learn how to tweet? Do you have a website, and does it work for you?
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I am always talking about the importance of looking into the FUTURE! As a small business owner, you can't afford to be caught off guard by something that could affect your business in a negative way. I also believe very strongly that looking FORWARD is the only way to achieve your goals. 
I have been thinking a lot about CONTENT, lately. I took a great webinar, put on by MarketingProfs called CONTENT RULES, and really learned a lot. It made me think about how most businesses leave the content of their business to the experience customers have when they walk through the door of their bricks and mortar business. I really believe, that in the next 10 years or so, this type of face to face content will become almost obsolete. In the here and now I believe that the majority of customers, most of whom will NEVER come through your physical door, do the majority of their research about where they would like to eat, or where they would like to shop, online.
I must explain about my last blog post. If you didn't know...and really, why would you...I write 2 blogs. As you can guess, the other blog is a FOOD blog. I have had a bit of a day, both in the kitchen, AND at the computer.( the plunger is kind of self explanatory, and my garburator is 25 years old!) So please excuse the mix-up, and feel free to check out my OTHER blog at cathyeats.blogspot.com.
It has been cold lately. I suppose the fact that it is the beginning of December has something to do with that! I cooked and ate, along with the P-Man of course, a very expensive and tasty organic chicken. I froze the carcass for a rainy day, but a really COLD day made me un-thaw it, and make some chicken soup. I had seen Chef Michael Smyth make a chicken soup flavoured with fresh ginger, soy sauce, and green onions on the Food Network. I also remember reading about Nigel Slater being obsessed with a Southeast Asian restorative broth that he added a whole assortment of vegetables/noodles/and protein to. I decided that the idea of a nice cleansing soup, as opposed to the kind of soup I normally make, would be a nice change of pace. I was pleased that the expensive chicken made a lovely clear flavourful broth. I boiled it with low sodium soy sauce, a handful of 2 inch long pieces of green onion, and a 2 inch piece of ginger, sliced but not peeled. I threw in a few peppercorns, and let it simmer.
This photo, unfortunately, is NOT of my laundry room. This is the beautiful, functional laundry room in the new Millionaire's Lottery Prize home on Marine Drive in White Rock. I very seldom long to live in a nicer place than I do now...but this place was pretty spectacular! Hopefully, I'll be moving in at the end of January...HA!
My evening spent shopping in Bellingham last week, took me into the paperdoll. This little jewelery-box of a shop was a truly unique experience. The store motto is 'Doll It Up!'... and I immediately knew that I was in a feminine space. The paper items, the artwork, the aprons, the jewelery, the clothing...I was instantly put in touch with my feminine-feline side. The merchandise had been put together in a fun and witty way. I could see the owner smiling as she arranged each piece...created each vignette. I came away with a packet of extremely sly post it notes, with a message that any lady could not repeat in mixed company! 
These are some outside lights in the trees at University Village in Seattle. The day was quite grey, but the deep red lights against the bare branches of the trees were simply magical. I think if you can decorate your store with only one product, inside or out, it should be with light. I think twinkling lights in a colour, or just clear white, puts everyone in a more relaxed frame of mind. Especially with our grey climate, lights work as a sort of pick me up...adding sparkle and shine to every space. When I had my store on Marine Drive in White Rock. I used to take 3 or 4 different strings of clear lights, different sizes and shapes, and hang them from a dowel behind my till. I instantly noticed how clear the colours of the clothing items appeared. When you have a store with fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling, that one type of light can be very 'flattening' to items and colours. Adding another type of light shows how under-lit most stores really are. It's always good to experiment with moving lights around...any time of the year!
I took a little road trip with a good friend last week. We headed to Seattle to check out the 'hype' that is BLACK FRIDAY...and took a little detour through Bellingham. It has got to be 10 or more years since I had been to Bellingham, so it was nice to see their downtown area looking so funky and fun. There was such a comfortable vibe...not easy to achieve in this economy. We decided to check out a store that my friend said I'd like. It was called DIGS. I didn't just like this place...I LOVED this place. It was easily, one of the most thoughtfully edited, organized and unique stores that I have been in in a LONG time. The space was beautiful. It was an older building on a corner. It was well lit, inside and out, with an open concept, high ceilinged 2 story layout. The merchandise was primarily home decor, but with a good selection of books for cooks,children, and would be designers/decorators. I have to admit that the upstairs captured my imagination the most, with it's small art installation filled with vintage things for the home. In this 100 or so square feet I discovered more than a few things from my youth! The standout was a Betty Crocker recipe card file from the 70's. The one in the installation was harvest gold...but if you can believe it...I had one that was avocado green...and I swear, I cooked EVERY RECIPE in that crazy little box of recipe treasures.
