I was going to post a couple of individuals posts concerning a few retail experiences I’ve had of late but thought I’d wrap them all into one post as none of them really met the threshold I have for being long enough to post.
Like others at this time of year I’ve been shopping for gifts and in general just out and about shopping and had a few mostly negative experiences. The positive ones have just been things by the way side, those no one needs to hear about, as a positive experience, unless it’s something really exceptional isn’t notable. A positive experience is just a...a non-event.
A negative one makes you change your decisions.
Retail experience #1 - Shaver Shop
I went into the Shaver Shop earlier this week with the intention of buying a product for which this shop is named.
I’d done my research online, actually, I hadn’t as reviews for shavers come down to a personal choice and a decision in general between Braun and Philips for the most part. Then there’s the unhelpful forums where people say ‘this doesn’t answer your question, but why don’t you just use a razor?’, that’s not helpful mate.
I had a question and an intention.
One of the guys who works in the shop wandered over within at least 5 seconds of me walking into the shop, so no time for me to browse, though I didn’t really need to.
Then he opened his mouth.
Bah.
Smoker’s breath.
Intense smoker’s breath like wading through second hand smoke when he was speaking to me.
I don’t begrudge someone deciding to have a cigarette. I don’t actually care what they do, as long as I don’t have to walk through second hand smoke to get anywhere, what people choose to poison their bodies with is not my concern.
However, if you’re in the retail industry, chew a mind or something. Especially if you’re wanting to project a keen and helpful air and approaching customers quickly when they enter your shop. Chew a mint, use some breath freshener, do something.
I did try to power through. I asked my question (concerning the “cleaning station” that some shavers have and if it’s worth it), he did answer my question honestly, without trying to push me towards it (as those with the “cleaning station” are the most expensive).
I considered remaining, to continue to power through and purchase the product I was there to buy, but it just wasn’t worth the unpleasantness caused from the smell of smoke emanating from him.
I will likely take my business elsewhere, maybe to the quite useless and almost incompetent Myer who never seem to have staff to help you. Perhaps The Good Guys stocks what I want, or maybe it will mean a return the the den of low false ceilings and fluorescent lighting that is Harvey Norman, I will just have to make sure I check the price online first and be prepared for them not to try and charge me a different price from that.
Retail experience #2 - Culture Kings Melbourne
Just slightly too loud.
I went into Culture Kings in Melbourne during this past week.
I could possibly be outside their target market, I went in there to indulge my interest in shoes, amongst other things. I also find the clothing range they, and similar shops have to be comfortable and practical.
Mostly because the ‘street-style’ genre of clothing has lots of pockets, is easy and comfortable to wear and more or less practical for my day to day life.
The music inside was just slightly too loud.
I did consider asking to try a pair of shoes on, or rather ask them to find my size. But didn’t, mostly because the music was just slightly too loud making it just slightly unpleasant to be in there.
I’m not being grumpy or “old”, well not deliberately. But the music was of a loudness that, were you to attempt to talk it was above that of a raised voice and edging towards shouting.
I can deal with loud music, hell, I’ve stood next to speaker stacks when at some gigs. But, in a retail environment, I think there needs to be a balance between creating an ambiance for the space and it being over powering.
From visiting Culture Kings today it made me not to want to go in there again and instead visit places like; Fast Times Skateboarding, Blindside Skateboarding and other more shoe-based shops like Platypus and Hype DC, and even to an alternate extent General Pants Co and places like that.
Retail experience #3 - Il Papiro
I’d often walked past Il Papiro in the past, and this year I wanted to buy a notebook / journal as a late gift of a birthday present for myself.
I asked 2 questions of the lady in the shop, neither I thought were particularly odd questions and neither I thought odd nor worthy of getting shitty with me for.
I went into Il Papiro to get a refillable notebook, because I write and scribble notes quite a bit, and if I am to spent $100 or so on a leather bound notebook then I would want to be able to take the guts of it out and put more paper into it.
The first question was ‘which of these notebooks are lined?’, as in which of these have lined paper? That’s not an unreasonable question, I thought and that was answered simply and finely.
I had a look and couldn’t quite find the one I wanted, but was willing to make a compromise on one or two, they were seem to recall $76 and $96.
Then I asked what was the fateful question which made the lady get quite curt and uppity with me. I asked, what I thought was a reasonable question ‘are these notebooks refillable?’.
No. Was the answer. ‘we’re a bookbinding and paper business, we don’t do refillable notebooks. It’s because there’s the finery of bookbinding with the materials...’. I’ve added the ellipsis in there as I don’t recall any further of her answer to the question, the tone was quite clear.
Okay, fine.
I understand that, the tone and curt nature of the answer not so much.
I didn’t buy my notebook in there.
Now, looking at Il Papiro’s website the front page states:
‘In the heart of Melbourne's laneways, you will discover a little paper shop. Reminicent (sic) of a time gone by, its shelves are full of leather journals, marbled photo albums, watermarked writing papers, wax seals, inks and quills - all handcrafted in our Florentine work shops, according to traditional techniques.’
If your business is paper, then it is not out of the question that you might sell paper for a journal. Also journals that can take some of your paper, over and over again.
After some searching online I did find for myself a notebook that did suit my needs and idea of a notebook that I was looking for. A French-made refillable notebook from a company called La Compagnie du Kraft. Everything including the paper is French made. I didn’t buy the notebook from the company’s website as the postage was something of a killer with the notebook costing €45 from La Compagnie du Kraft’s site and then there was another €50+ on top for postage to Australia which brought the approximate total to around $137 AUD (there were 3 different postage prices; 2 by Fedex and 1 by UPS). Instead I bought it from Kaufmann Mercantile, a US-based website, which had the journal for $70.40 AUD (which is $1.88 AUD more than the French site), whilst the postage was $32.20 AUD. Bringing the total to $102.60 AUD. Their site incidentally went to AUD and announced that it would ship to Australia, La Compagnie du Kraft’s site was a little more oblique about shipping and while their site is available in both English and French their address entry form is only in French, requiring a little visit to Google Translate as my high school French has mostly deserted me.
On a final note, I did look on Australia-based websites for a leather refillable notebook, but did not find one that completely suited what I was looking for. I found one or two that was sort of what I was looking for on NoteMaker.com.au but none that I found on there were exactly what I was looking for. I also, once I had found La Compagnie du Kraft’s notebook did attempt to find it available on an Australian site, the store finder on La Compagnie du Kraft’s site did list an Australian website someplace. However they only stocked a notebook with a paper cover rather than the leather one I was looking for.
Like others at this time of year I’ve been shopping for gifts and in general just out and about shopping and had a few mostly negative experiences. The positive ones have just been things by the way side, those no one needs to hear about, as a positive experience, unless it’s something really exceptional isn’t notable. A positive experience is just a...a non-event.
A negative one makes you change your decisions.
Retail experience #1 - Shaver Shop
I went into the Shaver Shop earlier this week with the intention of buying a product for which this shop is named.
I’d done my research online, actually, I hadn’t as reviews for shavers come down to a personal choice and a decision in general between Braun and Philips for the most part. Then there’s the unhelpful forums where people say ‘this doesn’t answer your question, but why don’t you just use a razor?’, that’s not helpful mate.
I had a question and an intention.
One of the guys who works in the shop wandered over within at least 5 seconds of me walking into the shop, so no time for me to browse, though I didn’t really need to.
Then he opened his mouth.
Bah.
Smoker’s breath.
Intense smoker’s breath like wading through second hand smoke when he was speaking to me.
I don’t begrudge someone deciding to have a cigarette. I don’t actually care what they do, as long as I don’t have to walk through second hand smoke to get anywhere, what people choose to poison their bodies with is not my concern.
However, if you’re in the retail industry, chew a mind or something. Especially if you’re wanting to project a keen and helpful air and approaching customers quickly when they enter your shop. Chew a mint, use some breath freshener, do something.
I did try to power through. I asked my question (concerning the “cleaning station” that some shavers have and if it’s worth it), he did answer my question honestly, without trying to push me towards it (as those with the “cleaning station” are the most expensive).
I considered remaining, to continue to power through and purchase the product I was there to buy, but it just wasn’t worth the unpleasantness caused from the smell of smoke emanating from him.
I will likely take my business elsewhere, maybe to the quite useless and almost incompetent Myer who never seem to have staff to help you. Perhaps The Good Guys stocks what I want, or maybe it will mean a return the the den of low false ceilings and fluorescent lighting that is Harvey Norman, I will just have to make sure I check the price online first and be prepared for them not to try and charge me a different price from that.
Retail experience #2 - Culture Kings Melbourne
Just slightly too loud.
I went into Culture Kings in Melbourne during this past week.
I could possibly be outside their target market, I went in there to indulge my interest in shoes, amongst other things. I also find the clothing range they, and similar shops have to be comfortable and practical.
Mostly because the ‘street-style’ genre of clothing has lots of pockets, is easy and comfortable to wear and more or less practical for my day to day life.
The music inside was just slightly too loud.
I did consider asking to try a pair of shoes on, or rather ask them to find my size. But didn’t, mostly because the music was just slightly too loud making it just slightly unpleasant to be in there.
I’m not being grumpy or “old”, well not deliberately. But the music was of a loudness that, were you to attempt to talk it was above that of a raised voice and edging towards shouting.
I can deal with loud music, hell, I’ve stood next to speaker stacks when at some gigs. But, in a retail environment, I think there needs to be a balance between creating an ambiance for the space and it being over powering.
From visiting Culture Kings today it made me not to want to go in there again and instead visit places like; Fast Times Skateboarding, Blindside Skateboarding and other more shoe-based shops like Platypus and Hype DC, and even to an alternate extent General Pants Co and places like that.
Retail experience #3 - Il Papiro
I’d often walked past Il Papiro in the past, and this year I wanted to buy a notebook / journal as a late gift of a birthday present for myself.
I asked 2 questions of the lady in the shop, neither I thought were particularly odd questions and neither I thought odd nor worthy of getting shitty with me for.
I went into Il Papiro to get a refillable notebook, because I write and scribble notes quite a bit, and if I am to spent $100 or so on a leather bound notebook then I would want to be able to take the guts of it out and put more paper into it.
The first question was ‘which of these notebooks are lined?’, as in which of these have lined paper? That’s not an unreasonable question, I thought and that was answered simply and finely.
I had a look and couldn’t quite find the one I wanted, but was willing to make a compromise on one or two, they were seem to recall $76 and $96.
Then I asked what was the fateful question which made the lady get quite curt and uppity with me. I asked, what I thought was a reasonable question ‘are these notebooks refillable?’.
No. Was the answer. ‘we’re a bookbinding and paper business, we don’t do refillable notebooks. It’s because there’s the finery of bookbinding with the materials...’. I’ve added the ellipsis in there as I don’t recall any further of her answer to the question, the tone was quite clear.
Okay, fine.
I understand that, the tone and curt nature of the answer not so much.
I didn’t buy my notebook in there.
Now, looking at Il Papiro’s website the front page states:
‘In the heart of Melbourne's laneways, you will discover a little paper shop. Reminicent (sic) of a time gone by, its shelves are full of leather journals, marbled photo albums, watermarked writing papers, wax seals, inks and quills - all handcrafted in our Florentine work shops, according to traditional techniques.’
If your business is paper, then it is not out of the question that you might sell paper for a journal. Also journals that can take some of your paper, over and over again.
After some searching online I did find for myself a notebook that did suit my needs and idea of a notebook that I was looking for. A French-made refillable notebook from a company called La Compagnie du Kraft. Everything including the paper is French made. I didn’t buy the notebook from the company’s website as the postage was something of a killer with the notebook costing €45 from La Compagnie du Kraft’s site and then there was another €50+ on top for postage to Australia which brought the approximate total to around $137 AUD (there were 3 different postage prices; 2 by Fedex and 1 by UPS). Instead I bought it from Kaufmann Mercantile, a US-based website, which had the journal for $70.40 AUD (which is $1.88 AUD more than the French site), whilst the postage was $32.20 AUD. Bringing the total to $102.60 AUD. Their site incidentally went to AUD and announced that it would ship to Australia, La Compagnie du Kraft’s site was a little more oblique about shipping and while their site is available in both English and French their address entry form is only in French, requiring a little visit to Google Translate as my high school French has mostly deserted me.
On a final note, I did look on Australia-based websites for a leather refillable notebook, but did not find one that completely suited what I was looking for. I found one or two that was sort of what I was looking for on NoteMaker.com.au but none that I found on there were exactly what I was looking for. I also, once I had found La Compagnie du Kraft’s notebook did attempt to find it available on an Australian site, the store finder on La Compagnie du Kraft’s site did list an Australian website someplace. However they only stocked a notebook with a paper cover rather than the leather one I was looking for.