’Tis the Season

Spending season is in full swing—not Christmas (at least not quite yet), but back-to-school, when parents’ expenditures on clothing, backpacks and school supplies approach the gifting costs looming on the upcoming holiday horizon.

In my third trip to hip shoe retailer Journeys—for, yes, a third pair of back-to-school shoes—I watched with interest as a young man adroitly balanced four customers. He may not have looked like your typical high-school success story, with ink and piercings and scruffy hair nicely paired with well-worn t-shirt and sagged jeans, but his service skills more than made up for anything lacking in appearance.

At checkout, I complimented him on his ability to manage multiple customers simultaneously while appearing to remain cool, calm and collected. He smiled quickly, and replied, “Thanks. I actually am better under pressure. The more customers I have, the more fun I have. When it’s slow, I get bored and watch the clock.” He went on to say that this day’s challenges were “nothing compared to the last two days in Iowa.”

The Lincoln, Neb., Journeys employee was referring to the much-publicized sales-tax waivers in states such as North Carolina, Tennessee and, of course, Iowa.

The no-tax shopping days attracted throngs to the malls. This young man had been sent by Journeys’ corporate office to the state next-door to help manage the crowds. At one point, he said, he had 10 customers at once—and he was proud to report that he didn’t get a single complaint.

Sales-tax waivers went a long way toward spurring earlier back-to-school sales—which helped promote advances of 3.1% in July at U.S. retailers—but they also provided valuable, real-life training opportunities for retail employees on the front lines.

—Katherine Field

Mobile Marketing Goes Way Local

I passed an outdoor fruit vendor the other day with an unusual chalkboard sign next to his produce. “Download a Mobile Coupon for a Free Apple,” it read, and offered a Web address for the download.

Although there has been much mobile media buzz within the past few weeks—specifically over the iPhone—I couldn’t believe mobile-marketing found it’s way to a random fruit stand in Manhattan.
When I told my friend about it, she said, “I hope you didn’t do it.” I could tell she thought it was a bizarre scam. Plus, was going through the hassle of downloading a coupon to save 25¢ on an apple really worth it?

So no, I didn’t do it. But I am fascinated that a mobile-coupon offer for an apple was even an option. If anything, it’s evident that we’re moving closer (with caution) to m-marketing and m-commerce. It’s coming soon—and maybe to a local fruit stand near you, too.

— Samantha Murphy

When Good Intentions Go Bad

Retailers and restaurants that align themselves with a worthy cause are becoming more the rule than the exception. And that’s mostly a good thing, but not always.

My family and I were driving through Concordia, Kan., earlier this week, returning home to Lincoln, Neb., from a visit to my home state of Louisiana. Hot and tired from nearly a full day on the road, we decided to pull into the town’s only Dairy Queen for a quick and cool treat.

The young male server was friendly enough during the drive-through order taking, but his demeanor quickly changed when my husband (politely) declined to donate a dollar to the area children’s hospital. After snatching the money from my husband’s hand, he made change without a word, then handed out our orders—undersized enough to arouse our suspicion that the fulfillment side of the business was just as aware of our donation refusal—in hostile silence. The worker then slammed the window shut, replacing the standard “thank you” with a shaking of the head.

We are not stingy people. Yet we are besieged with requests for assistance and long ago decided to pre-select our own charities and not feel obligated to grant every random request that comes our way. That we practiced our belief at Dairy Queen was our right. And Dairy Queen had no right to punish us for it.

I think there is a lesson to be learned here. Retailers and restaurateurs should implement their good-works programs with care. To elicit a negative customer reaction is to cancel out much of the positive benefit.

— Katherine Field