Our immediate gratification, order by noon, get it by 5pm, culture has not helped my last-minute mindset… not one bit.
My son Simon turned 20 this weekend. (Yes, on Father’s Day. The overlap becomes important later.)
Brandon and I were driving home from Connecticut the day before. We’d been there for work and family, and of course, we imagined it would be dead simple to pick up a birthday gift on the road.
We passed through several small cities, big box stores, and figured: we’ve got options.
Simon’s new obsession? Golf. We decided on a GPS speaker combo. I’m not a golfer, but I imagine this gadget makes hitting the right distance more likely (thanks to the GPS) and way more enjoyable (thanks to the speaker) with your favourite tunes playing in the background.
Online shows it’s in stock. We order for pickup. I wait for the confirmation email.
Crickets. I call.
They had a few in stock, but they sold to other people just before our order went through. “It’s Father’s Day weekend (cue eye roll on the other end of the line),” they said. “You could try another store.”
Before we go further, you would be totally justified in thinking, this last-minute shopper deserves a bit of a “too bad, plan better” energy. And yes. But wait, this story leads somewhere interesting. I think.
No sweat. Plenty of stores to try.
We call three more along our route. No stock. And zero sales reps making alternate suggestions.
You know what’s better than a GPS speaker? Literally anything you have in stock that you can sell to a motivated buyer.Missed opportunity.
The best they can do?
Order online, and it’ll arrive in a few days, right alongside the lunchbag letdown of opening a printed picture of your birthday gift.
No thanks.
So, I go old school. Let my fingers do the walking…through Google Maps, that is.
Eureka!!!! We find a golf WAREHOUSE.
A warehouse??!!! Everything golf is literally in their name.
I call. Bingo. They have it!!!!
One problem: It’s 4:15 and they close at 5.
GPS says we’re due to arrive at 4:58 if we make it through the border without delay.yikes
I say in my most charming, mom-on-a-mission voice:
“This is amazing. We are on our way there right now. And barring any big delays at the border, we can be right at 5 or minutes after. Would you wait for us?”
“Let me ask my manager”
Keep in mind this is a $200 sale added to their daily quota – a good thing right? We’re not talking about a pack of gum here.
Rep: “Sorry, we can’t stay late. It’s Father’s Day.” Actually, it’s the afternoon before Fathers Day. And it’s a delay of about a delay of minutes you can count on one hand.
Me: “But… Iit’s a $200 sale. You really can’t wait five minutes?”
Rep: “No”
Me: “Okay, but if we get there right at 5, we’re still good, right?”
Rep: “No. You’d need to be here by 4:45 latest. We start shutting down before closing.” So now you actually close at 4:45. Something Google should know about you.
And that was that. A buyer with cash. A bird in the hand. A slam-dunk sale… spiked out of bounds.
Turns out, flexible hours only flex for the staff.
And we wonder why retail is struggling.
Where’s the lesson in this?
For the last-minute shopper – yes, shop earlier, loser 🤪. But more importantly, shop online, where the selection is endless, the search trumps an afternoon in the car, and the delivery schedule is pretty predictable.
For the first store’s sales rep – a customer called with a need. That’s not just a moment to take an order. That’s a moment to sell something.
For the Golf Warehouse – where do I even begin? What business are you in?
For the owners of any business with customers – make the work matter more than the clock.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how sad it is to see businesses fail. Check out: Trading Post to Tombstone
But in this case? I can’t help but see the writing on the wall.
Because in a culture driven by convenience, where almost anything can be delivered to your door by 5PM, it’s not the ones who say, “The customer should’ve planned better,” or, “We close at 5, not 5:01.”
Sure, you can build your business for you. But don’t be surprised when customers go elsewhere.
And there are many, many, many elsewheres out there.
Amazon’s stated purpose? To be the Earth’s most customer-centric company.
No matter what else is true about them, they deliver on that promise, much to the chagrin of others trying to keep up.
You know who I’m not sorry for? The ones who seem to not even be trying.
I know this experience doesn’t reflect all retail. There are good service moments out there. And businesses are knocking it out of the park.
I’d love to hear some lights-out, above-and-beyond retail stories.
Anyone?
And if you’re wondering how the story of Simon’s GPS ends, we’ll let you know in 3-5 business days.
Mary
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