November 30, 2013
From Kitten to Lion: Holiday Shopping, Hallmark Traditions, and a Lesson in Customer Service
The stores in my town were still pretty crazy today, filled with shoppers wandering from one place to another, searching for whatever they think they need to put the ho ho in their holiday. The local paper’s headline read “Bleak Friday”, and honestly, I laughed out loud. What do you expect?
We’ve got people without jobs, people working minimum wage, taxes shooting through the roof in my community — and now this health care nonsense? And yet somehow, we’re shocked the stores aren’t making mega millions? Ha!
I wasn’t out for anything in particular today, even though my inbox was overflowing with sale alerts. Still, I stopped by Hallmark and grabbed a few gifts for others — and of course, my yearly tradition: the stuffed reindeer. I have a growing collection of them in assorted sizes and styles. They gather every year on the back of my loveseat near the second Christmas tree, waiting to get their picture taken. It’s kind of become a thing — everyone ends up over there during the holidays, grabbing one or two and goofing around.
I also picked up my free snowman ornament — a reward for my July and October purchases. Hallmark always reels me in with those.
From there, I people-watched my way over to Bath & Body Works. I could see it was crowded, and there were new sales associates at the entrance holding the VIP tote like bodyguards. The manager made a quick appearance, giving directions before disappearing into the back. Which, honestly, was fine by me. Some people are leaders, and some people really need a vacation. When a store’s vibe shifts that much, it’s time to dig into why. Someone sage this place, please — bring the joy back.
Apparently, today you could get the VIP bag for $20 with any purchase. Yesterday it required a $40 minimum. Today? Walk in, buy a pocketbac, and boom — VIP bag. Bit of a slap in the face to yesterday’s shoppers if you ask me. I overheard a few SAs giving customers a hard time about the threshold, until one of the veteran employees stepped in and corrected them.
At noon, there was no signage for the 3/$6 travel items. I asked one of the new girls — who was mid-chat with her coworkers — if they were on sale. She said she had to check with the manager. A few minutes later, she returned and told me she’d need to see my email and get the code before I could get the sale price. Sigh. Maybe this manager should make sure her new team knows what’s on sale before letting them loose on the floor.
They did have the $5 Velvet Sugar Fine Fragrance Mist, so I gave it a sniff. Super sweet. Honestly, most of the scents start blending together for me. It’s like they all start with the same base, then they tweak a few notes. This one was sweet and... ordinary. Cute packaging, though — definitely giving Valentine’s Day vibes with the netting and hearts. I passed on buying it. I’ve got coupons for the other products once they release, so if I feel like it later, I’ll try again.
And now, we get to the fun part.
I’m a loyal customer — a kitten, if you will. I have a box of receipts to prove it. So when a store associate tells me that a scent is being released Friday, I tend to believe them. That’s what happened with Velvet Sugar. After buying something earlier in the week, I was told to “be sure to stop in Friday.” So, I did.
What I didn’t expect was for the manager to scream at me in front of other shoppers — frustrated and ranting that her store “never heard anything” about Velvet Sugar releasing and that she was going to call the other store and “give them hell.” While she was checking someone out, I called the store myself and asked — they said the release was pushed back. No big deal.
But she overheard me and launched into another rant about how the other store was lying, and how the information wasn’t supposed to be public. She closed the distance between us, and at that point, I just quietly walked away. I don’t need that kind of drama. I’ve got my own stress. And I certainly don’t need to be screamed at by a manager in a candle store.
My husband was shocked I was in and out in under five minutes. When I told him what happened, he simply said, “Stop shopping there.”
The next day, I went to the other store. And sure enough — she did call them, trying to cause problems all because I asked if a scent was available. Everyone there knows me, and they filled me in. Maybe there’s drama between the stores. Maybe it’s jealousy. I don’t know, and I don’t care.
Here’s the thing: Know your job. Don’t get flustered when a customer asks a question you should be able to answer. Don’t shout at anyone. And absolutely never scream at me — because when I’ve had it, I’m no longer a kitten.
Meow. 😼
After lunch, I stopped by Michaels. Their Christmas stuff was 70% off — balls and more balls (and no, I don’t need more balls, but I still looked). Fall and Thanksgiving were also 70% off. I found some cute Wilton candy molds, craft kits, and cupcake papers. Pro tip: always check the back of the shelves. Who decided to cram an entire holiday onto one tiny rolling rack? Whatever. Mission accomplished.
The only small business I patronized today. The Chinese restaurant we love. I’ll do better next time.
