But what if you wanted to find a particular edition of a book, or wanted to know the best book of a certain author, but none of the people who worked at the bookstore knows anything about books?
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why would this be the case? you seem to think it's a straight trade-off between personal=good, impersonal=bad. I spend my days in large,complex,messy organizations - that's a simplistic analysis at best.
I don't think that impersonal companies are bad and personal companies are good, as a rule. I shop at both kinds, but I realize that I am making a choice, and that my choice has an impact on what kind of business will survive and what kind will not.
What is bad is that the impersonal companies do not offer the kind of service that a lot of people want. Lack of good service is a leading complaint among consumers, particularly in retail shops.
If it wasn't a selling point, why would so many companies advertise how great their service is?
After Sept. 11th, people in our town didn't head to McDonald's or Starbucks to be together, they headed to my company, because they have an emotional attachment to it, because they feel comforted here.
Why would anyone want a homogenized, bland, cheap world in which every town has the same crappy chain restaurants and retail shops? What would be the point of traveling to Rome if it was covered with Blimpy Burger shops and Gap stores?
According to you, it's cheap, so it's good.
What if you were trying to decide between several books on the same subject, but there was nobody in the bookstore who knew the differences between them and why you might choose one over the other?
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I never require that type of assistance
Is that because you are already an expert of the subject, or perhaps because you have the time to sit down and read all of the books before you buy it so you make the right choice?
The point is, you may not think you require that assistance but once you are able to go to a place where you will get great recommendations, you will appreciate it a great deal.
I have found that to be the case with my customers.
In fact, we have even has (very balsy) customers call us on their cell phones from other retail shops for help choosing a product category we also sell because there was nobody there at that shop that knew anything.
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and if I need that information I'll get it off the net (which frankly is where I buy books anyway)
I buy books off the net, too, but it's not the same as standing in front of someone while they point out the various attributes of a product.
This isn't a fantasy that I just made up or something. You used to be able to find very knowledgeable people like that in the original Border's bookstore, before they franchised and became bland, impersonal, and the quality of service nosedived. The same is true of Starbucks and a bunch of other companies.
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I don't care - I don't require that type of assistance - I just want low,low prices.
Then you will get a low, low quality product and/or experience.
Perhaps the quality of the human interaction in a retail shop is unimportant to you, but it is very important to me.
Maybe you want crap coffee, but I don't.
Why should they care if your coffee is hot just because you want it that way?
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Because I'll throw it back over the counter and get their ass shitcanned.
Oh, so your're an asshole customer who isn't able to put yourself in anyone else's shoes.
You are also missing my point.
If you had a shitty-paying job and were treated like shit by the management and treated like shit by the customers, what motivation are you going to have to do anything particularly well?
What if you wanted to buy some coffee for someone who really likes it and you wanted to know the difference in flavor between their Sumatran and Guatemalan, but nobody there knows, or makes something up and lies to you?
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How would you know the difference?
The person you are buying it for might easilyu know the difference.
I could tell the difference.
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again I couldn't give a toss what it is as long as it's a)cheap and b) tastes nice. I don't go into starbucks for a conversation - I go in for a quick coffee. If people want that - go to somewhere that looks for competitive advantage via Differentiation Focus (ie providing that extra level of service). Starbucks doesn't do that and people like me are quite happy with that set-up.
I know what differentiation is.
My point is that Starbucks
didn't used to be like that.
My point also is that the more you support a place like Starbucks, and the more you complain about the prices of places that do differentiate themselves by offering superior service and quality (providing real jobs and better wages), the less those better service places will be able to survive.
Then, all you will have is mediocre-to-bad everything, with no high-quality anything.
It seems like you feel a sense of entitlement to certain service expetations but also feel as though you shouldn't pay for them.
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My only expection of service in such places is that they take my order and hand over the goods.
No, you want the goods to be hot, and to taste good, and to be consistent, and to be open when you want them to be, and for people to run the registers properly and charge you correctly, etc.
If you want to pay for a McCulture, you will get a McCulture.
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Sounds good to me - just what I want.
I think you are just being belligerant.
Are you seriously telling me that you would relish a world in which there were no nice restaurants, or full-service salons, or any kind of professional service providers at all?
If you want to live in a world where you get friendly, knowlegeable service, and if you want to live in a world where people are treated at work as if they are human beings, then you will pay a little more, but that is the world you will live in.
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Just as a FYI - you don't need to outline the benefits in slow hand for me - I have degree, Master's and teacher's qualifications in economics (plus considerate experience as a business consultant).
...and I have 10 years on the floor in high-quality retail service establishments, the last 6 in a company nationally recognized, consulted, and emulated for it's service.
In fact, I've done a little service consulting for my company myself.
This message has been edited by schrafinator, 09-28-2004 02:53 PM
This message has been edited by schrafinator, 09-28-2004 02:57 PM
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