SHOP NOTES + RETAIL ETIQUETTE: THROUGH THE EYES OF A BUYER

Happy Sunday!

Years ago, when my children were young and I was co-parenting with their father, I had an unusual custody schedule of five days on, five days off. As you can imagine, no one is going to hire you with that kind of schedule, and I needed a job. I wanted to be home on the days that my kids were with me, so I was left with only one option: open a shop and hire people for the days I couldn’t work. Since I loved design, decor and cooking, an obvious store theme evolved. Zest was a mix of gourmet kitchenware and homewares. Opening the store was the best part, designing a visual identity and space, and choosing products. The actual retail part was less than optimal.

I never bought the way most shop owners buy, at a national giftware show. I assumed that having the identical skus to other local stores was a bad idea, and not very creative. Instead I found products I noticed in European magazines. Knives from Japan, glassware from Italy, toasters from France with flowers and ladybugs on them. This gave the shop an identity nobody else had, bright, slightly quirky and fun to browse.

This was a lifetime ago, and I am thrilled that I am no longer in retail. Retail is HARD..... and mind-numbingly boring. I will never do it again. Some days not a single customer would come in, except to get change for the parking meter. Other days were busy, but some browsers would steal from you. I once discovered a mother with a baby in her stroller shoplifting items and storing them in the basket under the baby’s seat (strollers hide products and screaming children make excellent decoys). Also credit card theft is common. I had an exceptionally large sale of Le Creuset purchased one day, and another time I sent off $3,000 in Japanese chef’s knives to a client who paid over the phone, again with a stolen credit card. Since the card worked, he called back and ordered more knives the next day. In this particular case, the gods were with me, as my employee had written the perpetrator’s address incorrectly on the package, and a week later Canada Post returned the boxes, no such known address. I also had odd customers. One woman would buy something every weekend, and like clockwork, would show up on Monday to return it. She was a physician with a shopping addiction. After a year of returns, I finally looked her in the eye and said the words I should have said long ago: “Final sale.” Working in the shop alone could be dangerous. One man forced himself behind the counter, took a knife off the magnetic rack, and threatened to cut my employee. On the flip side, I did have positive experiences. I met a French woman who was a private chef to the president of a national bank. We had so much in common, we soon became friends, and I was invited to her home in Old Montreal, where she cooked an incredible meal for me. One of my best customers was a lawyer who became a trusted confidante. He would come in during lunch and we had the best conversations about life and travel. One day we were discussing my personal life and he told me that I was missing a word in my vocabulary. The word he wanted to teach me was “No!” I really appreciated his simple wisdom. This is the glory of retail. Retail will expose you to a cross-section of humans, many lovely individuals who become friends, but also some of the weirdest people you will ever meet.

As an ex-shopkeeper, I view shopping with a unique lens, and my experiences today as a retail customer are becoming increasingly frustrating. There are a few retail etiquette rules that should never be broken.

Employees on their phones. Why is this allowed? There needs to be a company policy: Get off your phone. Like kids in a classroom, you have to lay the ground rules. I’ve seen employees at Holt Renfrew, Chanel, Nordstrom and Louis Vuitton all on their phones. The world is going to hell in a hand-basket. Just don’t allow it.

Walking through the door and no one acknowledges me. I don’t care if you’re helping another customer or on the phone, excuse yourself for three seconds and say Hello, Welcome, Bonjour. Then give some space. Do not make people feel invisible. Do you want to make a sale today? Say hello.

Pouncing on me the minute I arrive, following me around the store, or telling me every time I pick up an object that the piece I’m looking at is “amazing”. Give me a moment to breathe. Acknowledge me when I arrive but give me some time to get my bearings. After a couple of minutes, walk over and connect eye to eye.

Never say “Do you need any help?” The answer to this is always “no”, because it’s a closed question. Instead, walk over and say you hope I’m enjoying browsing, but if I need help with anything in particular, you’re available. Great, that’s when I’ll let you know if I need something. There should never be any pressure. I was waiting for a client the other day at a Fairmont hotel, which happens to have a Dior store. I decided to browse. The minute I walked in I was greeted with “Can I help you? What are you looking for today?” (The answer is nothing.) Then the employee followed me around every corner and stood beside me as I looked at pieces and price tags. Extremely annoying, and even if I could afford it, I’m not buying in that kind of situation. These stores need better retail training. If only retailers would remember what it feels like to be a customer because none of this is complicated.

Which brings me to buying, and to unique retail stores with great buyers behind them. Clever items, beautifully made items, functional items, all priced fairly. That’s the sweet spot. I like the Baby Bear philosophy: not too much, not too little, just right.

First up is Maison Empereur in Marseille, a general store full of wonderful objects that ship worldwide. It would be impossible to walk through this shop and not leave with a few items. Not only are these useful for home, but they make the sweetest host gifts, welcome gifts, baby gifts etc. This is the oldest French hardware store, founded in 1827 and they share history with the people of Marseille and many French and European manufacturers. The store holds over 50,000 items, these are just a few that I like.

That’s it for the week friends. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. If you did, could you please tap the heart button, and please subscribe.

Subscribing is free, but if you’d like to support my work, for about the price of two flower bouquets a year, you can have a year of inspiration instead.