A tl;dr rant: about 10 days ago, a customer came in and ordered an item that he would be giving as a gift to an out-of-town friend (who was scheduled to be in Cleveland this weekend, their birthday weekend). So, last Friday (1/24) I put in an order with my vendor (who shall remain nameless), thinking that 6 business days was more than enough time to have the order processed and shipped. Well, it wasnt, and Im still waiting for the shipment to arrive. Today, the customer came in looking to pay for and pick up the item. I informed him that, unfortunately, it had not yet arrived, though it was on its way and would be here the beginning of the coming week. He responded by saying, Well, can I just cancel the order, then? I can order it on Amazon, get free shipping, and have it waiting for her back at her house on Monday. I apologized and agreed to cancel his order (even though I already ordered and paid for the item in question). Now, dont get me wrong, this is NOT a rant against the customer and his decision to cancel his order; honestly, who could blame him?!?! This is a rant against the system and vendors who A) sell directly to customers on Amazon (thereby undercutting their brick-and-mortar retailers who represent the brand) and B) are so slow in processing/shipping orders that retailers get to look like asses when stuff like this happens. Seriously, how is a store supposed to survive when, despite retailers best efforts, the system is set up to make it SO MUCH easier and more convenient to shop online. This is just one small anecdote, but it is indicative of a larger systemic shift that has already claimed so many small retailers. Im afraid there are very few signs indicating that this trend will be reversed any time soon. What are your thoughts???
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:24:47 +0000