That’s what a security guard at the Reebok store on 100 ft. Ring Road, Banashankari 3rd Stage said when I visited the store at 11:00 AM last Saturday.
I desperately needed a cap and I had committed to buy one then and there. Instead I was not allowed to step inside the store because — to quote the security guard — “the owners are already in the store, but you have to wait outside for five minutes because the salesperson has gone outside.”
WTF mate? Who am I? A committed-to-a-purchase customer or a criminal who wants to walk away with the store in broad daylight? You might have read, heard, and seen these fancy reports written by fancy experts projecting India to be “the thing” in retail. Ground reality is different. This experience at the Reebok store is not an isolated incident. Most retail outlets treat customers worse than criminals, with salespeople and security guards watching — with eyes that would rival a hawk’s — your every move.
And my response to the security guard was, “If that’s the way the owners want to run their business, no one’s going to step foot inside this store.” I actually wanted to say this to the owners, but hey, remember, I can’t go inside and talk to them because “though the owners are already in the store, I have to wait outside for five minutes because the salesperson has gone outside.”
What’s your “retail” experience been this far?
One thought on “CRM Horrors: The Owners are in the Store, but You Can’t Go In and Shop because the Salesperson has Gone Out”
I agree Sales persons are important here, but I can’t understand why was the security guard trying to stop you from entering the store. Atleast there were owners who could have helped!.. Considering sales people were out, why did he in the 1st place say, Owners are inside?..What were the owners doing inside?..Can’t they do sales? hahaha..Worst way to talk to a customer.