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Here's an anecdote about my experience at a mall yesterday. I needed some new shoes: I went to the Skechers store. There were 4 people working. Not a single on

Here's an anecdote about my experience at a mall yesterday. I needed some new shoes: I went to the Skechers store. There were 4 people working. Not a single one ever offered to help me. I had to walk up to the counter and the girl looked shocked when I asked her to get me my size to try on. She handed me the box and walked away. I never saw her again and walked out without making a purchase. I went over to Macy's to the men's shoe section. The section was about 5x the size of the Skechers store. There was one person working who was busy with a customer at the checkout. After waiting for 10+ minutes with no one to help, I left without ever trying on a pair of shoes. Then I went to Ecco--they are a small shop with only a small number of shoes. While the salesperson was quite attentive and helped me out, the one pair of shoes they had in the store that were interesting to me didn't fit right so I left. Tried to go to one more store only to discover that this particular location only carried women's shoes. All told, this adventure had me in the mall for about 90 minutes and I had managed to try on 2 pairs of shoes. Throw in the drive and it was over 2 hours for nothing. I went home, spent 20 minutes on Amazon Wardrobe, and I have 8 pairs of shoes in my size arriving at my house in a few days to try on. Stores in a mall have a real opportunity to win on personal service and instant gratification. Hire someone to help me find shoes that fit me well and go with my own sense of style and who makes sure I go home happy. But if my choices are spend over 2 hours for nothing or go online, I'm choosing the latter every time.

mdorazio 8y ago
To play devil's advocate here... 1) Are you incapable of finding the right size shoes yourself? The boxes are usually laid out fairly logically and it's pretty rare for there to actually be anything of use "in the back". 2) Hiring people to provide the level of service you're asking for would significantly increase the cost of labor over the minimum wage kids that usually staff these stores. I'm fairly certain the cost increase would guarantee the store goes out of business with the razor thin margins they usually have. Put another way, do you really think paying 50% more for higher quality employees would guarantee 50% more sales revenue? A big reason online shopping wins is because no one has the expectation that an actual human will help them purchase things, and the labor and rent costs are tiny in comparison to retail.
- rhombocombus 8y ago
  A lot of these stores still operate on a model that requires a salesperson to fetch the product (i.e. the non-display shoes are kept in the back). That in combination with the ever dwindling margins in a brick and mortar retail store makes it difficult to hire adequate staff to meet these needs, that or you wind up paying people such a low wage that you don't attract folks who are very interested in customer service int he first place. This is a phenomenon that I have seen across lots of segments of retail, and I predict that in the next decade we will see a dramatic change in the way retail business is conducted.
- thethirdone 8y ago
  > 1) Are you incapable of finding the right size shoes yourself? The boxes are usually laid out fairly logically and it's pretty rare for there to actually be anything of use "in the back". Having large feet, its pretty common for shoes not to have something in my size in the front, but maybe 50% of the time there are shoes in my size in the back.
  - enobrev 8y ago
    It's very rare that I shop for shoes in person any more, but the few times I've found myself in a shoe store in the past few years, I'll generally just ask a rep to bring me or point out everything they have in a size 14, which usually ends up being 2-3 pairs. The best places will understand immediately - some will even know off-hand which ones they have in larger sizes. Most of the time, the rep will respond with an awkward laugh and ask if there's a particular shoe I'm interested in. At that point, I'll pick literally any random men's shoe and ask them to bring it to me in a size 14. When they return, either they'll come back with a couple pairs of shoes in my size (not the one I asked for), which is great, or they'll come empty handed and I'll ask again, if they can bring me (or point out) everything they have in a size 14, which will generally end up being 2-3 pairs.
    - rtkwe 8y ago
      Wonder if their initial reticence might come partially from shitty software making it hard to find all available shoes of a given size across all styles?
notadoc 8y ago
Now try walking into an Apple store and buying a new Mac or iPhone in a reasonable amount of time. Good luck!
- anothergoogler 8y ago
  Unreal! A couple years ago I went into an Apple store prepared to buy an iMac. I'd done my research, knew which model, knocked it around a little in the store, had no reservations about making the purchase. At that point I walked and stood around the store like an idiot for about 20 minutes, asking if I could buy a computer. After being passed around like a cold, moldy potato between Apple employees dealing with other customers who had not yet reached buying decisions, I left, disgusted. Ended up going to Best Buy instead, saved a few bucks.
RankingMember 8y ago
Just to provide a counter-point from someone with different tastes, I actually prefer to be left alone when I go to a shop. I'd rather ask for help than have someone hovering trying to be helpful.
- bcrescimanno 8y ago
  In almost all cases, I completely agree with you! In shops that require interaction to proceed beyond browsing (such as the shoe shops I visited yesterday) I want a salesperson to be attentive and help me so I can spend as little time as possible standing around waiting.
bluedino 8y ago
Go to DSW, all the shoes are out on the floor to try on. I won't go to Macy's (because they're overpriced) but I refuse to sit around while someone fetches me shoes from the back room.
- enobrev 8y ago
  Unfortunately, DSW generally maxes out at size 13. Otherwise, I agree, and really appreciate how DSW works. Nordstrom Rack is a pretty great place to shop without asking for someone to "fetch" shoes for you as well, and they tend to have larger sizes and some decent shoes.
- bcrescimanno 8y ago
  Yeah, we happened to be near the mall yesterday for an unrelated reason so I decided to give it a shot. DSW is always a good option; but, I often find myself frustrated with my size being fairly common (translation: often sold out).
gist 8y ago
> Stores in a mall have a real opportunity to win on personal service and instant gratification. Hire someone to help me find shoes You say that as if it's possible in the same way as advice such as 'find a good lawyer' 1) Assumes that if you are helpful customers won't suck up an extraordinary amount of time and that it will pay off in the end (might not) 2) Assumes paying for a better person will result in more sales (may not) 3) Assumes qualified people even want this job (there may be none) I am not disputing in a perfect world you are right and that better help you will end up with more sales and higher profit. But generally it's not low hanging fruit or very easy. Typically stores that do this well are more specialty stores where the workforce loves the product and will accept lower pay and likes to get the same questions over and over again. (Like an REI store or a bike shop ..) Also the margin on the product matters. Remember rent in malls is very high.
- kthejoker2 8y ago
  > Remember rent in malls is very high. Uhh ... Did you forget what article you're commenting on?
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

mdorazio 8y ago

To play devil's advocate here... 1) Are you incapable of finding the right size shoes yourself? The boxes are usually laid out fairly logically and it's pretty rare for there to actually be anything of use "in the back". 2) Hiring people to provide the level of service you're asking for would significantly increase the cost of labor over the minimum wage kids that usually staff these stores. I'm fairly certain the cost increase would guarantee the store goes out of business with the razor thin margins they usually have. Put another way, do you really think paying 50% more for higher quality employees would guarantee 50% more sales revenue? A big reason online shopping wins is because no one has the expectation that an actual human will help them purchase things, and the labor and rent costs are tiny in comparison to retail.

rhombocombus 8y ago
A lot of these stores still operate on a model that requires a salesperson to fetch the product (i.e. the non-display shoes are kept in the back). That in combination with the ever dwindling margins in a brick and mortar retail store makes it difficult to hire adequate staff to meet these needs, that or you wind up paying people such a low wage that you don't attract folks who are very interested in customer service int he first place. This is a phenomenon that I have seen across lots of segments of retail, and I predict that in the next decade we will see a dramatic change in the way retail business is conducted.
thethirdone 8y ago
> 1) Are you incapable of finding the right size shoes yourself? The boxes are usually laid out fairly logically and it's pretty rare for there to actually be anything of use "in the back". Having large feet, its pretty common for shoes not to have something in my size in the front, but maybe 50% of the time there are shoes in my size in the back.
- enobrev 8y ago
  It's very rare that I shop for shoes in person any more, but the few times I've found myself in a shoe store in the past few years, I'll generally just ask a rep to bring me or point out everything they have in a size 14, which usually ends up being 2-3 pairs. The best places will understand immediately - some will even know off-hand which ones they have in larger sizes. Most of the time, the rep will respond with an awkward laugh and ask if there's a particular shoe I'm interested in. At that point, I'll pick literally any random men's shoe and ask them to bring it to me in a size 14. When they return, either they'll come back with a couple pairs of shoes in my size (not the one I asked for), which is great, or they'll come empty handed and I'll ask again, if they can bring me (or point out) everything they have in a size 14, which will generally end up being 2-3 pairs.
  - rtkwe 8y ago
    Wonder if their initial reticence might come partially from shitty software making it hard to find all available shoes of a given size across all styles?

notadoc 8y ago

Now try walking into an Apple store and buying a new Mac or iPhone in a reasonable amount of time. Good luck!

anothergoogler 8y ago
Unreal! A couple years ago I went into an Apple store prepared to buy an iMac. I'd done my research, knew which model, knocked it around a little in the store, had no reservations about making the purchase. At that point I walked and stood around the store like an idiot for about 20 minutes, asking if I could buy a computer. After being passed around like a cold, moldy potato between Apple employees dealing with other customers who had not yet reached buying decisions, I left, disgusted. Ended up going to Best Buy instead, saved a few bucks.

RankingMember 8y ago

Just to provide a counter-point from someone with different tastes, I actually prefer to be left alone when I go to a shop. I'd rather ask for help than have someone hovering trying to be helpful.

bcrescimanno 8y ago
In almost all cases, I completely agree with you! In shops that require interaction to proceed beyond browsing (such as the shoe shops I visited yesterday) I want a salesperson to be attentive and help me so I can spend as little time as possible standing around waiting.

bluedino 8y ago

Go to DSW, all the shoes are out on the floor to try on. I won't go to Macy's (because they're overpriced) but I refuse to sit around while someone fetches me shoes from the back room.

enobrev 8y ago
Unfortunately, DSW generally maxes out at size 13. Otherwise, I agree, and really appreciate how DSW works. Nordstrom Rack is a pretty great place to shop without asking for someone to "fetch" shoes for you as well, and they tend to have larger sizes and some decent shoes.
bcrescimanno 8y ago
Yeah, we happened to be near the mall yesterday for an unrelated reason so I decided to give it a shot. DSW is always a good option; but, I often find myself frustrated with my size being fairly common (translation: often sold out).

gist 8y ago

> Stores in a mall have a real opportunity to win on personal service and instant gratification. Hire someone to help me find shoes You say that as if it's possible in the same way as advice such as 'find a good lawyer' 1) Assumes that if you are helpful customers won't suck up an extraordinary amount of time and that it will pay off in the end (might not) 2) Assumes paying for a better person will result in more sales (may not) 3) Assumes qualified people even want this job (there may be none) I am not disputing in a perfect world you are right and that better help you will end up with more sales and higher profit. But generally it's not low hanging fruit or very easy. Typically stores that do this well are more specialty stores where the workforce loves the product and will accept lower pay and likes to get the same questions over and over again. (Like an REI store or a bike shop ..) Also the margin on the product matters. Remember rent in malls is very high.

kthejoker2 8y ago
> Remember rent in malls is very high. Uhh ... Did you forget what article you're commenting on?

deleted 8y ago

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