Why should staff care? The staff should care for a whole bunch of reasons mentioned by various bloggers here. The automatic answer to that ever increasing question of "why should I pay more here when I see it cheaper online" is: we have it in stock right now and I can show you the benefits/features and if you like what I show you, you can purchase and take it with you right now. Plus it's backed by our guarantee/warranty and we can offer other products/services to compliment your purchase.

It's service, extra value, knowledge, the advantage of feeling and seeing the product, opportunity, safety, and a personal experience as well as products you're selling. Not just a product people are buying. People will purchase from sales people and retailers they like, who offer that complete fun shopping experience.

Natasha, have you considered educating fellow retailers on your mantra! Congratulations, I wish there were more retailers like you, taking accountability for the state of play. I have a handful like you who continue to inspire me but they work hard to get results. Nobody said it was easy. What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of thirsty horses we have to carry (lead a horse to water....); Insanity theory continuing to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. I am about to travel to the States and look forward to being killed with customer service - a strange phenomenon - its not rocket science - do a job well and you are incentivised with commission. Time for change.

Retail Princess captured the environment nicely. The race to the bottom in Australia's retail environment meant trying to compete on price and price alone. Where as a focus on Bricks & Mortar's (B&M) strengths, local and personal service, would have provided some protection. Especially know that mobile is in the fray being local could have been a particular advantage. Though not all is lost. Australian retailers still have opportunities to compete, focusing on their points of differentiation.

Great article John!. Customers are smart and savvy shoppers. They will shop with retailers who give them an extraordinary shopping experience. Too many times i hear of people complaining about the service standards out there. They have money to spend and are really sick and tired of average experiences so they turn to the web. Online is part of the future embrace it and come up with innovative ideas to make it easy and effortless for the customer.

Jon, I agree with your piece. If there was another word to add to the phrase it would be the word "less" - at the end. To put the phrase so bluntly is perhaps the kick in the but we all need.

I once was told an unforgettable truth. When someone's out there whining about their situation, someone else is out there working their butt off and getting smarter. On those terms alone, its not hard to see which retailers are rolling up their sleeves and which are rolling them down.

Retailers if you can get through the next 3-5 years by working smarter, you'll get through anything..

Barry
barlanconsulting.com.au

What a fantastic article, loved it. It's absolutely true, retailers need to get over themselves and shut the hell up. And guess what? I'm a retailer! I bought a business in November 2009 and it hasn't stopped growing. Because we don't make excuses. We shut up about it and stick to compelling customers to spend here. To those saying why should staff care - you are missing the point entirely. The point is not 'customers are acitvely emotionally sabotaging staffs lives' or "customers are making a conscious decision to destroy local businesses". What this article is all about is that customers don't live in your head! They don't have time to hear all this! You want someone to buy from you because they feel sorry for you? Not good enough! You need to show what's in it for THEM. That means making it attractive. Staff's job is to make it it attractive. If they don't care, then they don't deserve to be PAID not to care, do they? The customer is the paying party here. The staff is being PAID to care. There are retailers out here thriving and this is why. We don't complain, we serve and we constantly seek to offer our customer more.

Sadly this article cuts to the naked truth. People don't care. They never did.There is no point in listening to what people say just watch what they do! If they have to pay then their principals go straight out the window. They don't care for the enviroment, they don't care for their neighbours, they don't care for manners. We live in a selfish society, we always have. Put a beggar on horseback and he will ride himself to hell. The trick is to find the balance in retail to what appeals to the customers self interest and yours.

What a narrow minded approach to a changing and dynamic business environment - you know WHY the customer doesn't care, its because many shopowners and retailers stopped caring a long time ago. Customer service is a rare find in this day and age - if you can get the attention of the Gen Y'er behind the counter and they manage to steel themselves away from FB or google, they know quite generally nothing about the product they have to sell. Its a wakeup call, Customers are KING, they are smart, savvy, educated, they don't have time to waste with people not willing to give them the time of day. It is a sad situation when I see retailers who "dont care" what the customer wants, or, worse, says "I know what my customers want" "I know what they don't like" and continue to run their business they did 10 or 20 years ago. Times they are a changing and if the care factor is not picked up as a lesson for future survival, those non carers with an attitude if customers don't care why should staff will surely fall with the times.

I still say the biggest issue with internet purchasing are the Australian Importers/Designers/Wholesalers competing against their own clients by opening their own online store - It's greed as it's best - Double margin for them while we work our butts off on the front line...

MC you are right problem is untill taxes and duties make it more competitive to buy it domestically then customers don't care about job losses real shame but it's a reality unfortunately

An interesting article, which leads to the point - if customers don't care, why should staff? Of course Managers should (and hopefully do), but if you are a staff member at almost any retail chain in Australia, you have no influence over any of these details. You can't change price, influence social media usage, or work in any way to get shopper sympathy. And there is only so many times per day a staff member can deal with "Well I saw it cheaper online" before their automatic response becomes: "Then I suggest you go buy it there."

The less the customer cares about the in-store connection, or even supporting local companies or products, the less the everyday retail staff member will care as they become faced with more and more arrogant customers.

Will the customer care when their attitude of "I dont care" causes them to lose jobs here in Australia and variety of retail offerings here in Australia?