Throughout my youth, my mother made it a primary objective to educate me in the ways of business by explaining to me her gripes (and praises) about establishments where she spent her money. By walking me through her thought processes, she unknowingly created in me an internal checklist that I still use to evaluate how I feel about places I shop. In condensed form, here are the three most important aspects of a retail shopping experience I learned from Mama.
1. Cleanliness
The one thing that can turn Mama away almost instantly is an establishment that is not cleaned properly. The examples that stick out most vividly in my mind are the lunch and dinner stops at highway fast-food chains while traveling.
There is an unwritten family list of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW), and The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) locations at various exits from Virginia down to Florida that we will not stop at to this day. All it takes to be added to this “no stop” list is one visit where the tables have not been wiped off, there are flies buzzing around, or the bathroom (by far the most important consideration) looks like a group of kids had a mosh pit in it. Perfection is by no means required, but there is a bare minimum level of acceptability that Mama just won’t compromise on.
2. Helpful service
Helpful and courteous service always garners a compliment and a return visit from my mother. When she looks for new flowers to add to the garden, she prefers to go to Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) because she says that the employees take her to the item she is looking for, explain to her its planting requirements, and answer her questions knowledgeably and with a cheerful disposition.
Conversely, she just about boycotts the local Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) because she says that there is rarely anyone available to help. When she has trouble finding a product, they will direct her to the general direction of the store where it may be located and leave her to her own devices to find it.
3. Customer-friendly store policies
A great way to get my mother back in the doors of a retail store is by having a straightforward and hassle-free return policy. If you ask her what her favorite place to shop is, she will answer unequivocally: Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS). She raves about how the customer service desk is always well staffed, how they take back just about anything, how they execute the transactions quickly, and how they generally make the whole process as painless as possible. When a mother is working full time and shopping for her kids while they are at soccer practice or Boy Scouts, it is quite helpful for her to be able to buy the same things in a couple of different sizes, have us try them on at home, and return what doesn’t fit.
