I am a strong believer in independent business and when I have the option of buying big-box or indie, I try to support the small local retail indie. But I have really taken notice lately just how rarely anyone in these places ever says “thanks for the business” or anything of the sort.
You see I (the buyer), have the choice of where to buy. The fact that I choose to deal with your small business, is something you should be appreciative of. At the conclusion of a transaction, I always say “thanks” as a courtesy to the person that served me, but the responses I get amaze me. Often it’s something like “OK” or “no worries” or some other lame shit.
Bottom line, from now on if I don’t get a thanks from you, I will assume that you are already too prosperous to need the business, so I will happily go elsewhere the next time.
BTW, I went to NYC earlier this year and every single business I went into thanked me for doing so, whether I bought something or not… —One Less Shopper on SGR? Your Choice
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2012.
So long as they’re not telling you to fuck off and never shop there again, I really don’t see how it matters.
“Thank you, come again!”
Racism
http://www.the-nri.com/wp-content/uploads/…
Independent stores on SGR? Not many left as far as I can tell.
I’m afraid common courtesy in NS is long dead.
it’s like the old saying o.p., you win some, you lose some. the business isn’t gonna cry if you don’t go there.
well Blow You, you may have a point. OP here… On the one hand you never seem to hear an end to the whining about how we should buy local and support small business. But I think you may be right. They really don’t give a fuck if we shop there or not.
Armed with that great news, I guess I won’t have to participate in any of these silly cash mobs anymore. Anyone up for a roadtrip to the BLIP, or how about dartmouth X-ing? I’ve got a visa card with a big ass limit and I am ready for some guilt free retail bingery.
As for you orgasmatron, that is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have read on here since that fucking troll Kay used to post.
come north, young pilgrim
lwd, i used to shop for a lot of different shit at a couple of cool stores. but after being snubbed, looked at like i was gonna steal the stuff, and even had this one guy follow me like a puppy, i said good bye to them. but not before telling the head person there exactly why i would not be back.
one place in patricular i remember, i used to buy a lot of then, trendy shit from. one sgr as a matter of fact. their clothes weren’t cheap, and for that era, was exceedingly high. they are still in business today, so my 200 plus bucks a week, didn’t hurt their sales one bit. see, that’s how it works in the real world. most would think the store would close up because of the lost sale of one person. the store in question was le chapeau, and anyone living in the lat 60’s, early 70’s will remember their shit and the prices.
i have never been back since that friday afternoon. and that was about 2 years after it was open.
Very well put OP. I personally never shop on Skin Garden or anywhere in Halifax other than the mandatory BLIP adventure my wife makes me do every once in a while (God I hate that place). Dartmouth Crossing, Hell I always get lost in that rat’s maze.
New Minas, there’s my shopping mecca. One long strip and, as long you’re never turning left, easy access in and out and I’m done.
This really has nothing to do with the topic, the lack of appreciation for supporting independent retailers by the retailers themselves, but still.
The way I see it, whether or not the clerk at a store thanks me for my business is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. I’d much rather spend my time getting bent out of shape over larger issues, such as mystical magical bullshit being passed off as science, but that’s just me.
Gotta say, when I say “Thanks” (in any context) and the other person says “No worries” or “No problem” then that definitely annoys me. “You’re welcome” is the correct response – I really didn’t think there might be either a ‘worry’ or a ‘problem’ to serving me a coffee (for example).
Conform! All of you! You must follow the correct social protocols!
If I say “Thank You” you say “You’re Welcome!”. If I say “Fuck you very much” you say “With Pleasure!”.
……. There is no ‘correct’ response. Besides, most of the words people say in small conversations are part of a social tic they have. Like an addiction, people will almost always say the same words when interacting casually. They don’t think about it, they just do it. Hence the prevalence of phrases like “No worries.”
Listen to yourself and close friends sometimes. Depending on where you are in the world, there are key phrases that will be repeated within generations, or sub-cultures, or geographic areas. It’s actually a pretty interesting phenomenon.
OP, based on the comments on here, you can see that it’s a losing argument.
I don’t think it’s a problem with the store per say. It’s more of an issue with the people working there. I don’t think they hate their jobs either but most are stuck up and idiotic.
Those are the stores you want to avoid. If enough people avoid them, they might turn around and change their staff.
As you can see though, not everyone thinks like that, in fact most are like-minded individuals with the same mentality as those employees, hence you’ll never see a change.
Just avoid those stores!
O P !
No Soup for you ! !