Black Friday

Growing up and living in Canada, we never had Black Friday until a few years ago. See, we celebrate our Thanksgiving in October, and it’s a Monday so very different from the United States. It was different having this big sale day here because it happened at the end of a normal week for us. Black Friday now seems to be a bigger event here in Canada than Boxing Day is.

Black Friday sales have really changed in the last little while and I have noticed that instead of it being one day it is now more like a week or two of sales. Maybe part of that has to do with retailers trying to get back sales and customers that they lost during the Pandemic, but I am not sure. What I have noticed is there are a lot of stores with sales that started Monday and then there are stores where their Black Friday sales are going to start on the Friday.

Daily Sales Emails:

• If you subscribe to a newsletter or a store, you have probably been receiving a lot of emails in your inbox over the last week or two. I know that I have been getting daily emails from some stores. Some of these stores are having what they call daily sales, so if you want that good deal, you must either order online from the store every day and go to the store every day to get the item that is on sale. Not all stores are right next door to where I live, and also not everyone has the time to do all of those trips. There was one store, and they had 12 days of sales, and what they did was you could add the item to your cart that day and didn’t have to check out until the 12 days were over. I think that is a wonderful idea.

Interesting sales:

• One of the interesting things that I have noticed about some of these sales is how they change during the week or two of Black Friday sales.  Here is an example of just one store and the sales they have offered.
• Buy 1 item get 1 item 50% off
• Next sale: Buy 2 items, get 1 item free
• Next sale: Buy 3 items, get 3 items free
• Overlapping sale: Spend $40 on items not including the Buy 3, get 3, and then you can purchase for an addition $40 a gift valued at $127 which are items they have selected and put together as one package.
• Now I wonder what the retailer is really thinking because a lot of people would have purchased either during the first two sales and been upset then the next sale dropped. I know I was frustrated when I realized that now there is a buy 3, get 3 free.
• Some people will go back to the store during this last sale to buy even more things, but for me, it was I got what I needed, and I am not going back just to buy more items that I don’t need right now.

Black Friday here in Canada has become an event that can last for one week or more, and the sales and emails that everyone is getting is starting to be a little overwhelming. Sure, it would be nice to have a bunch of one day sales, but I would rather you just put the items on sale for a week and let me go when I can go and get all the items at once. Of course, there are going to be people that like the challenge of getting a good bargain each day, but for most of us we don’t have the time necessary to do that also why should I pay for shipping each day when I could bundle a bunch of items and only pay shipping once.

Yes, Black Friday is a day, or it was a day when people stood in line for hours to get the best deals as soon as the store opened, but now it seems to be rolling the dice and see which day you purchase the item and hope you get the best deal. It’s now time for me to go and see how many more sales emails I have received just while writing this.

Customer service

 

I have started to notice something about customer service in some stores since things have started to get back to normal, and I am not happy with what I am seeing. This may have happened before, but I think it is getting worse now as stores are wanting and needing business to survive. If they want to survive, I think these are some things that need to change, otherwise customer will be buying more online because they don’t have to deal with staff like I did.

Being too pushy

Here is something that staff need to pay very good attention to. Basically, it is listening to what the customer says and how they say it. We encountered a salesperson that wanted to help me find a size for something which we had already found ourselves. She then started to suggest another colour, which I then said, no, this is the one that I want. We then started to turn towards the cash, and she started to suggest I purchase either a vest or button up sweater to go with the top. I said no, that my sister was buying a sweater, so I didn’t need to get done. She then suggested another one that I could buy. I then said, “This is all thank you”, she finally got to behind the cash and immediately asked if I wanted to purchase some socks. I finally said, “This is all and if you suggest one more thing, I will be leaving the store without my purchase.” Her comment was, “I was just making suggestions.”

When someone says “This is all thank you” hear them say that and stop making other suggestions because if you keep making suggestions you will likely either lose the entire sale or the person will not return to the location because of how they were treated.

Getting upset with customers when they are looking for a size

Customers are not aware of how sizes are displayed in each store, and especially after a store has been opened for a few hours. We were looking for a small and there wasn’t one on the top of the pile, so we very carefully picked up some of the items to see if there happened to be a small lower down. The salesperson immediately came over and asked what size we were looking for, and we said small. Her comment was, “If we had a small, it would be on the top because that is how to arrange everything each morning before the store opens.”

I understand that is how the product is arranged at the beginning of the day, but are you telling me that it couldn’t have been changed since then. Also, the tone that she used could have been a lot different and maybe just saying, “It should be on the top” would have been a lot better. After this, we then left the store because of how we were treated. It was like we were not allowed to pick up the product and look at it. Gee, they may have got a larger purchase if we could have looked more because yes, we were looking for a small in one top, but we may have picked up others tops as well. Instead, the store lost a sale, and we left frustrated.

Respecting customers

If there are customers looking at items either on a shelf or on a table, do not walk between them and the items. We had a salesperson walk between us and a table so that she should go and help someone else. There was lots of room behind us, so why would you interfere with what we were looking at. Of course, this meant that we left the store without getting anything because it was like we were basically invisible. Sure, the salesperson said “excuse me” but still not watching where she was walking isn’t good. The store wasn’t extremely busy, so there was lots of room around us and in other aisles, so she could have

These are just a few things that happened on one shopping trip. Customer service is very important, and salespeople need to understand that assisting customers is their role. Sure, they can make little suggestions, but listen to the customer. The customer is the person that helps make the money for the business or location and without the customers there is no money, so there is no salary. You never know who the person is that just walked into the store, they may not be dressed like they can spend lots of money, but you would be surprised. A lot of well-off people don’t dress up to go shopping because they want to be treated like everyone else.

Customers are the ones that keep a business open, so making sure that the sales staff understand that is very important. I am not sure why customer service has started to disappear, but it needs to return, otherwise more businesses are going to find that they cannot exist.

 

Social media and comments

 

I have been watching a lot of videos and seeing a lot of posts on Facebook and Instagram, and comments seem to be putting people down or very negative.

YouTube

I have this opinion that if I don’t have a nice comment to make, I am just not going to say anything. There are times you can say something, and other times it’s best to keep your opinion to yourself. On YouTube, I have seen people tell the channel that they aren’t good parents, and they are exploiting the children. Other people have said that the parents don’t have any control over the children. What people don’t think about is a YouTube channel is only showing you a very short glimpse into either a day or week in a family’s life.

As a crafter, I also watch a lot of challenges about cross stitch and sure we all have our likes and dislikes, and you shouldn’t ask someone why they would ever stitch such a piece. Everyone is different and that is what we must remember. Sure, some posters make comments I think to start that negative comment flow, but instead of doing that it’s best to either unsubscribe or just ignore those comments from the channel.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

A lot of the time, a post is giving you an individual’s personal view, and you may either agree or disagree with it. There are times that it is best to just not comment on it so that it doesn’t end up as a big my opinion is better than your opinion. I know that I have seen a lot of this type of post and if I don’t agree with the poster's comment, I do the simple thing of just scroll by without saying anything.

Social Media

Sure, in a lot of cases whenever you post a video or comment on social media, you are risking getting negative comments no matter what you say or do. What you need to remember that what you posted in your opinion and if someone doesn’t like it you also have a choice, you can delete the comment, or you can just ignore it.

If you don’t like what someone is posting on any social media, you do have a choice, and that is if you continue to follow the person. If you decide to unsubscribe or unfollow a channel or person, you don’t need to tell them why. Just click that button and disappear, and then you won’t have to see what they are posting any longer.

We must remember that we are in control of what we read and watch, and no one else can control that. If things are to bother, you remember you can also take a break from social media because maybe you are just having a rough time and need that break.