Retail

More tales of retail. Yesterday it was cars. Today, it’s glasses, shirts, and jeans. I ordered two pair of the latter from my favorite jean manufacturer. On March 20. They’ll arrive today. Or so they say. I questioned why it was taking so long. With a straight face and in the presence of the prime one, they told me it could take up to 13 business days because they were shipping to a PO Box. A while back I ordered a shirt from another company. I tracked it. It got to Fort Worth only to be returned. No explanation. At least they refunded my money. In two installments, after I complained about not getting back my shipping costs.

The glasses were designed to keep sun out of my eyes. I bought them from an outdoor specialty company. One day last month, while shopping, they broke in the pocket of my coat. I called about a replacement since the retailer offers a good warranty. They said no. Customer misuse. Then, as if to mollify me, I was told that a rep for the sunglass manufacturer once said the piece that broke on my glasses broke all the time. So, I took issue with the decision. I ended up with a gift certificate, but I still have to try and get them repaired or replaced by the manufacturer.

The point of all this is simple. We live in a different retail universe these days. It moves fast and customers have lots of options. All of the above did well dealing with their issues, but I did question why I was dealing with them. And in some of the cases, I may just move on. And lest any retailer think they’re too big to fail all they need to do is utter the word, Sears. Because once upon a time, it was the Amazon of its day, a ubiquitous presence in every American household.