A Little Retail 101 Goes a Long Way…

After so much hand-wringing on the state of our industry and the sputtering attempts to spur consumers to part with their hard-earned dosh, I had the most delightful experience recently which reminded me of everything great retail is supposed to be about. And it happened in the most unexpected of places.

I was in the market for a new lawnmower and had decided after much internal debate to go with one you “push.” I’d like to tell you this was just the latest step on a greening-of-my-life type strategy, but in reality the timing was set when the kid down the street doing my lawn went to college in the fall and his mom didn’t think his 7-year-old sibling was up to the task. Although, admittedly, I did ask.

Having taken the plunge to do the job myself, I went the way of “push” during my research (read: stalling) for the upcoming endeavor. Apparently its better for the lawn, you get a better result and when I decide to do something, no matter how reluctantly, it’s at least partially important to me to try and get it right.

So, I find what’s considered to be the world’s best push mower according to all the online lawn geeks (a group I now am proudly a part of) and then set about what I anticipated would be a long, arduous journey to get one into my hands. Here’s the steps I went through.

1. Went to the manufacturer’s wonderful, beautifully designed, informative Web site to discover (surprise, surprise) the best push lawnmower in the world is made not hours from my house. Wow! My initial joy at buying a true heartland, American-made classic was then wholly deflated when I discovered they make them there but don’t actually sell them there. Arse.

2. Go to the Supplier Finder and, low and behold, there’s one in the next neighborhood--a big, national hardware store chain even. But still, I steeled myself that they wouldn’t have the one I wanted as I picked up the phone.

3. Called them. They had one in stock. What were their opening hours? Again ready for the inevitable “We close at 6,” only to find “We close at 10.”  10? Really? Wow again. Loving these guys.

4. Drove over after work. It’s a measure of how hit and miss things have been these past months (or perhaps just a measure of my rampant paranoia) that I spent the drive convinced when I got there they wouldn’t have it or would in fact be closed. But the sun was out and it was a beautiful evening drive--so what the hell.

5. Arrived at the store and wandered around a bit looking for my lawnmower. Well-lit, well-signed and there it was--perhaps surprisingly--in the lawnmower section.

6. And it was on sale.

7. Then of course I wondered, how does one actually buy a lawnmower? Does it come in a box? Do you need tools? As if by magic, at that very moment a chap shows up. “Can I help you?” “Um yes, I’d like to buy that.” He paused, and smiled. Here it comes, I thought, the inevitable up-sell, the admission that it wasn’t actually in stock. “Oh man, excellent choice, you are going to LOVE this!” he exclaimed. Imagine my surprise; someone who not only knows the product--he uses it himself. Someone who was just given the easiest sell in creation and yet took the time to share his enthusiasm regardless.

8. Still, I didn’t know how exactly to buy it. “Oh…I’ll just give you this one,” the associate says. “Isn’t that your floor model?” “Yeah, but you don’t want to worry about assembly, and it’s a beautiful day so you are going to want to use this tonight. I’ll just put another one together in the morning.” And with that, he picked it up and carried it to the front desk.”

9. As I was paying--still somewhat in shock at how easy this all was--he came over and gave me a free sharpening kit. Then he gave me his card and told me to call if I had any questions or problems. Then he carried it out to my car. Then he shook my hand and wished me luck.

I drove home slack jawed. It couldn’t have gone smoother. I couldn’t have been happier.  And the mower was a simple delight. What did I pay for this experience? $79. Where did I have it? Ace Hardware. What was it worth to me? To borrow the slogan from Mastercard--it was priceless.

--Christian Davies, Guest Blogger

Comments

[Christian Davies]

Thanks so very much for the comments guys. Timothy I know what you mean, I kept waiting for the catch but thankfully one never came, in one fell swoop they turned me into an Ace loyalist.

And talking of loyalty Maggie, you are absolutely right I should have given a shout out to the venerable piece of kit at the very heart of this tale.

It's made by the no-nonsense named American Lawnmower Company. It's a REEL mower which led to them calling their website reelin.com - which I thought was pretty funny for such a...um...pedestrian subject?

Anyway, I ended up with a Full Feature/Standard 4 Spider, 5 blade model. And if this sounds too geekish, as I confessed in the piece I'm guilty as charged. I love it so much I clean it after I use it. Sigh...

As a post script I got a note from my neighbor saying how much she appreciated that I didn't get one of those "stinky, noisy ones."

And in a shameless plug check out today's post (7th May) as coincidentally my neighbor hand wrote her kind words.

[Timothy Cohrs]

Your lawnmower experience was beyond remarkable: well designed product site, well signed in-store display, knowledgeable sales associates who actually anticipate customer needs and provide help!

This event reads more like fiction than real life experience, not because I am a jaded cynic but because I have worked in retail and have experienced every form of behavior and confusion that is opposite to this. Especially poor in-store display, lack of explanatory signage, and a retail attitude embodied by "sell yourself or go home."

Congrats to Ace Hardware.

[maggie]

I'd love to purchase this mower as well! Can you suplly the brand name, make and model. Thanks!