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Is the age of 'more' and 'faster' replacing 'the customer is king'?

October 11, 2011 by Harry Friedman

I admit it. I am a lot older physically than I think I am mentally. As Dr. Evil said so eloquently to his newfound son in the Austin Powers movie, "I'm hip."

I'm trying to keep up with the digital age as best I can. I Facebook, I Tweet now and again, and even throw out a blog or two. The whole thing is moving quite fast.

I subscribe to quite a few blogs about retail and frankly it's interesting to see how many software developers and gadget makers there are bidding for the retailer's dollar. This is not merchandising, mind you, just things to turn on the customer and bring them into the store, or to be more efficient. Really? Not so sure.

Selling at retail will always be an emotional thing. New technology is devoid of this principle. Stripped down, it's still a human-to-human proposition. This of course doesn't include the Internet, which is kicking our butts back to the Stone Age.

It seems the big retailers announce a new tactic every day to entice us into buying. In one case it's a virtual dressing room. In another it's an app for your phone. Mind-boggling indeed. But I have a few questions. And I have these questions because I have never had a friend or client tell me that they want any of it.

What about the fundamentals? The basics. Laws or rules on running a fine retail store. A fine retail store to me can be any category, just run exceedingly well.

Are you moving so fast that you don't take the time to see if your staff can, and more importantly, wants to execute some of the fundamentals that made you famous — or can make you famous? Probably not.

Now I'm not being a grouch, but I think there's a compromise to be made here. Bring all the cool things on. I can take it. Show me the fanciest ways of doing things. I will survive. But once in a while, look me in the eyes and relate to me for just a second or two. Make me believe that I am important to some degree. You know, "customer is king" kind of thing.

I believe that things are moving fast but not just because technology is moving so fast. In many ways, everything has always moved fast for its time. We've become a society of give me more and give it to me faster. Quantity is bypassing quality in too many corners of our lives.

At home I subscribe to DirecTV. When I originally subscribed, I kind of knew I wanted choices. So in typical Harry fashion I ordered it all. Something like 200 channels. So what happens? I watch the news because — there's nothing on. It's kind of symbolic of what's happening out there.

One of my favorite books, "Coney Island of Your Mind," by Laurence Ferlinghetti, has a poem that ends with... "and up jumps the mortician." We keep burying our friends. Just read the paper. Retailer after retailer dying slow or even swift deaths. The autopsies confirm that they all had "boring" in their systems. None of them had looked customers in the eyes. None of them really remembered to make the customer king. Maybe that's a fundamental to keep in mind. I would hate to see you go, friend.

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