A Tale Of Two Stores

Let me tell you the tale of two grocery stores. The first one, let me call it store J, has been part of our town for decades. It used to be the place where all the town citizens would pass by each other when they did their grocery shopping. It was a friendly, clean store with great meat. It was known throughout the area as a great place to shop. Eventually it passed to the original owner's son and then a few years ago to some long time employees. Years ago the store moved to a new much larger location and then expanded there several times. Then it began to open on Sundays and the owners tried to add all sorts of extras, crowding the narrow aisles, in an attempt to keep up with area competition. Along the way it began to lose many of the special things that made it a unique local business. About a year ago or so, a brand new store that also had its roots in Lancaster County expanded and added a beautiful modern building about four miles away. Let me call it store S. It had the advantages of being big and modern with a large stock and variety of items. We began to shop there once in awhile, especially on days when we passed it on the way home from our morning walks at Park City. Now recently I have been doing much more of our grocery shopping and I have begun to notice some striking comparisons. Store J often has clerks stocking the shelves while folks are shopping and they often block the narrow aisles. Store S appears to do most of its stocking of shelves after hours. When you enter Store J you are generally ignored by the men and girls working outside while at Store S you are greeted with a smile and a welcome. When store J has a sale, these sale items are often gone when you go for them while at store S the shelves are generally full. The last two times I shopped at Store J for lunch meat it appeared that I was bothering the clerks who really didn't appear to want to serve me. I certainly didn't get a smile or even a thank you. And in one case I'm not sure if the clerk even knew what she was doing. At store S the clerks at the meat counter were friendly and smiling and shared specials and offered us free samples. At Store J there are never free samples although there is a small stand near the meat counter that appears to offer something even though it has always been empty and in the way. At store S there is free coffee, tea, samples of fruits, samples of special items and of course, free samples of lunch meat. At store J the clerks throughout the store appear not to want to be bothered but at store S they will go out of their way to help you find a product. At store J my wife recently witnessed a clerk being publicly humiliated by the owner. At store J the check out clerks generally have nothing to say and often appear to keep looking at their watches. However, a couple of the old-timers are exceptions to this. At store S the check-out clerks greet you, talk to you and appear to enjoy what they are doing. At store J employees appear to be there just for a paycheck while at store S it appears that they are there to serve you. In general it appears that folks enjoy working at store S while at store J they are putting in time. Now that has created a dilemma for us. We believe it is important to support local business and we have been regular customers for over 40 years. The previous owners were good to our boys who worked there. Their prices are as good as the competition. And many of our friends still shop there. It is more convenient for us and we know where things are. But in recent years something has been lost. Now how important are friendliness and service to retaining customers? Well last Saturday we had to go shopping and I asked my wife where she would like to go this time. She paused for a few seconds and said that she would like to go to store S. Now even though I knew it would take us 30 extra minutes and a half gallon of expensive gas, I agreed. And at least on that Saturday, store S happily served us and earned our $100 order. Convenience and tradition versus service and friendliness? An interesting question for today's shoppers.