My first training camp visit, and my impressions

[Hyped]

The non-retail stores should be going more online. It’s an easy way to increase your margins. And many are. I shop at and use a good amount of smaller services online. For one, it takes advantage of your customers’ beliefs that they’re too busy to shop and presents a convenient option for them. For another, shipping and handling costs are going to be lower than the rent organizations pay on brick and mortar stores.

In addition, we all aren't using gas to drive back/forth to stores. In our hood...we have like 2-3 Amazon vans a day....for maybe 300-500 households...ditto with all of these food delivery services as well.

The only downside is cardboard boxes.....I try to give them away...use them for returns...but ultimately I recycle them all....

 

[Deus Irae]

As much as I agree, difficult to argue with the selection, price (often about half) and free delivery. Particularly in the world of electronics, my choice would be Best Buy, Target or Walmart, are they any better???

Amazon and I have a love hate relationship, as much as I wish there were still Radio Shack's, Circuit City's etc. difficult to argue with their choices and ease of process.. particularly as I am "electronically challenged" and can do the research at home and a very easy return policy..

I would never to think to ask a "Walmart Associate" a question about their electronic products.. Best Buy is better, but often I have to look for an associate with a question and sometimes have break up their discussion groups... Target see Walmart.

Whenever possible, use a local store, not another national chain. Use Amazon only for products that you absolutely can't get any other way. The idea that Amazon's great because you save a few cents on a $4 purchase, so you need to buy from Amazon, is shortsighted and silly, because Amazon will do what Walmart has already done, which is push the prices higher once it beats down the competition.

As for customer service, I agree with you about Walmart. Hell, finding a national chain that actually employs people competent in their area of the story gets more difficult by the day. That's one of the reasons I shop local. The service tends to be much better, and much more competent.

 

[Deus Irae]

In addition, we all aren't using gas to drive back/forth to stores. In our hood...we have like 2-3 Amazon vans a day....for maybe 300-500 households...ditto with all of these food delivery services as well.

The only downside is cardboard boxes.....I try to give them away...use them for returns...but ultimately I recycle them all....

Unless you're house bound, you go out anyway. It's takes but a moment to plan out a route with an additional stop.


Y'all are making excuses for being lazy.

 

[Hyped]

Unless you're house bound, you go out anyway. It's takes but a moment to plan out a route with an additional stop.


Y'all are making excuses for being lazy.

I am actually house bound though....I work from home...and I only go out for three reasons: Grocery Shopping, Home Depot Runs, and/or Surfing.

 

[Tony2046]

Unless you're house bound, you go out anyway. It's takes but a moment to plan out a route with an additional stop.


Y'all are making excuses for being lazy.

I'm going shopping.

 

[Kontradiction]

Whenever possible, use a local store, not another national chain. Use Amazon only for products that you absolutely can't get any other way. The idea that Amazon's great because you save a few cents on a $4 purchase, so you need to buy from Amazon, is shortsighted and silly, because Amazon will do what Walmart has already done, which is push the prices higher once it beats down the competition.

As for customer service, I agree with you about Walmart. Hell, finding a national chain that actually employs people competent in their area of the story gets more difficult by the day. That's one of the reasons I shop local. The service tends to be much better, and much more competent.

I’m going through my Black Belt certification in Six Sigma. Even while doing so, I think businesses are going to look back at stressing the concepts of that and Lean as much as they have been as a mistake. It has a trickle down effect of hurting customer service because you’re either intentionally understaffing key areas of the organization or staffing them with cheaper (and lesser, most of the time) personnel while asking your employees to take on more responsibility and hoping to further limit errors, all in the name of efficiency. This creates burned out, unmotivated employees with low morale that feel as if they’re merely a number in the organization as opposed to a part of it. Customer service, as a result, is the first thing that tanks. That’s one of the main reasons you find better customer service shopping at the local mom and pop shops.

 

[Clonamery]

I'm going shopping.

View attachment 23781

...fer beans n fatback?

 

[Tony2046]

I’m going through my Black Belt certification in Six Sigma. Even while doing so, I think businesses are going to look back at stressing the concepts of that and Lean as much as they have been as a mistake. It has a trickle down effect of hurting customer service because you’re either intentionally understaffing key areas of the organization or staffing them with cheaper (and lesser, most of the time) personnel while asking your employees to take on more responsibility and hoping to further limit errors, all in the name of efficiency. This creates burned out, unmotivated employees with low morale that feel as if they’re merely a number in the organization as opposed to a part of it. Customer service, as a result, is the first thing that tanks. That’s one of the main reasons you find better customer service shopping at the local mom and pop shops.

You're pretty much describing what has always existed in a capitalistic market. It all comes down to the dollar. Whether you streamline or customize to get that dollar it's still about being competitive for that dollar.

That's why there's still mom and pop burger joints despite McDonalds being on every corner.

The Amazon and Walmarts of the world have done an amazing job creating one stop shop environments with excellent purchasing, shipping and exchange services but they are also too big to customize.

Yes customer service suffers within certain business models but there's a threshold that still exists as it does with models with great service. Too much of one or the other and the model fails.

Anyway I find myself using both types of businesses depending on what I'm looking for.

 

[Kontradiction]

You're pretty much describing what has always existed in a capitalistic market. It all comes down to the dollar. Whether you streamline or customize to get that dollar it's still about being competitive for that dollar.

That's why there's still mom and pop burger joints despite McDonalds being on every corner.

The Amazon and Walmarts of the world have done an amazing job creating one stop shop environments with excellent purchasing, shipping and exchange services but they are also too big to customize.

Yes customer service suffers within certain business models but there's a threshold that still exists as it does with models with great service. Too much of one or the other and the model fails.

Anyway I find myself using both types of businesses depending on what I'm looking for.

I agree, but it hasn’t been to this extent. American customer satisfaction ratings are in the toilet. The reasons most referenced in surveys are practices that would have been implemented once organizations started leaning heavily on Lean and Six Sigma. We are easily the most overworked country in the developed world and, particularly in tech and finance sectors, are regularly working over 40 hours a week because cost and price leaders have slimmed down their personnel to absurd levels. When you add in the fact that wages have stagnated for years now, you have less people doing more work for longer hours for the same pay. Even organizations that have a differentiation positioning are succumbing to this. The only organization that I can think of that isn’t (at least on the surface) is Zappos.

And I, too, use both. I even use Instacart because I ****ing hate going to the grocery store. The only time I don’t is if I need to re-stock on fruit because those people should be ashamed of themselves for the kind of fruit they pick out. It’s bad in two god damn days.

 

[Hyped]

And I, too, use both. I even use Instacart because I ****ing hate going to the grocery store. The only time I don’t is if I need to re-stock on fruit because those people should be ashamed of themselves for the kind of fruit they pick out. It’s bad in two god damn days.

Hear! Hear!

You gotta touch, weight, smell, shake, and gently squeeze your produce....if someone else is picking it..they don't give a damn...

And while we are at it.....Trader's Joe's produce section blows!

 

[shmessy]

Where am I?

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Where am I?

Remember Admiral Stockdale?

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Amazon.com: lobster

 

[Kontradiction]

Hear! Hear!

You gotta touch, weight, smell, shake, and gently squeeze your produce....if someone else is picking it..they don't give a damn...

And while we are at it.....Trader's Joe's produce section blows!

Yeah, but Trader Joe’s three buck chuck is great.

 

[Hyped]

Yeah, but Trader Joe’s three buck chuck is great.

I actually shop at TJ because I live in a small household (just me and wifey)....and they have a lot of great dishes for two people, quick lunch salads, a great frozen food section, and I love being able to buy a mixed pack of canned IPA's.

Their produce sucks...I think because it is shipped in...whereas at Ralphs (a.k.a. Kroger) they have a dude whose job is to man the produce department....the dude takes pride in the produce the store sells...and supervises....so I hit up both stores for different things.

 

[shmessy]

Remember Admiral Stockdale?

This thread turned into Admiral Stockdale.

.