Shopping at Foxes. Has this ever happened to you?

It is amazing to me how different people experience the same situation so drastically different. And then I went shopping at Foxes of NY.

It all started to make sense. There were employees who were obvious stand-outs  and those who were probably going nowhere.

As I shopped I basically kept to myself yet observing everything. It was later on so I’m sure everyone was tired. This is when you see the real employee.

Although every conversation I overheard was status quo, I was frustrated knowing that every employee could have been creating extraordinary experiences instead. For instance when I went downstairs there were two employees talking while leaning on a sale rack. They both glanced at me and went back to their conversation. When they finished up, about two minutes later one went and abruptly turned the music off and the other to tell shoppers that they had only eight minutes left before closing time. Both fairly normal occurrences but they were preceded by one of those employees first announcing that she “Can’t wait to get out of here.” I was shocked! Who trained these employees? Employees should feel like the store is their stage and when they are on the floor they are “on.” Could you imagine going to a Broadway play and having one of the actors leaning against a prop instead of joining the chorus line in the final dance and then even worse saying, “I can’t wait to get out of here” to a packed house of people who have rearranged schedules and paid good money to get there. Money that pays her salary by way.

So there I was in a store that this employee can’t wait to get out of and I am thinking whoever trained her must have missed the part about consumer confidence because now instead of the candy land of clothing I was in, I now found myself in a fluorescent-lit basement, surrounded by shoes I really don’t need.

Now I’m checking out and having another average experience listing to the women next to me trying to checkout but she is lost in the system. She is trying to pay but her name is not coming up. She is from Connecticut and has spelled her name H A R R I S several times all while saying, “That’s strange, I shop at Foxes all over the country and just received a coupon which is why I’m here.”

I am being rung up by an unsmiling employee who is saying everything right but as if she is forgetting me as she is saying the words. (Not her fault. Why do more when if you do a little less, you are actually making more money right? Plus how can anyone ever get to know me with questions like “Did you find everything you were looking for?” These closed ended questions keeps the employee disengaged and the lines moving so everyone can “Get out of here.”

Now Mrs. Harris is finally finishing up next to me but her checkout must have lasted at least four minutes while they suggested different home addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and other sensitive information for different Mrs. Harrises around the country and she continued to say, “No, but I’ve shopped at the Foxes in that town.” Not once did anyone say thank you for being such a valued customer or “Mrs. Harris, my name is Melanie, and when I find you in the system I am going to make sure you are in our database as a preferred customer and get my manager Susan in the loop so this never happens again.” Or Mrs. Harris, my name is Melanie and my manager’s name is Susan please ask for either one of us next time you shop, we would like to do something special for you for this little inconvenience. We know your time is valuable.” Nothing like that was said and the laborious guessing game which should not be part of a shopping experience was never even acknowledged.

As I turned to leave after being told to have a nice evening a woman I had not yet seen was walking, smiling and talking to another employee who was not smiling. The smiling woman came within five feet of me and abruptly turned while the other women spoke and thanked me for coming in tonight. Manager I thought. I glanced at the employee who had been talking. She seemed to be annoyed that she was interrupted. I may be wrong but since she wasn’t smiling , my perception is that my presence, and consequently my purchase, interrupted her story. 

Now, rewind to when I first arrived: I went upstairs and overheard the tail end of an exchange where a customer was asking for an employee’s name. Uh-oh. That usually spells trouble especially on the upper west side of New York City.  I missed the employee’s response but she had a happy tone in the answering so I relaxed and started browsing. Why would someone be asking for an employee’s name I wondered. This was something out of the ordinary.  I found a Michael Kors puffy coat that I was definitely not looking for and absolutely could not afford on my little shopping excursion for a pair of pants. Eh, I’ll try it on any way I thought. Oh my god! This is bad. I love everything. Crap. Why did I leave the house? O.K. stop. You NEED pants for the presentation. You do not need another jacket. (Even though the jacket and pants look STUNNING together.) Sorry Michael. I have to break-up with you after this brief tryst on the second floor at 79^th street. It hurts me more than it will hurt you. Me with heavy feet dreading the clink of the hanger returning to it’s rack.

“How  are you finding the coats?” asked a voice as I looked at Michael on last time. How am I finding the coats? Is this a retail employee asking an open ended question on a snowy, cold night in the middle of a very serious break-up? Could there be hope for customer service yet? This employee just asked a question which was impossible to say “Yes, no or I’m just looking” to! What a pleasant surprise! “I love them! I just wish I could afford this one and my rent this month!” “Aren’t they beautiful? They are 25% off you know.” What? Although the sign was right there the whole time, I had seen the jacket first and fell so hard, I hadn’t seen anything after that. This was a dream come true! Michael and I together forever all because of a fantastic, Dark hair & glasses, 55+ year old, customer service employee who made Foxes glimmer and shine through her product knowledge, customer engagement, enthusiasm for me to get what I want and the sparkle in her eye. I will be back because of you.