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putting your finger on it.
Jan. 7th, 2016 12:44 pmThis morning I noticed something in the top news box on FB about how Macy's is planning on closing a number of stores due to poor sales. It wasn't too surprising and confirmed some suspicions I had when I was in the states and went into Macy's in Seattle. I went twice. The first time I tried to buy a box of Frango mints because that is what one does at Christmas in my family. I was struck by a couple of things; they didn't have all the lights on, on the ground floor. They had the recessed lighting off. It wasn't all that busy on the 22nd of December, and I could not find a sales person. I gave up that day. My kids were grumpy and I shouldn't have to hunt down a sales person like they are Dr. Livingstone. (especially at Christmas.)
I returned after Christmas with a friend. This friend and I used to do a thing where during the Christmas season we would go downtown, do some shopping, look at Christmas ornaments, buy frango mints, and have ourselves a time. (She is one of my favorite people to go shopping with. She has a great eye, and solid opinions.) We had coffee drinks, wandered through Nordstrom (which was doing quite a bit of business) and then went to Macy's -which used to have a fantastic Holiday Lane up on the sixth floor. It was truly a wonderland of sparkly Christmas stuff. Not anymore. And yes the store was oddly quiet. They had moved Holiday lane to the third floor. (which is now mostly house-wares and the like.) and it was just one corner. (I had briefly visited before Christmas and even then it was kind of sad looking.) Nothing looked appealing. (and it was pretty overpriced for the quality.) We perused some of the other departments I noticed there were few sales, the merchandising was haphazard, cluttered, and all the departments were pale version of what they used to be. The quality of the clothing on offer wasn't that impressive for what they were asking. It made me think of the sad dying days of places like Lamonts. (another Seattle department store) Things were shoddy. We eventually found the chocolates we wanted and the lady who helped us was very nice but I took note of her clothes. It was a casual (perfectly nice) outfit and quite different from what I was required to wear when this store was a Bon Marché back in the day. (mind you this was 15 years ago when I worked there.) We were not allowed to dress casual in those days. (and were required to wear nylons. Good god that part was ridiculous. And expensive.) So much has changed, and with the rise of the buying online a brick and mortar store has to evolve and work in the present state of things and you can see the difference between the places that kept up (like Nordstrom. Which has a great online presence, pretty solid customer service, and they know exactly what they are doing.) and those that were just a bit too slow.
I kept thinking of when I worked there and how it used to have such a strong identity, and it would be reliably busy. It was a crazy place to work but it was a beautiful and interesting place to work. I learned from some of the very best people in the business about the art of customer service. (Some of these people had worked a Frederick & Nelson back in the day.) I loved talking to the people who were in charge of creating displays for the windows. They told some hilarious stories and gave a lot of good advice about how to arrange things. (Put those skills to use in later jobs, and at home when doing things up for Christmas.)
But walking around in there the other day I said to my friend, "I wonder when they will announce closures. This isn't good. It feels sad to be in here. Something isn't right."
I returned after Christmas with a friend. This friend and I used to do a thing where during the Christmas season we would go downtown, do some shopping, look at Christmas ornaments, buy frango mints, and have ourselves a time. (She is one of my favorite people to go shopping with. She has a great eye, and solid opinions.) We had coffee drinks, wandered through Nordstrom (which was doing quite a bit of business) and then went to Macy's -which used to have a fantastic Holiday Lane up on the sixth floor. It was truly a wonderland of sparkly Christmas stuff. Not anymore. And yes the store was oddly quiet. They had moved Holiday lane to the third floor. (which is now mostly house-wares and the like.) and it was just one corner. (I had briefly visited before Christmas and even then it was kind of sad looking.) Nothing looked appealing. (and it was pretty overpriced for the quality.) We perused some of the other departments I noticed there were few sales, the merchandising was haphazard, cluttered, and all the departments were pale version of what they used to be. The quality of the clothing on offer wasn't that impressive for what they were asking. It made me think of the sad dying days of places like Lamonts. (another Seattle department store) Things were shoddy. We eventually found the chocolates we wanted and the lady who helped us was very nice but I took note of her clothes. It was a casual (perfectly nice) outfit and quite different from what I was required to wear when this store was a Bon Marché back in the day. (mind you this was 15 years ago when I worked there.) We were not allowed to dress casual in those days. (and were required to wear nylons. Good god that part was ridiculous. And expensive.) So much has changed, and with the rise of the buying online a brick and mortar store has to evolve and work in the present state of things and you can see the difference between the places that kept up (like Nordstrom. Which has a great online presence, pretty solid customer service, and they know exactly what they are doing.) and those that were just a bit too slow.
I kept thinking of when I worked there and how it used to have such a strong identity, and it would be reliably busy. It was a crazy place to work but it was a beautiful and interesting place to work. I learned from some of the very best people in the business about the art of customer service. (Some of these people had worked a Frederick & Nelson back in the day.) I loved talking to the people who were in charge of creating displays for the windows. They told some hilarious stories and gave a lot of good advice about how to arrange things. (Put those skills to use in later jobs, and at home when doing things up for Christmas.)
But walking around in there the other day I said to my friend, "I wonder when they will announce closures. This isn't good. It feels sad to be in here. Something isn't right."
