What are they thinking of?

[cornermouse]

Yesterday, after getting up at 3 a.m. and working a full day I had to go shopping for needed items. I thought one-stop shopping and went to the nearest mega store. Walked a quarter of a mile to get to the door, had to go to both corners at the back of the building and still couldn't find all my items.
:eyes:

Went to the second mega store, walked a couple of miles getting to both corners at the back of the store, couldn't find my items, left emptyhanded because I was starting to get ticked off.
:grr:

Went to a third mega store, same scenario.
:grr: :grr:

Finally went to the Store That Shall Not Be Named. Visited both corners at the back of the store walking miles in the process. Still couldn't find the item. Staggered back out the door emptyhanded and exhausted...
:nuke:

With a population that is aging, what ARE these people thinking of as they build bigger and bigger mega stores? Have any of them tried to build smaller stores that are more aimed to catering to an older customer? (Not that I'm there yet.) How about stocking necessities near the door? If yesterday is an example of what old age is going to be like, I can tell you right now that I'm not going to these stores when I get old.
:rant:

[Demeter]

1. Evil Marketing Ploy: Their Thinking Is If the Customer Must Traverse the

entire store to get milk or motor oil, then he/she will fill the cart with impulse purchases.

I personally don't think it's working, not any more. But the floor plans remain. The Mega stores are full of junk I never have and never will buy, and more of the items I consider essential aren't carried by anyone anymore. Try shopping the Internet, next time!

[cornermouse]

2. I like the internet and do shop on it from time to time,

but there are some things you really need to be able to see, pick up, and turn over or try on before buying. :D

[KyuzoGator]

15. It's the reason soup cans aren't alphabetized.

So you're forced to look at all of them before you find the one you want.

[Rosemary2205]

3. ROFL

Why do you think they have all those electric carts by the door?

I sympathize (or is that empathize?) - Fortunately for me, I live in the land of strip mall hell. One store for this, another store for that -- and me willing to make do or do without rather than megamart it.

And yes, they are likely to have to add a boatload of handicapped spots to the megamarts to accomodate all those vans and Hoverounds. :)

[cornermouse]

4. There aren't that many small stores around here and I was really hoping

to just walk in get the stuff and go home to collapse. Instead I found myself in a marathon.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I know exactly what you are talking about. If you shop for pet food

and people food you have to walk from one end of the store to the other, front to back. The same is true of toiletries, drugs and automotive items. That way, to get to the everyday necessities you have to walk past all the things you didn't go in the store to buy in the hope that you'll pick something up on your way.

[cornermouse]

10. The older and cheaper I get, the less I pick up.

:)

[rogerashton]

6. Notice, also

that as soon as you know where to look for something, they rearrange the store.

My office is down the hall from the Marketing department, where they teach and consult that "a confused customer is a profitable customer."

[cornermouse]

8. To some extent they might be right, and

On their side of the argument. People like to shop. They like to find bargains.

BUT.

On the other side of the argument are things which they might not be factoring into their decision. Again, the population overall is aging. The overwhelming majority of women nowdays have to work 40 hours a week outside of the home and fit the rest of their lives in wherever and whenever they can. Thanks to George Bush and the republican party, they're also likely to be working much later in life and less able to buy the wide variety offered in the mega-stores.

As some of us get older, we get tired, cranky, and don't want to put up with a lot of inconvenience, such as mega-stores that force us to cover the back 40 acres in an attempt to find what we need to buy on our way home. We appreciate the vast array of items available in the superstores, but if necessary we probably appreciate it better on our days off IF we have the time and money which again, thanks to George Bush and the republican party gets less likely every day.

I'm not kidding when I say I won't be shopping at mega-stores when I do get older. My needs are probably going to be smaller, more individual sized, and more practical. I don't need to visit a mega-store for that.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. I'm not sure what you wanted,

but around here I go to the salvage stores first. One is run by a Mennonite family, and they are really nice to everyone. Since you never know what you might find, I expect NOT to find exactly what I want, and am delightfully surprised when I do. For necessities (such as toilet paper), I go to the small chains, like Dollar General and Fred's. They have the stuff I need, often at less than MalWort prices, and I don't have to walk all over kingdom come to find them.

[cornermouse]

11. I don't think there are any salvage stores nearby or on the road

home. I have begun to shop at Dollar General, but I really prefer something on the same side of the road as I go home so I don't have to fight traffic to get back out on the road.

[karlrschneider]

9. The nearby store "that must not be named"

(which I confess to visiting fairly often since it is the ONLY remaining grocery store in this county :grr:) moves all their shit around every couple of days. One day coffee will be next to bread and 3 days later it's next to the motor oil. It's fucking MADDENING. :mad:

[cornermouse]

12. See that hapless and helpless little clerk loitering in the aisle?

}( GRAB HIM! Quick before he can escape! }(

[novalib]

13. Two Things.

Here are two things that help older folks:

1. Telephone first. Often, a phone call to a tore (even a mega store) will help to find out if the store carries the item(s) and has it (them) in stock.

2. Some supermarkets offer order-by-telephone. You call in a list of the items you want, and the store delivers them to you.

And here's a third --

3. Physical exercise (including walking) can be good for the heart and for the circulation.

[cornermouse]

14. The day I let someone pick out my veggies and fruits for me is

the day they nail the lid down on the coffin. Physical exercise? Most days I can walk the legs off my kids.

As it happened, I got up at 3 a.m. that morning, worked my full shift, and hit my first store about 4 p.m. The third mega-store I went to was a building supply store, I headed to the electrical department, couldn't find the item I was looking for, asked a clerk when I found one and was sent to a different department, from there I was forwarded on to third department. The third department directed me to go to the first department. That was right after I gave up and just before I walked out the door empty handed...again.

[novalib]

17. I Hope You Reported Your Experience

I hope you reported your experience in the building supply stoe to the management of the store.

It is clear that they have not been providing adequate training in customer relations to their floor staff. Management needs to be berated and told that unless they improve the training opportunities for their employees, they will lose customers!

[Rex]

16. Bigger is better. Stupid saying that Americans buy into.

One day we will need cars to cart around our 'stuff' in the megalithic stores of the future! They will have gas stations INSIDE the store!

[OnionPatch]

18. This is why

I shop on the internet so much. I'm through wasting hours and hours of my life trapsing through mega-stores looking for a particular item. If there's any chance at all that the item I'm looking for might be the least bit hard to find in a local store, I purchase it online. Shipping fees?......well worth it. My time is worth the shipping fee.

The only stores I go in these days are grocery stores.