Big Box Retailer Myths

There seems to be a myth floating around out there that as soon as you walk into a large chain retailer like the one I work for you are on your own and that you have no chance at all of a) finding a sales associate and b) finding a sales associate that knows anything. Well hold on to your hat because nothing could be farther from the truth.
 Now I will start by saying that yes, there are some retail chains that do staff so their locations so thinly that you can fire a cannon through the store and not hit a soul. Yes, on a Tuesday morning there will be fewer staff working than there would be say on a Saturday afternoon, but when you do 30% of your sales on one day of the week I, as a consumer would hope that's the case. Most retailers have a cost out formula based on past sales, future budgets, payroll wages etc that go into this complicated formula that tells the manager how many hours they can spend on payroll for that week. If we had as many staff as our customers would like us to have, we wouldn't make a dime.
 MYTH #1, Staff don't know squat.
 Sheer and utter bullcrap! Yes the majority may be young, but they also tend to be university students, well educated, smart, mature people who are totally capable of independent thought. They aren't just mindless robots who sweep floors and go fetch a box for you out of the back room., so please don't treat them like that.  Every store (at least in our case) usually has 3 or 4 product experts that participates in specialized training courses to learn about the latest and greatest products and innovations relevant to a particular vertical, be it footwear, bikes, hockey equipment, ski and snowboards, outerwear, what have you. We are then tasked (yes, I'm one of them) with bringing that knowledge back to the store level and passing it on to the sales associates so they can help the customer make informed decisions about the products they are interested in. They also go through several constantly updated training modules to keep them up to speed on what and how to help recommend the right products and services.
 The sales guys and gals are usually very active in sports themselves and can articulate certain aspects of the sport the consumer might not be aware of (" There's great tree skiing on this mountain, don't put your ski boots in the trunk on the way to the resort, they will be frozen stiff when you get there", etc. etc.)
MYTH #2, We can't Special Order anything
 Just give us a deposit on the product you are salivating over and we'd be happy to order anything you want from any supplier we do business with. But I'm afraid that seal fur lined ski boot warmer from Japan you saw on the infomercial at 4AM last night is not something I am able to get my hands on for you...
MYTH #3, We only carry entry level crap.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Big box stores like mine have always had the higher end gear to some degree, but only recently have we really made a commitment to be the one stop shop. One weakness was we didn't carry the fringe "accessory" items but that has changed. And besides, if we don't have it, see myth #2.
MYTH #4, No after sales service.
Uh-uh. You buy it, we'll fix it if it breaks, correctly and quickly. Plus small independent shops have to send products back to their suppliers for credit or replacement if their is a warranty issue, so say goodbye to riding your favorite snowboard for 2-3 weeks. We are enabled to make the call on the spot and if it is a legitimate manufacturers defect you walk out with a replacement...or a credit to go pick it up at another location.
The large chain store isn't something to be looked at with disdain. We have the products and tools and people to help you live a healthy, active lifestyle.