Catalogs

     With Christmas around the corner many have already started the Christmas shopping experience. I have received several store coupons through the mail along with catalogs. Some of these catalogs are from stores I have never shopped at and a few I have never even heard of. Do companies send out these advertisements and catalogs  around the holidays to get new customers? Of course they do. I receive a catalog from LTD Commodities a few times a year and I have only ordered from them once. They have been sending me catalogs for probably three years now even though I have not placed an order from them in years. Every time I receive one of there catalogs I get excited to look through it. They have really neat stuff for the most part and they are reasonably priced. I often times mark the pages of the items that I would like to purchase and look over it for a few weeks. If any one has received one of there catalogs you will know that they are usually pretty thick and have probably close to 200 pages.
     I find myself never following through with the purchase decision though. They have a mail in order form to send back but I automatically think that that option will take to long. I would have to mail it off and they wouldn't receive it for around 5 days. Then it would take 3-5 days for the order to process then another 5 days to get my order. The whole process could take up to two weeks. I am always so impatient when I am waiting on a package in the mail. I often times set it up so that I receive text message notifications on all packages that I order. So you can see where sending off a mail order form is not ideal for me.
     LTD Commodities also has a website where you can shop and place orders. I have tried to place orders through the website. The problem with this is that there website is not very organized. You can shop by catalogs. With this option you pick the catalog you would like to view and then start looking for the items that you would like. There are pages and pages that you can go through to look at close to 600 items. This may sound good but there is no system to this. So if you are looking for candles, are you really going to look at over 500 items to find candles? No, probably not. The other option is to search the website with the product item #. So basically you look through the catalog they sent through the mail, you write down the item #, you search for each item # online, you add it to you online cart, and then you checkout. This seems like to much work to me. If I planned on ordering more then just a few times I could see where it could take to much time to place an order. I think I would rather just go to a store and get the items I needed. How could this particular company make it easier for customers to place orders?

 

Bell Ringers

 Earlier this week I was out shopping, and the Salvation Army bell ringer was there, like they usually are around this time. As I walked towards the entrance of the store several other customers had went through the door by the bell ringer, some dropping in change others not. The bell ringer greeted each person who went by, there was a total of probably five people. When I got to the door, I expected the same greeting and was disappointed when she said nothing to me. I looked towards her and she was looking at me so I smiled and say hello, still she said nothing. So I went in and did the little bit of shopping that I needed to do. All the employees were busy getting the store ready for black Friday. So the store was a mess, but I was able to get what I needed and get out fairly easy. On the way out a man was a few steps in front of me, I heard the bell ringer speak to him and say something along the lines of have a nice day, so again I expected the same and again I was disappointed when she said nothing to me. As I walked to my car I could hear here greet other customers who were entering and exiting the store. Obviously there was something about me that the lady did not like, at first I thought that maybe she thought that I was rude but once I spoke to her I would have thought that she would have changed her mind. We all have first impressions of people good or bad, but should we use those in all situations at work? I actually thought about giving money when I had first got out of my car and heard the bell, I was going to wait and give the change I had from paying for my purchases but after she had not spoken to me I changed my mind. If she would have said something to me on the way out I would have probable stopped and gave a few dollars. I know that my donation would not have directly benefited her but she did cause the organization a few dollars. Is it right that I based my decision not to give based on the bell ringers actions? Maybe not but I could not see giving money to someone who seemed so rude.        

Black Friday Shopping

 

 As Thanksgiving gets closer so does one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Black Friday ads are out and many shoppers are already excited for the shopping to begin. Over the past recent years stores are opening earlier and Thanksgiving activities are getting cut short. Walmart is starting their Black Friday sale at 6pm on Thursday along with other stores.

   Here is a list of stores that will start Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving:

• Kmart
• HHgreg
• Dick's Sporting Goods
• Old Navy
• Best Buy
• Toys R Us
• Target
• Walmart
• JcPenny
• Kohl's
• Meijer
• Belk
• Lowes
• Gander Mountain
• Shoe Carnival

   Some stores that will not open on Thanksgiving day include:

• Babies R Us
• Cabelas 
• Costco
• Game Stop
• Pier 1 Imports
• Petco
• Nordstrom
• Sam's Club
• TJ Maxx
• Tractor Supply

   Last year Costco statement described its reasons for not opening in Thanksgiving: " Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Nothing more complicated than that."

   I believe that more stores should be like Costco. I do not think that they have to open on Thanksgiving to attract more customers. I have heard from several people that they will not go out shopping on Thanksgiving, but will get out Friday morning to participate in Black Friday shopping. A recent study shows that 1 in 3 Americans plan to shop on Black Friday. Are you one of the ones that will? 

Pumpkin Shortage

  Pumpkin may be a signature fall flavor but a below average sugar pumpkin harvest could lead to a shortage of canned pumpkin.According to crop experts in Illinois, the country's top pumpkin producing state, the large rounded type of pumpkin typically found at pumpkin patches will be enough for all Halloween/fall activities, but that might not be the case for the canned pumpkin.

   "I would not wait until November 20th," University of Illinois professor Mohammad Badodoost said, "I'd buy it whenever it comes to the store."

   Sugar, or pie pumpkins are not the same as the pumpkins that we carve for Halloween. Sugar pumpkins are smaller and have more flesh.

   Farmers are blaming the shortage on the record rain fall in June for washing out their sugar pumpkin crop. Some planters even planted a second round of crops, and they were washed out as well.

   Illinois makes up 90 percent if all pumpkins grown in the U.S.

   So if pumpkin pie is part of your upcoming holiday traditions, you may want to go ahead and stock up on canned pumpkin.

Non profits

   Non profit organizations collect as much as 40% of their donations around the end of the year. It's not just the spirit of giving, it's the tax deduction that attracts much of that. Recently I have seen that companies tend to send nickels out as part of their campaign to collect donations. How does sending out money help collect money? What if the charity kept the nickel and only sent out a letter, would they receive more donations including the nickel they saved? I know that it sounds ridiculous thinking that  a nickel could have an impact on a company, but if they send out 2,000 letters that is $100.00. Some charities such as Children's Hospital Los Angeles says that for every nickel it spends in the campaign, it makes a dime; but does that nickel really have to be sent to make the dime?
   After doing some research, I have learned that companies mail out money ($0.05) as an inexpensive premium. Most of the items that you receive in the mail, such as greeting cards, address labels, calendars,and notepads typically cost more than $0.05. So with the company sending money they actually save on the campaign.
  Direct mail is still more effective than the internet in terms of fundraising, but direct mail is not exactly environmentally friendly.To attract just one new donor, nonprofits need to send out about 200 pieces of mail.
   Just this week I have received several pieces of mail asking for donations. One of those from the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Written on the envelope,'This nickel can help provide life-saving assistance to paralyzed veterans.' Also included with the nickel were; 72 address labels, 10 holiday gift tags, 10 envelope seals, and a magnetic 2016 calendar. My first thought when opening up the envelope was why did they send so many things? I can understand if I had already sent them a donation previously, that they might step up the 'gifts' as thinking that I might send them another donation but they are risking valuable campaign dollars one just one letter sent out.  
   I know that everyone gets mail asking for donations, and that not everyone donates to the same causes but do you base your donations on the free items that they send you? Do people really donate just because of the company sent you a nickel? What are your thoughts?

Drive in theater

  Saturday October 17 was Sand Mountain Twin Drive-In Theaters Halloween night. The theater plays four different Halloween movies that last all night. The price for admission is $15.00 per car. So you could be a group of seven or just two and will pay the same price. To promote this once a year night, they gave each person who entered the theater a meal ticket. This ticket could be used in the concession area to get a free hot dog meal. The price listed for a hot dog is $2.25. So if you had seven people in one vehicle and each used the meal ticket, the drive-in gave away $15.75 in food cost. The drive-in used the idea to get more people to come to the movies but was is a good decision? The thinking from the company is that if we get them here, they will more than likely spend money to make up the difference in cost for the free hot dog.
     So back to the example of the seven passengers; if they all used the meal ticket (free hot dog) and bought a drink ($3.00 for small, $3.25 medium, $4.00 large) the drive-in had the opportunity to sell $28.00 of products. Other favorite movie snacks including popcorn, candy, and nachos are also available for purchase to make up for the free hot dog meals. Some other items that were offered for purchase was pizza, funnel cakes, chicken fingers, cheeseburgers, corn dogs, and chili cheese fries. With more items offered and during the six hour movie marathon playing that night, I think the drive-in used the meal ticket to their advantage and ended up making more money and attracting more customers with this offer.

Big News for McDonald's Customers

McDonald's made big changes to the menu earlier this week. As of Tuesday, October 6th customers can order breakfast items at any time during the day. Sounds perfect, right? Well there is a catch; only certain breakfast items are in the all day menu. For most of the southern states including; Alabama, Louisiana,Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the Biscuit Menu is available.

Biscuit Menu includes:

Bacon egg cheese biscuit
Sausage and egg biscuit
Sausage biscuit
Fruit and maple oatmeal
Sausage burrito
Fruit  and yogurt parfait
Hotcakes
Hotcakes and sausage
Hash browns
 
For Northern states the McMuffin Menu is available. The items are the same as the biscuit menu only they are served on McMuffins rather than biscuits.

McDonald's say the decision was based on local customer preference.

McDonald's has been pressured with the idea to serve breakfast items for awhile now. McDonald's previously said that it was pretty much impossible to serve breakfast all day. The thinking was that the restaurants were too busy and the kitchens were too small to handle breakfast orders on top of burger orders.This is why McDonald's is limiting the menu to prevent kitchens from getting overwhelmed by cooking breakfast and burgers at the same time.

Some items that are not included on the all day breakfast menu are; breakfast platters, McGriddles, and bagel sandwiches.

I went on McDonald'd Facebook page and read some of the comments about the all day breakfast menu. Some of the comments included concerns for not including McGriddles and hash browns. McDonald's had replied to some of the comments and stated that hash browns were included in 90% of restaurants all day breakfast menu and that they were starting with a limited menu but that it could possibly grow to include other favorites such as the McGriddles.I was actually surprised to see how much McDonald'd had replied to comments left by customers.

Some of the concerns about having the all day breakfast menu is that breakfast items generally cost less than burgers. Will this impact McDonald's negatively? Will customers who normally buy burgers buy breakfast items and not spend as much money? Or will this attract new customers? I think only time will tell.

Checkout Aisle Impulse Buys

  We are all familiar with waiting in line at the store and being surrounded by products. They are normally the things that you did not come to buy but as you wait in line you start to think, maybe I should get a drink, I think I will get a candy bar, or I'll just look through this magazine until I checkout. All of these items can easily become impulse buys. According to a study sponsored by Mars, Time-Warner, Wrigley, Coca-Cola and others; 1% of all supermarket sales happen at the checkout counter. The top items include; candy, gum, magazines, and drinks. Other popular items that are seen at the checkout are chap-sticks, trail size products, small toys, and nail clippers. I know that Kmart tends to have candy and drinks as well as a variety of products ranging from cards to bobby pins. We are all accustomed to seeing candy and drinks at supermarkets and grocery stores but now we are seeing these items at stores such as; Ace Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, and even Old Navy.
  Does the self-checkout system reduce impulse buys? Self-checkout is becoming more popular and are in several stores; but if you have ever used this service you will recall that there is not a lot of items around the checkout counter. These items are placed as you are going into the self-checkout zone and can easily be ignored by customers. Speaking from my experience, I am more likely to pick up items like drinks or snacks while in line at a regular checkout rather than self-checkout. They make it more convenient.

Is the customer always right?

     We have all heard the saying, 'The customer is always right,' but is that true? If we observe customer and employee interactions we can come to the conclusion that this is not. Earlier this week I was in a customer service line waiting to get a gift wrapped. As I was waiting I overheard the lady next to me talking to the employee about a problem she had with one of her purchases. She had bought a pair of shoes and after wearing them once she noticed that the front strap on the right shoe was starting to become unattached. She had returned those shoes at a previous time and was now on her second pair. She was having the same problem with the second pair of shoes and that is what brought her back to the store. She explained all this to the employee and asked to see the manager. The manager came out and listened to her story, apologized for the problem she was having with her shoe and offered to exchange the shoes, refund her money, or send the shoes off to the company to see if they could be repaired. The store no longer had that certain style of shoe so if she exchanged the shoe it would have to be for a different shoe style. The customer was not happy with any of the options. She wanted the shoe to be fixed in-store so that it could be taken home that day. The manger explained that the store could make no shoe repairs and that they would have to be sent to the shoe company but the customer argued that since the shoe was sold in their store they should be able to fix it.
     In this situation, the employees tried to satisfy the customer the best they could, but the customer still thought that they should have done more. I think that in this certain situation the employees were right in how they handled it, they offered her several options trying to resolve the issue. In the end the customer left the store with the broken shoe since she refused to let the employees help.

Recent shopping experience

  On Thursday, I went to Belk to pick out a gift. While still in the parking lot, I seen two ladies carrying their dogs into the store. My first thought was why are they taking a dog into the store and my second thought is that they are not going to get far before one of the employees tells them that they can not have pets in the store. I am a dog lover but I do not feel that a shopping store such as Belk is a place for a pet. Please note these dogs where not service dogs. I went in and found my way to the home department which was located upstairs and toward the back of the store, passing several employees who all greeted me. When I made it to the home department I noticed the two ladies with the dogs had also made it to the home department. This had me thinking that they had to have passed the same numerous employees as I had. So I was wondering why they were still able to be in the store with their pets. I went on and started doing my shopping temporarily forgetting about the dogs. I had probably been shopping for 15 minutes when I passed by them again, this time they were talking to an employee. As I went by I could somewhat hear the conversation and the group was talking about how they were doing and how the dogs were. Clearly they knew each other and from the looks of the situation the two dog owners had just come to talk to the employee. My concern is why these two dog owners were allowed to bring their pets into the store. Was it only because they knew an employee? Does Belk not have any regulations on pets? Next time I'm in Belk, could I bring my dog? Having dogs in a store can cause serious issues, from damaging products to hurting customers. I just do not think a company such as Belk would risk that to accommodate pet owners.

Yard sale advertisements

  All summer long we see signs for yard sales. Most of the time they are just a poster board with the information written with a marker. Seems simple enough, right? So why is that for the most part yard sale signs are poor quality? Either the writing is to small, the sign is not visible for drivers or people try to put to much information on the sign.
  The sign in the picture above states; 'EPIC YARD SALE,' it gives the time, location and even states that credit and debit cards are accepted. It definitely sounds like an epic yard sale to me if they are accepting debit and credit cards! I took this picture while stopped at a light, but even if you were driving through and didn't get stopped by the light you would still be able to clearly see the sign.
  Just from the sign, I already knew that this would be a yard sale that I would want to go to. People should think about the type of sign that would catch their attention before making their own yard sale sign.