Sometimes, Supporting A Brick & Mortar Is Hard To Stomach

[MisterBoll]

I've given up on general stationers such as WH Smith and Ryman. I take my custom now to a specialist writing instrument shop.

 

Not communists are they?

[Opooh]

Can't imagine I would ever buy a FP online, I prefer the B&M store in Tilburg.

[rumbleroar]

*sigh* tell me about it. I got a VP a few months ago from my local B&M store. There are two in my area, but the levengers in Boston got some pretty awful reviews so I went to the Bromfield Pen Shop instead, which was small but pretty good. I had wanted to get a binderized nib, but I knew that I needed to try the pen before I dished out that kind of money, and once I got there I didn't feel right testing a pen and then buying it elsewhere. If they weren't so nice, I might have walked out and bought it online, but they were great, so I just got it then and there. No binderized nib for me. Maybe I'll ask for it for graduation.

I absolutely love the shop, it's adorable, but I have no idea how they make money. It's on this little side street that's impossible to find. Good luck to them.

[sharonspens]

*sigh* tell me about it. I got a VP a few months ago from my local B&M store. There are two in my area, but the levengers in Boston got some pretty awful reviews so I went to the Bromfield Pen Shop instead, which was small but pretty good. I had wanted to get a binderized nib, but I knew that I needed to try the pen before I dished out that kind of money, and once I got there I didn't feel right testing a pen and then buying it elsewhere. If they weren't so nice, I might have walked out and bought it online, but they were great, so I just got it then and there. No binderized nib for me. Maybe I'll ask for it for graduation.

 

I absolutely love the shop, it's adorable, but I have no idea how they make money. It's on this little side street that's impossible to find. Good luck to them.

Ah, but find it people do! I have a Phileas bought there many years ago. I visit every time I'm in Boston.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

And what they do stock is questionable.........at least to me.

 

I still remember, quite fondly, walking into a bookstore and asking for something and the salesperson knowing exactly where it was and telling you interesting stories about the author. These days are gone. I miss looking at a book before purchasing and wandering through the aisles waiting for something to strike my fancy.

 

Today we have amazon - that great giant corporation we are, more or less, forced into supporting and worshipping. Of course, you can buy a lovely 'kindle' (book burning, anyone) and 'have' virtual books they control (even after purchase). Fun.

 

You can rest assured that were you to ask where 50 Shades of Grey is, the clerk can point it out to you without missing a beat. Or Suzanne Collins.

 

However, "give me the Oxford Etymology Dictionary!" is returned with a puzzled look, and a clear "I have no idea what that is, is that edible?" kind of an expression.

 

I no longer purchase English books from B&M. Forget it. I'll come back when Barnes and Noble's start stocking more than a dozen from Penguin series.

 

As for pens... well, I don't really buy pens from B&M shops. I look around, but the only pens I bought from B&M (apart from cheapies) are Montblanc, and that was from a boutique.

[checkrail]

Carrying a wide range of low volume, high end stock is extremely expensive for shop retailers. They cannot achieve the economies of scale. Not having in stock something you might sell once in a blue moon is not surprising.

Regards

Timothy

[RobertP]

I still remember, quite fondly, walking into a bookstore and asking for something and the salesperson knowing exactly where it was and telling you interesting stories about the author. These days are gone.

 

We have a fairly large Waterstones book store near us and one of the guys working there is an absolute book addict. I now try to avoid him when I go in looking for something new to read, because every time I talk to him, he introduces me to so many new books that could (and do) interest me, I end up spending a fortune and staggering out with a bag almost splitting at the seams.

 

It is a joy to see him working as he infects everyone he meets with his enthusiasm for reading and seems to know everything about everything they sell! Someone like that is a very rare find these days, especially in a big chain style store.

 

I have had reasonably decent experiences with B&M pen shops recently, either things were in stock or could be ordered fast. But I have to admit that most of my stuff gets bought online from a couple of UK online shops that have provided me with absolutely excellent service.

 

Rob

Edited October 17, 2013 by RobertP

[carlosviet]

I, for one, find the OP reaction unfair. You didn't get a bad service. You called and you were correctly answered your questions about what they had. They didn't lie making you go there for a pen that they actually hadn't. You also didn't get a badly mannered phone service... Did he exaggerate or showed some ignorance? Yes, but that does not make it an affront. What kind of terrible insult or disservice did you get that makes you rule out this shop for ever?

[BrandonA]

 

Out of curiosity, is a city population of 360000 big? The current city where I am is the smallest I've ever lived in with 2.7 million so anything below 2 mil and I can't even imagine.

 

In the UK we only have one city larger than 2,000,000 (London), only one other (Birmingham) over 1,000,000. I would call 360,000 medium sized. I guess it depends on your country though and how big a particular city is when compared to others.

 

I think local shops have to be competitive on both price and choice as well as service. They can't rely on people wanting to support them.

 

I remember going into an electronics store to buy a hi-fi. I spoke to the salesman, I knew the product I wanted and wanted to buy. I asked if they'd be willing to match their own stores website price which was £10 cheaper (it was only a cheap system), he replied NO. I said, no problem, I'll buy online. The large national chain is now bankrupt and I think they've only got themselves to blame. In this instance I did buy from their online store but by the time you've left the store and resort to online you will buy cheap as long as the store is reputable.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

In the UK we only have one city larger than 2,000,000 (London), only one other (Birmingham) over 1,000,000. I would call 360,000 medium sized. I guess it depends on your country though and how big a particular city is when compared to others.

 

I've only lived in London in regards to the UK; all the rest were the capitals of the respective countries save where I am now, with population exceeding 2 million at least. So I think my senses of "city" and "town" are quite off, as I found Chicago to be rather small.

 

But I'm severely biased. Having never lived in a city without underground, opera house, ballet theatre, a few art museums and a concert hall, I somehow feel (not consider, mind you) that this is the norm of a "city", but I always have to remind myself that no, that's not the norm, wake up Gabrielle.

 

If the shop in question was Paradise Pen, I can quite believe that it is the largest pens retailer chain in the US. I don't recall any other chains.

 

Not my favourite pen shop, though. The stock variety is abysmal.

Edited October 17, 2013 by GabrielleDuVent

[Aramchek]

I was pleased with the reception I got at the NK stationary department in Stockholm, Sweden. Although I told the salesperson that I was on sick leave and would not be able to afford new pens until I had a job again, he was friendly, happy to talk about pens, and even brought out a pen (Pelikan M800) and let me inspect it. Even though their prices are (obviously) higher than web based shops, I think I'll buy it there just because the service was so good.

 

Unfortunately, the only retailer where I live has very high prices and awful service. There is another stationary store buy they're mainly aimed at businesses. The only FP they have is the Pilot V-pen (AKA Varsity), which does not interest me.

[Willowandme]

 

Out of curiosity, is a city population of 360000 big? The current city where I am is the smallest I've ever lived in with 2.7 million so anything below 2 mil and I can't even imagine.

To me it is. I live in a town with 6,000 people, grew up in a town 45 minutes away with 35,000 people. The closest "large" city is 2 1/2 hours away and has 200,000 in that and surrounding cities. All in a state with a bit over 1 million. We have very few B&M stores that aren't chains anymore and nothing at all with fountain pens or ink. The closest would be the art/craft store which has a few shaeffer calligraphy sets and dip pens/ink.

[TheGreatRoe]

I, for one, find the OP reaction unfair. You didn't get a bad service. You called and you were correctly answered your questions about what they had. They didn't lie making you go there for a pen that they actually hadn't. You also didn't get a badly mannered phone service... Did he exaggerate or showed some ignorance? Yes, but that does not make it an affront. What kind of terrible insult or disservice did you get that makes you rule out this shop for ever?

 

I got lied to. Boldly. At least once. So, yes, I did get bad service. And through the conversation it was clear to me that the shop owner cared more about getting me into the store than he did about listening to what what I, a potential customer, wanted. Or, if you want me to put it in a more general, philosophical way, he made it clear to me that he didn't care about what I wanted, only about what he wanted.

 

If you don't consider that bad service, then you and I have different expectations of customer service.

 

And in fairness this isn't my only issue with the store. Every time I go in I get an aggressive sales pitch, and even after I explain that I don't have questions and prefer to browse in peace, I get peppered with questions and suggestions. Additionally, every time I ask for a product they don't carry, instead of just explaining they don't carry the product I get, the shopowner proceeds to deride the product and tell me I shouldn't look elsewhere, I should just buy what he does carry.

[RobertP]

Every time I go in I get an aggressive sales pitch, and even after I explain that I don't have questions and prefer to browse in peace, I get peppered with questions and suggestions.

 

Luckily I rarely get anything like that here in the UK. I'm not sure if it is the (in)famous British reserved character, the official "way to do it" or just plain laziness (I'm guessing a mix)

 

The only time I have had a really bad experience like that was in New York where the guy in the Swatch store constantly pestered my wife and me about what we wanted. Even after telling him several times we were just browsing and would make up our minds first then request assistance, he carried on. I then told him that if he carried on, we would just leave and not buy anything. He still carried on, so we walked out. He lost a 100% definite sale by being too pushy (we bought the watch we wanted in another shop).

[carlosviet]

 

I got lied to. Boldly. At least once. So, yes, I did get bad service. And through the conversation it was clear to me that the shop owner cared more about getting me into the store than he did about listening to what what I, a potential customer, wanted. Or, if you want me to put it in a more general, philosophical way, he made it clear to me that he didn't care about what I wanted, only about what he wanted.

 

If you don't consider that bad service, then you and I have different expectations of customer service.

 

And in fairness this isn't my only issue with the store. Every time I go in I get an aggressive sales pitch, and even after I explain that I don't have questions and prefer to browse in peace, I get peppered with questions and suggestions. Additionally, every time I ask for a product they don't carry, instead of just explaining they don't carry the product I get, the shopowner proceeds to deride the product and tell me I shouldn't look elsewhere, I should just buy what he does carry.

 

With the only reference of the OP and not any other information outside it, I don't see malice or disrespect in the person who attended you in the phone. Maybe just ignorance, but that always happens to hobbyist as they usually are more knowledgeable than the shop attendant.

[TheGreatRoe]

 

With the only reference of the OP and not any other information outside it, I don't see malice or disrespect in the person who attended you in the phone. Maybe just ignorance, but that always happens to hobbyist as they usually are more knowledgeable than the shop attendant.

 

Then you and I (the OP) have different expectations of customer service.

[Inkysloth]

 

Luckily I rarely get anything like that here in the UK. I'm not sure if it is the (in)famous British reserved character, the official "way to do it" or just plain laziness (I'm guessing a mix)

 

Fortunately in the UK, the hard-sell is much less common, I think it's a cultural thing more than laziness, as I suspect stores that do try it, find it just doesn't work in the long run.

[scrivelry]

 

Every time I go in I get an aggressive sales pitch, and even after I explain that I don't have questions and prefer to browse in peace, I get peppered with questions and suggestions. Additionally, every time I ask for a product they don't carry, instead of just explaining they don't carry the product I get, the shopowner proceeds to deride the product and tell me I shouldn't look elsewhere, I should just buy what he does carry.

 

I have had this experience with a local store supplying another of my hobbies - my local hobby friends have a rather unflattering nickname for the place. I have had to tell one of their clerks,, point blank, the third time I was approached in ten minutes by the same person, that I did not need their help, but that I could leave.

 

Bullying people is not nice, should not be rewarded. When customers are treated like this, they should leave.

Edited October 17, 2013 by scrivelry

[marcelo]

Probably meant the size of the building the store is in

Perfect! LOL!

Edited October 17, 2013 by marcelo

[jordanjay29]

I agree with the OP's reaction, I would never accept service such as that. I was fortunate enough to be in DC this summer, and I ventured into both Fahrney's Pens and Paradise Pen. I learned later that my experience was generally the complete opposite, but the attendants at Fahrney's were terribly unhelpful. I walked in to see if I would buy a pen, looked at their selection, asked for some suggestions (and explained what I owned already to give them an idea) and then I got asked what I was looking for. When I tried to explain more clearly, I was directed to pens that didn't fit my descriptions at all. The mention of 'italic' nibs was greeted with a huff and an offhand, 'well, those we carry in the caligraphy section,' as if I was too dumb to figure that out. When I did try out pens, the paper was a terrible, cheap pad. The person "helping" me was all too happy to flock to another customer when they entered to attend to them. I didn't buy any pens at that store.

 

However, in Paradise Pen, I had a nice, hour-long conversation with the woman attending the store. We talked about our pen collections, she showed me some of the pens in her shop that she really liked, and explained some of the background on various manufacturers such as Visconti, Montblanc and Cross. She also talked about the DC Supershow, and actually suggested that I save my money until the show. So I walked out of Paradise without any pens, but with a very positive experience and some new knowledge.

 

I've worked the other side of that counter, I understand how boring retail can get, but I also understand that the hobbiest has a certain level of expectation from a specialized store. The kind of service I received in Fahrney's is something I would expect at Staples or Office Max if I asked about a certain pen. That's fine. I accept that when I enter a big, department store, I am probably not the ideal customer. I do research, I compare prices, I ask hard questions and most of the time I don't buy immediately. However, in a specialty or hobby store, I would expect to find someone that shares my hobby, or that can at least appreciate it. If not, why are they working there?! It's the same reason I would never work at an auto-parts store or someplace that strictly sells clothes, I don't know the first thing about cars and I'm terrible at fashion. Someone who comes into those stores would expect advice, and I would have none to give.

 

So yes, I agree that the level of service at a company encourages me to purchase or not. I buy from Goulet Pens as much as I can because of their extremely good service, not only do they ship products in a timely and safe manner (their packaging also gives me about 5 minutes of post-unwrapping fun popping all the bubblewrap) but the advice and information they provide on their website and blog is useful to the potential customer and regular shopper alike. I'd much rather spend my money at a business like that than support one like the OP describes, even if they are a B&M store.

 

To the OP, good luck. I hope the store owner sees the light someday.