I’ve been to three GAP clothing stores in the area recently and was perplexed by the overall disarray of each of them. There was nary a folding board in site and staff seemed more interested in socializing and primping in any available mirror than in customer service. Entering the coveted sale rack area was akin to trying to navigate through a post-apocalyptic war zone – with shirts, pants and accessories strewn about the tables, racks and even the floor. Hmm, I wonder if the dusty foot print on that wrinkle-proof shirt will afford me an even larger discount?!?
But I digress…
In each case, I ran a little test - managing to inconvenience a “staff member” by asking them for a specific size on an item. In ALL cases, they told me that what was “out on the floor” was really all they had available – not even offering to look in any inventory in the back and/or call another store to help me find the size I was looking for.
While waiting in line to check-out, I watched in amazement as the manager chatted up a friend, while the size of the line increased – never once opening up another cash register. When I finally paid, the cashier handed me a receipt, reminding me that if I filled out an online survey about my “shopping experience”, I would be rewarded with a 20% off coupon for one item.
I smiled, looked back at the long line behind me and said I would gladly fill out the survey. On my way out, I interrupted the manager and asked her for her name She looked surprised when I wrote it down on my receipt.
In this global recession, I have a small bit of advice for the GAP. Spend a little less on your glitzy in-store advertising and spend a bit more time that each and every customer is important to the bottom line. Oh, and for the middle-aged Gap Manager that gave me her name. Don’t worry; I managed to mention it no less than 10 times in my survey feedback.
Here’s hoping you got a little call from corporate, you moron.
