Oh No. Another Retail Blog

I really don't like shopping and am the typical guy shopper - I walk out with exactly what I went in to buy, nothing more. Point of purchase generally doesn't work on me. Buying presents for birthdays and Christmas generally sends me into a panic. I wander aimlessly through the store trying to figure out what my wife would like for her birthday. I have no ability whatsoever to imagine what a dress or a sweater might look like on her. I can't tell the difference between haute couture and J.C. Penney.

Sometimes I feel like a secret shopper, sent in to a store by management or a competitor to check out the service. When I'm in the stores shopping, the chamber guy in me can't help judging the customer service I receive.

For instance, I happened to be in a very nice store a few minutes before 5:00. I was purchasing an item when I heard the bell ring on the store's door. "I'm sorry," the owner said to the woman trying to enter the store, "we're closed". "But I just want to buy a gift certificate", said the one-minute too late shopper. Once again, "I'm sorry we're closed; you'll have to come back tomorrow." I wonder if that happened.

Then this week, I needed a special shaving mirror and couldn't find one in Rockland or Camden. I happened to be at a conference in Augusta so stopped off at a specialty bed and bath shop. You can figure out which one that was. I found just what I was looking for and walked up to the counter to check out. I was the only shopper in the front of the store. The young clerk looked at me with a blank stare then turned around and argued with another clerk about her not getting her 15-minute break. This while I waited impatiently to pay and go. It was probably only a thirty second delay but quite a turnoff for this reluctant shopper.

Finally, Donna knew I was going to Augusta and asked me stop at THE CLUB and load up on tissue, paper towels, bar soap - all the commodity goods that THE CLUB is known to sell in huge quantities at supposedly great prices. She gave me her THE CLUB card so I could buy merchandise at this apparently very exclusive facility. I roamed around the store for 45 minutes grumbling under my breath at the indignity of it all - me in my suit and goofy bow tie pushing around a huge cart of stuff. I finally found the elusive box of Bounce and headed for the checkout. I handed the clerk my THE CLUB card, (or actually Donna's THE CLUB card), and was told that while they were sorry, I could not buy the goods I selected because my picture was not on THE CLUB card. I explained that Donna is my wife, they could check the address to verify that and the fact that we have the same last name is not just a coincidence. Didn't matter. I left a gigantic pile of merchandise on the counter and exited the store. (I didn't wait to see if they wanted me to put it all back). I was hot. When I got home we cut up THE CLUB card. How goofy can that be to deny a sale to a customer at the checkout? A small retailer would have figured how to make the sale.

So with the big box argument in full swing here in Maine, the secret shopper in me has come to some conclusions. National retailers are here to stay and will be players in the marketplace. They're here because the demographic research tells them that there's a market for what they sell and they represent the changing face of retail.

On the other hand, those that see the national retailers as destroyers of downtown aren't giving the small business people the credit they deserve. Look how downtown Rockland has thrived in recent years and this in the face of new big box competition. The secret to success in retail isn't so secret after all. Give great customer service, provide value and quality of product and the store will do just fine. Great service can come in either a big or a small package and so can bad. -H-

Working as a Region

KNOX/WALDO COUNTY (Sep 20, 07): A few years back, I went to the county board and requested $20,000 in funding for Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) to start up an economic development effort for our region. Up to that time, no organization was really in place to assist us on a day-to-day basis in retaining business or attracting new industry to our region. The county board agreed to provide the funding. As a result of that modest initial funding EMDC set up an office in Rockland run by energetic and extremely competent Alan Hinsey.

Alan has been a tireless driver of economic development here on the MidCoast. Working hand-in-glove with the local chambers and town and city government, EMDC has made a significant difference in our ED efforts. He founded the
Knox/Waldo Regional Economic Development Corporation, a regional organization focused on creating jobs and improving the business environment in this part of Maine. The board of directors is made up of representatives of both counties and we work together as a regional entity. It’s a pleasure to see an organization working for the greater good with little regard for hometown politics. Work as a region; think of ourselves as a region. The rest of the world sees us that way.

Now, armed with Pine Tree Zone benefits and a regional mentality we can succeed in attracting new business and work to retain the business that we have. Stay tuned. There are great things ahead. -H-

Be Careful What You Ask For...

ROCKLAND (Sep 12): Last week was a big one for Rockland, the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce and most importantly the Maine Lighthouse Museum. We were able to purchase the real estate (Unit One of the One Park Drive Business Condominium) that houses the museum, the chamber, our regional visitor center, the American Lighthouse Foundation and the Maine Lobster Festival. The deal is done.

Five years of planning, fundraising and physical labor culminated with a few signatures on a closing statement that allowed us to purchase a 15,500 s.f. facility for $250,000. (A great deal when you consider that an M.A.I. appraiser just appraised the facility for $1.675 million). We’re grateful to Bank of America for the final settlement, to the city for closing the deal quietly and professionally, and to Mr. Charles Cawley and other former MBNA executives who helped to make Ken Black’s vision a reality.

More than 60,000 people will come through the Discovery Center this year. The facility has served to preserve the nation’s largest and most important collection of Fresnel lenses and lighthouse artifacts. It has helped us to strengthen the regional chamber of commerce (now an 800 member organization) and has already been a factor in generating economic development in Knox and Waldo counties. We are blessed as a community to have such a facility.

Now we're working to eliminate the debt. Our second phase of a development campaign is underway. A number of prominent local businesses and individuals have already stepped up for a second time to support this worthwhile project. With the help of more businesses and the generosity of a few special people with capacity, we will complete the original vision that put us on this path. So when the fund request comes, please realize that our campaign is not yet at an end. With your help we will have a facility that will serve our community for decades to come. –H-

Tourism Trends and Possible Remedies

Donna and I just got back from a trip to Wisconsin to visit our daughters and grand children. It was interesting to see how tourism in Door County compared to what's happening here. It was practically a mirror image.

It has been a long-term trend nation-wide for vacation periods to be shortened from the traditional week long vacation that we enjoyed when we were kids. Today people are busy and vacations tend to be three to four days; this holds here in the Northeast and in the Midwest as well. This does not bode well for cottage rentals that are still in the Saturday-to-Saturday or Sunday-to-Sunday mode. It limits the market. I think you’ll see more cottage rentals change their traditional week long rentals to allow shorter stays in the future.

It’s also been a trend, but now is simply reality, to see reservations come in just prior to a planned stay. The Internet is a marvelous planning tool for the tourism industry. Today, 60% of all tourism planning takes place on line. The good news is that little places like Camden, Rockland and Door County can (and do) have great websites that are as good as anything in the country. We can’t cross promote like Orlando or Aspen or San Diego, but we can give the viewer a great experience.

Only ten years ago, most people made their summer and fall hotel reservations months in advance to be sure to guarantee a room in the inn. Today, the same potential visitor can go online and check out room availabilities. If there are plenty of occupancies in the area, they can hold off on making a reservation. Add to this the fact that most of us have become amateur meteorologists. We can get reliable weather information online for weather up to ten days out. If it looks like a rainy weekend ahead, it may be better to stay home and rake the leaves. The tourism destination loses out.

This has resulted in many tourism destinations becoming weekend, holiday and weather-driven. That’s not healthy for the tourism industry.

The answer may be in refocusing tourism marketing efforts to places that require a plane trip to get here. Right now we are primarily a drive market for people who are a tank away. What if the state shifted some promotion from our core markets of Boston and New York to cities that are one hop away from Portland, Bangor or Manchester airports? Think about it. When you fly somewhere you book early to get a great rate. Then you book a car to be sure there’s one waiting for you and you reserve your hotel room so that you don’t get stuck without a reservation. Now if you go on line the week before your trip and see that there may be some inclement weather, the process of canceling the plane trip, the rental car and the hotel is pretty problematic. You go, regardless of the weather. We win. The hotel has a reservation and the restaurants, stores, museums and other attractions get customers trying to stay dry.

I think it’s an experiment worth trying. -H-