To Shop, Or Not To Shop

How much does customer service REALLY matter to you?

I really started to think about this yesterday as I went out to purchase a new pair of running shoes.

Earlier in the week, I went to check out what SportChek had in terms of selection and most importantly, sales. Upon visiting, I noticed that they had a very large selection which would give me many choices to get a pair of shoes I wanted. However, the only 'sale' they seemed to have in terms of running shoes was buy one, get one 50% off. At first glance, this might sound fine and dandy, but realistically, who needs 2 pairs of shoes!?! Especially when they go for approximately $120 a pair! Now on to my customer service point --- I was in that store for a good 10 minutes looking at the shoes, picking up pairs to examine them, etc. not ONE SINGLE EMPLOYEE came to ask me if I had a question, or if I needed help. Not ONE. It was at that moment when I decided to abandon my quest of purchasing shoes from this particular store.

Yesterday afternoon, I was reminded that our local mall also contains a Foot Locker, so that's where I headed at 5:00 when I left the office. Honestly, customer service wasn't even really on my mind, I was just hoping to find shoes on sale! Luckily, the customer service was phenomenal and they had me sold at hello! (lol corny, but I couldn't not write that) I was looking at the shoe wall for a couple of minutes and the exact moment I picked one up to give it a better look, an employee was right there asking if I needed any help. He put up with me looking for my size of many different shoes (I have teeny tiny shoes and stores rarely have my size). They unfortunately didn't have my size, but he was quick to offer to check online to see if he could order me a pair while the sale was still running. They had one left in my size and I purchased them on the spot!

Walking out of the mall with a smile on my face, I realized customer service really does make a huge difference in our shopping experiences. If I'm ever at the point where I have the money to even pay full price on something and if SportChek has a sale at that time, I can honestly say, I'll be going to Foot Locker again. They have made a good impression on me and I will never forget that.

What do you guys think? Are there any stores out there you avoid due to poor customer service? Any you shop at no matter what due to great service?

As a big company, I am surprised at the lack at service I found at SportChek. I actually expected it to be top notch.