(2005-12-16) — With just days to go until Christmas, retailers across the nation are locked in a fierce battle to slash prices and service levels in hopes of attracting frugal shoppers with low self-esteem who believe they deserve shoddy treatment.
“We could put more effort into providing expert help, ready access to warm, dry shopping carts or faster checkout lanes,” said an unnamed spokesman for a major retail chain, “but our focus groups tell us that women, who make up the majority of shoppers, don’t feel they deserve such favors.”
Industry research shows that when a shopper wanders in search of a knowledgeable sales associate, squeezes between tightly-packed display racks, struggles to understand the broken English of a clerk, or stands in line for 35 minutes to buy a pack of batteries, “she feels that she gets what’s coming to her.”
“Her internal self-talk says, ‘Why should this store be any different than everything else in my life?’,” according to one unnamed retail marketing executive. “So, in effect, we’re affirming her self-image and reinforcing her worldview. We work very hard to do that.”
If retailers provided the kind of cheerful, excellent service described in business books and magazines, “Our customer would feel out of place and unworthy,” the source said. “She would go somewhere else where she’s treated in a manner consistent with her beliefs.”
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