The Price is Wrong, Bob!.. err.. Drew.. Drew.. >.>

So recently, I've been subject to more "awesome customer service" from the retail local retail sector. Its absolutely hillarious that we, as consumers, actually allow bad customer service to exist. Quite frankly, If more people had balls, and decided to spend where they were treated as, I don't know, customers, rather than assholes interrupting someone's texting on an Iphone (while they're working), I think you'd be surprised how the general atmosphere of customer service would change.

For argument's sake, I believe there are a few factors in this ongoing problem. I think the biggest one, by far, is location.

Consider your local economy. What are the pillars of the economy? Essentially, identify the one or two things that drastically affect the quality of life of where you live. (and no... I'm not going off track, just think about it and trust me here). Where I live, its the oilfields. The production of oil is what makes the provincial economy tick. There are two factors tied to the oilfields that affect the quality of life: the price of oil per barrel and the value of the dollar versus the US dollar. Its pretty simple, the higher oil is, the more money is made here. The lower the Canadian Dollar is versus the US Dollar, the more we make in Canadian Dollars per barrel. So, lets review. For the local economy, a high oil price and a low Canadian Dollar equals unbelievable wealth, everyone has a job, labor shortage, every rigpig is driving a new lifted pickup. The minute the dollar goes par, and oil takes a nose dive, suddenly we have mass layoffs and massive government deficits. So, then the retail sector does get influenced by the price of oil, but, will still keep on going regardless. The retail sector suffers, yes, but doesn't dissapear.

Now, consider someplace like Las Vegas. I'm not certain when the last time you've been to Vegas, but the place is literally the epitomy of consumerism. Take for, example, the strip. Every big Casino has some sort of mall/shopping area. Ceasar's, Venitian, Bellagio, Aria (or the new mall beside it), Wynn are some of the biggest, many of which are comfortably within walking distance, all of which have the same stores. I'm not talking about having a McDonalds in each. You know.. Louis Vitton, Tiffany's, Kenneth Cole, etc.. the big stores. Also consider that there's three outlet malls, the Fashon Show Mall, Town Center, and I'm sure many other malls we didn't get a chance to go to within a 20 minute drive. To put it very plainly, the place is oversaturated with commercial stores. Couple this with the simple fact that the American economy is becoming more and more dependant on the retail sector and suddenly customer service becomes literally, life and death.

Now. In a saturated environment like Vegas its stupid-easy to simply walk out of a store because of poor customer service. Don't like the service, go across the street and buy the exact same item from the exact same store. In my experience, I was treated like royalty in these stores. Why? They desperately wanted my buisness. I baught a watch in Vegas, and had it sized twice. The second time was at a completely different store the next day. They sized it no problem, they cleaned it and buffed out some scratches on the band. Here, I'd be grilled for a reciept, or just simply told to go back to the store I baught it from.

Now consider the non-saturated environment where the major driving economic factor is NOT retail. Suddenly, to go to, for example, a different Best Buy location on the basis of getting stuck with unknowledgeable, bitchy, horrible service individuals suddenly isn't such a easy option. Is half an hour drive (potentially in the snow and horrible road conditions) worth not having to deal with a retard trying to sell you a product? Suddenly this isn't such an easy choice, and on the other side of the equation the retard making your blood pressure rise doesn't get punished by lower sales. The people that are geniunely bad at retail are allowed to sell and "work" without any sort of recourse - the store sells things therefore they don't care that the customers are dissatisfied with the service. I can't tell you the times I've been screwed around by various retail outlets after the cash changed hands. Three installs and 12 hours of install time to get my XM into my car. Yes, 12 hours in Best Buy. Constant run around for trying to return faulty electronics, shoes, clothing. Being asked to leave a store for calmly asking a non-inflammatory question. Being refused service because the store is closing IN AN HOUR (yeah, fuck you Canadian Tire. Fuck you.). Unfortunately, I'm not alone.

And yes, I'm sure someone working retail at this point is lighting a Molotov cocktail, and getting ready to throw it through my window, but you know, tough shit. I have politely listened to people I know working retail constantly complain and fly off the handle about horrible customers. How customers are always wrong, stupid, moronic, etc, and how those retail workiers are never, ever wrong about certain situations. I don't discount the fact that horrible customers exist; I will argue to the death, however, that there are an equal proportion of horrible customers to horrible customer service individuals.

Unfortunately, I don't live in an area where good customer service means life or death for that particular store. Well, it just means I'll have to disturb either teenagers texting while working or their managers/older coworkers (who for whatever reason haven't managed to make it farther in the workforce) with simple questions about their products, to which I'll get flippant and condescending answers to. I'm sorry to disturb your groundbreaking, earth-shattering work in arranging the shelves for my retarded question - retarded only because I'm not intimately familiar with your store or store layout, because I've only spent 20-25 minutes of my insignificant life in your store.

Yeah. I wasn't wrong in saving up to drop a few thousand in Vegas on consumer products.