I have a question for you ladies. Here it goes. Whenever you decide to go shopping for shoes, do you dread having someone greet you on the sales floor, offer you assistance, and even go pull the shoes you want? In other words, are you just fed up with that damned old customer service?
Well, according to Macy's, you are. CFO Karen Hoguet chimed-in recently, during an investor's call, and said the following:
“The shoe experience requires someone getting it for you. People like self-service today,” she said. “Many think, ‘If I get a human being to service me, that's ideal.’ But lots just say, ‘Leave me alone. Let me just do it, get the shoe I want, and move on.’”
That was how Hoguet explained the struggling retailer's decision to test an "open-sell" concept, where customers will grab their own shoes. Many retailers are already doing this. DSW comes to mind, as well as JC Penney.
However, as Macy's has continued to decline, they have done a lot of talking about high levels of customer service. At the same time, it appears that no sooner that they say the words, they turn right around and undermine that effort by reducing staff, hiring inexperienced staff, and hoping nobody will notice.
Macy’s sales of apparel and accessories dipped from $23.6 billion in 2014 to $22.8 billion in 2015
It is not yet clear if the "open-sell" will do anything to stop the Macy's sinking ship. However, given the rapid decline, there doesn't seem to be much left to lose.
But ladies, before you ask "Do you have this in a size 7?, brace yourself to possibly hear:
"Uh, do you see it out there?"
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