Flair did you offer to match his online price?

I'm sorry I did that to you Flairsy, ill never do it again, cross my heart.

Forgive me?

Click on it.

very cute chooky!

Yes you are.

in retail, its about going with the person who gave you the best advice and service. going on line and buying an import generic version is not about price matching because you cannot. its about supplying quality to the customer. you cannot price match something that is so flooded on the market. everyone makes LED bulbs...and they are not all a like. so no price matching was not an option. as I cannot order them for any cheaper than he found them on amazon. what my supplier carries for example is not the quality of china import, its much better ..........dont get me started on price matching. the internet has left no margin for profit. when we price match the internet, we often loose money or come out barely making it. why, because places like amazon can afford to ware house hundreds of the same product. we have to order direct from the mfg. one and two at a time. freight cost, under min charges. covering labor, rent, and over head............ wayfair has probably a huge ware house, with a guy and a fork lift and we have a store front with a will call......not the same playing field.

If I was in there already I would just get it. Why pay postage.

I feel for you, Flair - I really do. And, thanks for opening my eyes to this situation. I'm not much of an online shopper, so I've never really thought about this whole issue between online and brick and mortar stores. If you've done nothing else, you've educated at least one Houzzer - and, hopefully, been able to vent.

If I could offer one idea about this....have you considered having a good-sized placard made up and sitting in a prominent spot at the front desk? You could outline as briefly and tactfully as possible the exact things you just mentioned. Something like, "What Is The Difference Between Showrooms and Online Stores? Take A Moment To Consider This.....". Something like that?

I remember a small sign that was propped up at my former dog groomer's business, explaining why your dog's grooming cost as much as your own haircuts. It was written quite humorously ("your hairdresser doesn't have to clean boogers out of your eyes"), and I think got the point across very nicely that the customer was NOT being overcharged.

Another possibility might be to take to Facebook, and maybe reach a wide audience there?

Hoping the rest of the week goes well for you!

thank you Karemore......... yes that is a great idea. our sign out front reads "shop and support your local stores" and its not to say i dont understand online shopping. i get it. its just very frustrating to be in sales, and be the one who leads you to an idea, to have them literally turn there phone around and say, oh you mean these... they only want 13$......

Sorry Flair, I did not mean to add salt to the wound. It sounded like it was the same item on line for just $5 less. That's why I asked. I did not know there was difference in the product. Even so though, was there not enough profit margin to drop it just $5 to make the sale?

no, once you pay shipping, take in what it takes to run a store, factor in the fact that i did the research. it would be much like hiring an interior designer, taking her her work, handing it to someone else, and saying here, will you do this for less? is that fair? should i just eat all the small sales? should i just say oh yes, ill meet your online totally different brand price, with my non generic name brand that cost me more to bring in...........thats asking cheerios to come down to the same price as the store brand, because its only a couple dollars........ there is a reason the store brand is less than the name brand right?

It's not easy for any small retailer to make a go of it these days.....you're also competing with the big box stores.

I only hope that you are getting enough customers who "get it" - who can see the difference they're getting in both product quality AND service. I do my best to support the local businesses, but oh my gosh it is so tempting to just do the one-stop shopping at Real Canadian Superstore, rather than spend my afternoon running around to Quality Greens, Sunshine Pet Supply, etc.

Well, you know we love and support you here on Houzz, Flair! You always give good advice - it hasn't gone unnoticed.

I always try to buy local...that way if something goes wrong, I can take it back to the store and discuss my problem with live person instead of an online robot. It's worth a couple of extra bucks for the privelege of dealing with people directly.

Well Flair, for conversation sake;))) If the guy had to pay shipping with the online purchase, then he could have paid shipping for your product right? You already have the store running and you already did the research. I do not understand losing the sale over $5. Now you did all those things for nothing. I would have made the sale as long as there was some/any profit as to no sale at all.

Flair, I would buy it from you because you would probably stand by your product and be more helpful if I had a problem. Some things are ok online but I would rather deal with a person!!

I agree with you Stewy2you. I like to see it, touch it, feel it. I rarely ever buy on line because I want the service and the stand behind the product person. Plus if I must return an item I do not want any hassles.

Flair, I'm sorry this happened to you. It's foolish to not buy the product then and there to save $5, especially when it something that's going to last 20 years.

One thing people don't understand about the big box stores like WalMart is that the quality is lower than at a high end store such as yours. Here's an article about how Snapper lawnmowers refused to do business with WalMart knowing that by making a cheaper mower to sell there would destroy their reputation.

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart

Its ok if you dont understand cupcake. So now you want them to pay 5$ and the shipping.... The point of the story is not the cost. Its about helping someone out, educating them and then having them sh@t on you for 5$. Loosing the sale is the entirely wrong direction for the conversation. Its about using a moral compass and understanding how not to be rude. I would have just left, said ill think about it. As a person i didnt need the "these are cheaper,thanks" is all.

Flair I do understand. It would have been nice if the guy said what you wanted him to say, but he didn't. That is retail. You came on with your rant, I read it, and took away with what I felt about the transaction. It was a lost sale. I know you want to vent about the rude person, but I saw things differently. Why can we not have a point of view without getting testy? FYI it is whitecup not cupcake lol. but even though someone may feel that a mis-name could be rude, I am OK with it.

Haley, I saw a show on how Walmart wheels and deals with the manufactures in China. They would not even give the one penny profit per item! The manufacture person really distraught.

Yes, I think that's why most come to us hailey and stewy and gls. they want someone to help them find the right thing, see what they are paying for, and leave happy they shopped local. I also don't mind giving advice or I wouldnt be on houzz. I get plenty of phone calls and emails to just ask about a part or how something works. I suppose I worry that stores like this one might not survive the next generation of techies. And the greatest loss will be the knowledge and information that will be lost, no one will be there to pass it down. You see the problem is that guy didnt even know what type of part he needed, what his options where, so he came to Flair. He left with a lot of information.

..

LOL Roxsol! Margo, maybe we should start a road trip to visit some of our favourite Houzzers.....beginning with Flair - we will bring her some cupcakes.......who else?

Flair, I totally get your rant. It would be a very rude thing for someone to do right in front of you after you have given out advice, etc. on a product you sell whether a light bulb or a lighting fixture.

My DS has done that before but hopefully not right in front of sales people, he will drift away first. He has Amazon Prime and yes, if he finds it cheaper on there for the exact same item, he will order through them instead. And since there is a huge warehouse where we live items many times come in the next day.

I prefer to spend my money locally as someone else said. Plus, I like to actually see the item I want to purchase and test it out, so to speak. It's one thing to read the dimensions of something but to see it in person gives one a much better perspective.

Ok, Margo, honey, you got my attention!

https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/does-the-world-need-bourgeoise-bohemians-dsvw-vd~3136899

glschisler, I saw the same show and was trying to find it on Netflix but couldn't remember our password and didn't want to call my husband at work so I googled Snapper lawnmowers and WalMart as I had seen the article.

It's amazing that WalMart is so cheap, but then that's their thing to undersell everyone with cheap junk made in slave factories in China.

We have that problem here too.

Hayley, I truly dislike WalMart shopping, but it is not only WalMart. All the nasty dollar stores get my dander up too. You can hardly turn over any item and it says made in China. Can you imagine how easy it could be for China to take us out? AND we would pay for it. They already have in many cases, look at the whole Chicken Jerkey that killed so many dogs. Lead, etc. Everybody wants to save a dollar, it is so messed up!

I quit shopping at Walmart anyway, after seeing so many *The people of Walmart* video's, lol,

Me too, Margo with Walmart! I was afraid I'd end up on one of them! JK, but I do hate that store.

I do shop at 99 cent only stores (I think they are only in Calif and AZ). They sometimes have organic produce and carry my favorite brand of tortillas. Also some canned goods, but I do not buy their cheap Chinese junk!

As far as Amazon, I order all of our supplements from them, they are at least 30% cheaper than Sprouts, but I can assure you, I do not go into Sprouts first and ask for advise from their vitamin people! I also order appliance parts from Amazon because I can get it the next day (with Prime) and get whatever back up and working.

Probably little consolation but at least you can be proud of yourself for doing the right thing and helping out a person. And kudos to you for not throwing the bum out! I might have screamed at him.