Retail Opposites

A friend of mine recently published this post regarding a recent trip to Sears where he recalls the poor customer service he had there. When you go to an establishment, it's not unreasonable to expect a certain level of service and when that expectation is not met, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and a negative emotion associated with that store that you remember for the next time you want to shop for an item that store sells.

I would like to submit that, in general, our customer service experiences are either on par or moderately sub par with our expectations and this decline in good customer service has made it such that while we still expect the same level of customer service we always have, we may not be as surprised or disappointed when our expectations are not met since it has happened so many times before. Perhaps this is partially my fault when, to get lower prices, I shop at stores that probably hire people that don't require high wages or high skills & experience and are usually somewhat easy to replace.

Having said that, I think that when we get exceptional customer service it also leaves an impression on us. This is what reminds us that price isn't everything and neither is location. I say this in reference to my recent drive down to Lacey, WA where the only Cabela's store on the west coast is. That's a 40 mile drive for me. Every time I pass by it on I-5, I am always on my way to somewhere else like Oregon and I have the wife & kids with me who just want to get to where we're going and get out of the car.

We took the drive down there and it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would to get there. First of all let me say this store is huge. It looks like it should be a warehouse store from the outside but is very much like a department store on the inside. As far as what's in the store and what it looks like I'll just say that it's amazing, there's lots to choose from, and many things I didn't even know existed. There's even an artificial mountain as the centerpiece for the store that displays all kids of taxidermy animals and birds from small marmots to Elk, Antelope, and Mountain Goats. Underneath even has an aquarium with real fish. Large salmon, halibut, trout, etc. There's even a section for African animals like Lions and Elephants. If you enjoy outdoor activities, there's something there for everyone.

Ok, back on topic and getting to the point of this whole post. The people there were very visible, made their presence known to the customers, and were not shy about stopping whatever they were doing to ask if you needed any assistance. They're the type of people that seem to have an eye for that look on customers faces that just says, "I could use some help please." My Dad was looking for a specific watch and while he was looking in the glass case he was asked if he would like to look at anything in particular. He replied that he hadn't found what he was looking for and was directed to another section of the display cases to where the item was located. He had questions about the item and the employee was able to answer what they knew about it and on specifics regarding how the item worked or how to use a particular feature, when they didn't know they opened it up, let my Dad handle the watch and check out the manual that came with it.

Ok not overly impressive so far but later when we were in an entirely different part of the store this same employee happened to be there as well. It wasn't even on the same floor (there's two floors). And again my Dad had that look and so again this employee approached and inquired if assistance was needed. This is the part that is unusual because typically an employee is trained on how to work in a specific section of the store and outside that section they are lost and try to not make eye contact with customers. Not so in this case. This person was knowledgable in this area of the store as well and was happy to help.

I've been in so many large stores like this that employ people that have no idea about other areas of the store and sometimes you're lucky if they even know anything about how to do their job in the area of the store they are assigned to. It becomes frustrating when you go into a store looking for assistance on an item they sell and you know more about it than they do so, like my Dad, you end up teaching them about it but still leave without your questions answered due to a lack of knowledgeable staff even if you can get someone to engage you. I will purposefully and obviously look around like I'm lost in the hopes that an employee walking by will ask if I need assistance rather than simply walk by without acknowledging my presence with a hello, eye, contact, etc.

For a great overall retail experience that includes a great selection, helpful & friendly staff, with a delicious variety of meats (like buffalo, wild boar, ostrich, etc) served at the deli & grill, visit Cabela's. It's worth the drive.

The Mountain!

Every clear day in the Puget Sound area the weather is neither sunny, nor cloudy. I mean technically it is in meteorological terms but to us natives the weather is judged great if "the Mountain is out". This, in the south Sound anyway, is of course Mt. Rainier. Any time I have my kids in the car and I can see the mountain I shout out "The Mountain!".

After the first several times of no response eventually my 7 year old Jennifer responded letting us know that she both heard me and was somewhat tired of me saying it by repeating my exclamation in a very bored tone as if I had just told a very cheesy joke, the kind our high school history teachers would tell.

Jennifer's middle name is Eden which meaning is translated as something meaning Paradise. When Jennifer sounded bored with my exclamation of The Mountain, I decided I needed to instill some excitement and memories of the beauty and majesty of Mt. Rainier in her and my other children. The main visitors center, located at 5400 feet is at the location on the mountain called Paradise. When I told Jennifer this and that I was going to take her there she was suddenly excited at the prospect of going to the place that represents the meaning of her name.

So after planning and scheduling we finally went up the mountain this week. My parents & brother Chris came along in their vehicle as well. It had been hot & muggy all week and this was a nice break from the heat of the house & was a little cooler at the higher elevation or so at least it felt that way. Entrance was $15 for our car and $10 lifetime pass for any National Park now that he's of qualifying age. We drove to Kautz creek where there was a hiking trail, picnic tables made of recycled material, and overly smelly "bathrooms". I didn't go in as I could smell it as I drew near the door. It was 1pm by this time and everyone was hungry so we stopped here for a picnic lunch that we had packed.

We drove on 3 miles up the road and stopped at Longmire which is about 7 miles from the Nisqually park entrance at the southwest corner of the park. We heard on the parks AM broadcast station that there was a free tram that ran every 30 minutes on the weekend that would take passengers from Longmire to Paradise with a stop in between at Cougar Rock. We all boarded the next bus which saved both our vehicles 22 miles worth of gas round trip. Good thing too as the Paradise parking log sign said "Full" when we got there.

We were dropped off right in front of the Henry M. Jackson visitors center. I explained to Jennifer that this is where I proposed to her mom almost exactly 10 years ago at the very top observation deck while she was on one of the center benches relaxing. It is also the building where my dad proposed to my Mom.

There was a bucket of snow right inside that was put there for people to touch. As I started exploring the visitors center, I found that what I had hoped to share with Jennifer was noticeably absent. She had been to a couple free presentations at the library having to do with stuff they can experience outside like watershed areas, insects, etc. I figured since she enjoyed that, she would love the displays of the animals and wildlife they had at the visitors center.

To my dismay the displays I remembered from the last time I was there a few years ago had been changed as part of a centenial celebration and the theater exhibit was entirely closed in preparation for being moved to the new visitors center opening this fall.

At least we got to view people at Camp Muir with my Dad's optical toy he brought along.

I didn't know there was going to be a new visitors center but there's a poster about it downstairs and how the new building will be extremely more energy effecient and able to withstand all the snowfall, melting the snow on the roof, keeping the place warm, etc. The existing Henry M. Jackson building was opened in 1966 and will be torn down next spring which I was dissapointed to find out as I will never get to share those memories with my daughters but at least we got to visit it one last time before it's gone forever.

It is The Mountain and I got a collectors patch that I'll put on my backpack and a Mount Rainier National Park spinning keychain to add to my growing collection of keychains from places I've visited (and some I haven't from my brother like Germany and Iceland). We'll try to return again in Feb. when the beautiful snow should be covering the area and then visit the new visitors center and recently redecorated Paradise Inn lodge.

Spending a day on Vashon

Spending a day on Vashon Island and making a short quick post from my cell phone. Didn't bring the laptop, no internet.