Whether or not you have any interest in the ongoing development in new electronic technologies, sooner or later, as a dancer, you are bound to find yourself shopping for something to play your music on. If you’re like me, you just want to find what you need, make your purchase and leave. Keep it simple. Get in, get out. You don’t have the interest or the patience to read all the various online product reviews or to stand around comparing all the different features that come with each model.
In the past, I have found shopping for electronics to be a somewhat daunting experience, so overwhelmed by the selection there is to chose from that, more often than not, I end up leaving without buying anything. I would ask the sales staff for help, but they usually know less about the merchandise than I do. And that is, if you can get their attention. More often then not they are too busy talking to their co-workers to be inconvenienced by your questions.
Take Circuit City for example, one of the largest retail electronic store stores in New York City with dozens of outlets across the tri-borough area. Recently, the company was forced to close it’s doors citing it being due to the poor state of the economy. There is no one I know who is familiar with Circuit City who believes that for a second. The common belief is it had simply to do with bad customer service. If nothing else proves that point, take into account that when Circuit City had its going out of business sale they actually raised their prices as much as 25 percent. You really have to disrespect your customers a to think you can do something like that and no one is going to notice.
All of which leads me to what this article is really about, the recent experience I had shopping at B & H. If you’ve never heard of this store, don’t worry you’re not alone. There are many long time resident New Yorkers who are unfamiliar with this little miracle of a retail outlet as well. Located on the corner of 9th Avenue and 34th Street, B & H originally opened in 1973 as a photography store, but over the years has expanded it’s selection to include all kinds of electronic devices with more than 250,000 items in stock.
The fact the store is owned by Orthodox Jews it lends itself to being run a little differently from most other stores. For one thing, there are the store’s hours. In keeping with the Jewish Sabbath the store regularly closes it’s doors every Friday afternoon at 2:00pm and does not open them until the following Sunday at 10am. The website, where 70% of purchases are made shuts down as well. Despite the inconvenience of being closed for the better part of the weekend, when the majority of people do their shopping, it would seem to have no affect on the store’s overall popularity, as it is regularly packed with customers. Again, taking more air out of Circuit City’s claim that it’s closing was due to the recession.
Upon entering the store, beyond the size of the place, the first thing you notice is the intricate conveyor belt system that criss-crosses every which way across the ceiling. It is something to behold as packages zip back and forth across the store in every direction, like something out of an old Warner Brother’s cartoon. So visually intriguing, it is the one thing people always seem to mention about the store, that and the incredible customer service.
Case in point, I recently stopped by to purchase a new boom box for Zouk in Central Park. Because we would be dancing outside we would need something portable at the same time something that could be played at high volume. A tough combination. The salesperson I ended up dealing with, Yakkov, a young Orthodox Jew, who proved to be quite the expert when it came to audio equipment. I told him what I was looking for and he quickly narrowed it down to two or three choices, going over the advantages and disadvantages of each. After I made my selection and got home, I spent some time online comparing B & H’s prices to other retailers. I was happy to find out that the price I ended up paying was the cheapest to be found for said item. Sometimes the difference in price was by as much as 25%. But it doesn’t end there.
As it turned out, I had to return the unit, due to no fault on B & H’s part. It’s just another member of our group had already purchased a boombox, so there was no need for a second one. I think returning an item is the thing most people dread out of the whole shopping experience. More often than not it winds up in some kind of confrontation, where you have to argue your case as to why they should take the item back. Just standing in line thinking about it you can feel your blood pressure rising as you brace yourself for the upcoming argument. But as it turned out, at B & H there was no uncomfortable confrontation. They asked me why I was returning it, I explained my reason. They apologized for the inconvenience, that’s right apologized, when was the last time a salesperson did that to you? And with that, I took my money and left.
Understand that mine is not an unusual story. I have known several people who have had similar experiences when shopping there. As a result, they become life long fans. Good customer service, it seems like a small thing to ask when you consider how little it costs a company and the long term benefits that come with it. This article itself is direct result of a pleasant shopping experience. Let me ask you this, having read this article, how many of you the next time you are in New York and shopping for an electronic device are more than likely to consider going to B & H? And yet, it’s amazing how many retail businesses have yet to figure this out. They better figure it out quickly or they could find themselves ending up like Circuit City.
