Speaking up never hurts

By ARTHUR VIDRO
What It’s Worth
A good company wants your business.  A good company will bend over a little to accommodate you, especially if it doesn’t cost them anything.  But first you have to speak up with your request.

Almost all mom-and-pop shops are good companies.  They know they’re dependent on your business today and on your return business in the future.

Chain stores, though, are a mixed bag.  Some of them are run or staffed by people who truly want your business.  Others – a minority, I hope –  are staffed by people who don’t care if you buy anything or ever return, so long as they get their paycheck.

Earlier this year, the missus and I went shopping for a new clothes dryer.  The old one was clearly limping along, protesting loudly with each usage.

We decided to visit the Sears outlet at the edge of Claremont.  I knew Sears was on hard times, and I wanted to give them some business for the sake of my old classmate Eddie Lampert, who’s now the CEO and principal owner of Sears.

I was carefully taking notes as we examined models and features and prices and what was on sale (for one week only) and what wasn’t.  I was trying hard to process the numbers, but my focus was off.  As often happens in stores, my focus was hindered by the blaring music.  Usually this comes from a speaker or intercom set-up.  Here, though, it was from a portable tape-deck device.

It doesn’t matter if the music is rock and roll or rap or country/western; if it’s too loud for me, then it’s painful.

I’d had enough.  I needed to escape the noise.

I approached the man in charge.  “Look,” I said politely, “we’re the only customers here.  If I promise to make a purchase right here and now, will you lower the volume of the music?”

If he were to answer “no” (as has happened elsewhere when I made the same request, but that’ll be another story), I would have silently but politely exited.

At first he seemed confused by my request.  Likely he’d never heard such a request before.  Perhaps it took him a moment to realize music was blaring, because he was so used to it.  To him it was background music, perhaps even pleasant music.  To me it was a painful aural assault.  But he was a good manager, so he nodded to his female associate, who completely turned off the sound system.

“Thank you,” I said.  I then returned to my numbers and cogitations, and we soon enough selected a dryer, paid for it, and arranged for delivery.  Everyone ended up happy.

Well, not quite everyone.  Our purchase of a dryer didn’t provide nearly enough of the hundreds of millions of dollars Sears needed.  So last month they declared bankruptcy.  It’s too soon to know if this will lead to a total liquidation and shutdown (such as happened at Toys ‘R’ Us), or if the company will emerge from bankruptcy with a clean slate (such as happened with General Motors).

In either case, more Sears and K-Mart outlets, which are owned by the same now-bankrupt parent company, will shut down.  Will some survive?  That’s up to the creditors.

But I’m rooting for Sears, and for the Sears manager who turned down the music.

I just hope Eddie Lampert appreciates it.