Poor customer service

[fixerupper]

I'm with Ram on this one.
So often we hear about the impact that online vendors have on the brick and mortar businesses. The competition for our sales dollars can be fierce. Whenever possible we like to support our LFS even though they may cost a bit more. Their strong suit should be product knowledge and supporting impulse purchases by having a decent inventory and decent staff.

They have the ability to interact with a customer immediately which is something online vendors struggle with. If they screw up one of their (few) advantages over their online competitors they simply don't deserve our business. Look, I don't expect the employee at my LFS to know everything, but there's nothing wrong with saying, "I don't know but I can find out for you". If they pretend to know and give me false information it can have dire consequences for my tank. That hugely disrespectful of their customer base and their sales will eventually reflect that.

It's more and more common for me to go to my LFS to see if they stock some staple item only to find they don't. Ok, no worries. I explain my need and offer them the opportunity to fill that need with a suitable product they might carry. This brief dialogue is usually met with impatience and an attitude like I'm wasting their time. Sorry, if I've made the effort to drive across town to shop at their store they'd better have 3 measly minutes to interact with me in a positive manner. lately, the communication and service I've been getting online FAR surpasses what has been offered at stores. If the brick & mortar shops can't figure it out they're not going to survive.

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