As my birthday approaches in another week, my wife has been on the hunt for what to get me. One of the nice parts of an early February birthday the last couple of years has been the release of Topps at the same time, which makes for a pretty easy gift. Today my wife headed out to shop while my daughter and I napped. When she returned I found out that she decided to drop by our local card shop to ask a few questions about release dates. Since my birthday is next weekend, my wife wanted to surprise me by getting the cards this week and giving them to me on my birthday, rather than getting them off the internet and forcing me to be patient for a couple of days. I love this lady.
Unfortunately, it all went downhill once she actually arrived at the card shop. The owner and his daughter who run the shop were both sitting outside when my wife arrived, taking their smoke break apparently. My wife and I are by no means high rollers, but we do buy cards from the shop semi-regularly. While the internet is considerably cheaper, I like the idea of getting cards from a shop even it costs a little more. Well, I'm going to need a new shop to frequent after today.
As my wife walked up to the daughter, she was greeted with a curt hello and asked what she needed. My wife explained that she was hoping to find out when the new Topps release would be in the shop, since she wanted to get it for my birtheday the next weekend. She was told when it would release and then apparently made a huge mistake. She asked if they knew about how much the boxes would be selling for. The daughter looked at her father who shook his head in some disgust and let out a sigh. Not exactly the friendly customer service one might hope for. The daughter continued to stare at her father and after a few more seconds without a response, she gave her estimate. My wife then asked what their hours were and if it would be possible to have a box held so she could pick it up and not risk them selling out before my birthday. This was met with another dismissive sigh and a slight rolling of the eyes from the owner. At that, my wife just paused for a second in shock and then walked back to her car.
Are you freaking kidding me?! I know my wife wasn't there to ask about Triple Threads or some other overpriced monstrosity, but does she really need to be treated like crap. My wife is a very patient woman and she came home pissed! She couldn't believe that she was treated with such disrespect and a feeling of contempt from the owner. The woman is coming into your shop with the hopes of giving you money for your product and instead leaves feeling like she's an idiot for asking questions. Is it any wonder that these places are having so much trouble staying in business.
I'm only good for a few hundred dollars a year at the local card shop, which is less than a lot of people probably spend in there in one afternoon, but I can guarantee we won't spend another dollar in there again. Even as I type this, I'm just sort of fuming. I can't see the logic in treating a customer like crap. Thanks a lot card shop owner guy, for once again proving what an a-hole you can be.
Go Halos!
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