Evaluating Our 2008 Holiday Season
Decatur Metro | January 5, 2009 | 4:43 pmIn light of the rotten economy, many of us doubled-down our usual efforts to do a majority of our 2008 holiday shopping/eating in Decatur. Specifically on this site, I tried harder than ever to keep everyone up-to-date on the latest events/sales/restaurant openings in hopes that better local communication would draw a few more dollars away from the big-box and into our smaller shops. Knowledge is power and all that…
So how did the 2008 holiday season shake out Decatur business owners? Did we exceed or miss expectations?
No need to post your business name if you don’t want to and feel free to be as vague and anonymous as you would like. But after all the efforts many of us made these past couple months to “live, eat and shop Decatur”, we’d love to hear a follow up!
Thanks in advance!
My observation as a customer looked like many local shops did well – there was noticeably less inventory after the holidays than in November.
Anecdotally, friends at Taste indicated being happy with both traffic and sales. But I don’t know if that was meeting standard expectations or reduced expectations in light of dour projections.
I asked how things were going while in Boogaloos before xmas and they said given the state of things, they were quite pleased. As with Scott, not sure if that actually means meeting needs/expectations, or simply managing to not do as terribly as feared.
I think it’s also a sign of a professional owner who does not want to burden a customer w/tales of woe.
I think overall sales were down, but owners really appreciated the increased local support. Several told me of decreased stock, so even though sales were down, there were less bills to pay.
I know we made a conscious effort to shop local for the holidays as much as possible. On our rounds we patronized:
– Greene’s (twice, the second time taking our families there the night of the bonfire). Lots of people here, cheerful staff. The gingerbread house decorating was very cute. Such a neat space.
– Wordsmith’s. Completely empty one week before Christmas. Despite the fact that we were the only customers in the building and the fact that we purchased two expensive books at full price (checking Amazon later we could have saved $20+), the staff was still reluctant to wrap them when we asked. I want to support you, Wordsmith’s. Why do you make it so hard?
– Little Shop of Stories. Lots of folks in here, and staff members were super nice and helpful. On three occasions we were provided assistance in selecting books for both children and adults. And while we were admiring some lovely Robert Sabuda pop-ups, one staffer came over and proceeded to read one of the books to us, explaining to us why he loved it so much (and there were no children with us). Gift wrapping also was not a problem.
– Taste. Pretty decent traffic. They have the best cards in here, and I love using the Vosges chocolate bars (especially Mo’s Bacon Bar) as stocking stuffers.
– Hoopla. Not many folks came through while we were there. After checking out with our initial purchases, we kept finding additional items. No attitude from the staffer despite the multiple transactions, and also didn’t mind gift-wrapping.
– Cook’s Warehouse. Steady customer traffic. Helpful staff. I always seem to find what I need here….And many things I don’t, but want anyway.
We shopped almost exclusively in Decatur……Heliotrope, Mingei, Whit’s End, and Melrose. Great service, prices, selection. No reason to go anywhere else!
I was really grateful to Whit’s End for special-ordering some Levi’s for me and giving me the Terrific Thursday 10% off even though it was a special order. And though they didn’t think they would get them in before Christmas, they did! Thanks guys.
CSD Mom, I totally agree……..the guys at Whit’s End are the BEST! I noticed that their prices were better than at REI this entire holiday season. This shop is truly about Decatur and deserves continued local support. While their selection can’t be as extensive as a big store, they are spot on as to what the local guy is wearing, and their customer service is top notch. I don’t get why this store isn’t packed everyday!?
I HEART HELIOTROPE! Fantastic taste, totally reasonable prices, awesome staff. We always find something great when we go there. I hope they did ok this holiday season.
So I am a big fan of helping out locally but I feel I must post about my two recent efforts and why I am getting a little nervous about some of these stores being open a year from now.
Two and a half weeks ago I was in a bookstore in New York and saw a book I was interested in. I realized I would not be able to start it while in New York so I got on the phone and called Wordsmiths and placed an order. Two and a half weeks later it still has not been ordered. Today the employee explained to me that they are having difficulty ordering books because they dont have the money to advance. I am not sure why they dont ask people to prepay for orders to solve this problem. I was one of the people who donated money to help the store but I feel that maybe some of their problems are in operations not customers. In this day and age of Amazon.com, two and a half weeks is a long time to be waiting for a book.
Also two weeks ago I went to Parkers on Ponce and sat at the bar and oredred a soup and an entree. The soup made it out and 30 minutes later I was still waiting for the entree. I told the waitress that I would have to go and she didnt seem that bothered by the botched service and handed me a bill for the soup. As I was walking out a manager stopped me and said “I understand there was an incident”. Not really the best way to handle this but I explained the what happened. He then told me that their meals usually took 15 minutes to cook. Fine…I had been waiting 30 minutes. Mind you, all I wanted to do at this point was leave. I had not asked for an explaination or to speak with someone. He then told me that they had sat a large party and that may be why the food was taking a while and that this was very unusual. Just as he said that someone came and told him they had been waiting 45 minutes for their food. He then asked for my phone number so he could call and get my address to send me something (not sure why he didnt just ask me then for my address). I gave him my phone number and it has been two weeks and there has not been a phone call.
Please dont even get me started on the Verizon store. I have been there 4 times to ask questions and make changes in my plan. They have never been able to answer a question and any of the changes they have made on my plan have never been processed. I end up having to go to the store at Northlake.
In a down economy, service is everything. Come on Decatur stores. I know we need to do our part in buying local but you must give us a reason to do so!