Marcia and Lamar had just moved into a larger home and wanted to furnish the family room tastefully but without spending a lot of money. Saturday was the day for their furniture shopping, so off they went.
Their first stop was a deep-discount Furniture Barn. The place was appropriately named—it looked like a barn—and its merchandise was piled high in irregular heaps. Some was wrapped in plastic from the manufacturer while others were uncovered. Some collected dust. The Barn had a pretty good variety of goods, but the "display" left a lot to be desired. The goods had no posted prices, although the company had a reputation for good deals.
Upon entering the Barn, a middle-aged fellow with a beard, sandals, cut-off shorts, and a sleeveless tee shirt called a greeting to Marcia and Lamar from across the cavernous room where he was stacking merchandise. "Lemme know if ya need help," he yelled from across the room. But that was the last they saw of him. They wandered around the Barn for about 10 minutes before making a hasty retreat, apparently unmissed.
Their next stop was Whooley Furniture a few miles away. Here the merchandise was displayed attractively and prices were clearly posted on each piece. Anne, a 40-something woman, greeted them and introduced herself when they came into the store. They shook hands and Lamar introduced himself and his wife as they chatted briefly about what they were looking for. Anne invited them to look around, directed them to the family room furniture section, and said that she would be happy to answer any questions. She mentioned that they had a sale on LazyChair brand recliners and showed them where they were. The saleswoman was dressed in slacks, a yellow blouse, and wore a tactful necklace. She was quite attractive, although not a raving beauty. She smiled pleasantly and gave them some space as they strolled through the store.
Marcia and Lamar were on a pretty tight budget and the merchandise at the Barn would have probably been cheaper, but about an hour later they had spent about $2,000 with Anne at Whooley Furniture. Asked by friends why they shopped there, Lamar summed it up: We felt like they wanted our business, and Anne became a friend.
Probes
1. If you owned the Furniture Barn, what lesson would you learn from this case? What actions would you take? Identify several "little things" they could do to better serve the customer without changing their basic "stack-it-deep-and-sell-it-cheap" business approach.
2. In your opinion, how important is the personality of salespeople in a furniture business? Would Anne's approach be advantageous in all kinds of businesses? Why or why not?