It’s your brand culture…. the fact that you treat your customers poorly and you blame it on the “economic recession.”
Take Circuit City, for example. Out of business in January. Most people didn’t even bother with their going-out-of-business sale. Why? Because you’d have to actually deal with CC unknowledgeable employees, and overpriced merchandise, and unbearable garage-sale-like experience.
Let’s look at CC’s competitors. You can walk into any Apple Store and see crowds lined up to buy computers and iPods. But, enough has been written about how great Apple is. Let’s talk about another competitor: B&H
B&H opened in 1973, and if you live in Manhattan, you should visit the store. The whole operation is a crazy Willy Wonka factory. If you want to check out a product that’s not on display, a salesperson orders it by computer terminal from a vast stockroom in the basement. Moments later, as if by magic, the product arrives at the retail counter via an elaborate system of conveyor belts and dumbwaiters. You can try out the gear, see if you like it, and, if you do, the salesperson puts it in a green plastic box and places it on another conveyor belt, which runs above your head to the pickup counter. There, an employee bags your purchase. Meanwhile, your salesperson gives you a ticket, which you take to a payment counter. After you have paid, you get a different ticket that you take to the pickup counter to get your item.
At first, all this seems like incredible overkill. Then, you realize that with all the expensive electronics and cameras and lenses and laptops floating around the store, the system creates a series of checks and balances. Typically, five employees are involved in every purchase which reduces shoplifting and employee theft. That it works at all it is not the most amazing thing about B&H… nope, the most amazing thing is that the prices are so low that comparison shopping is a waste of time.
No, wait… the most amazing thing is that the salespeople at B&H really know their stuff. No, wait… the most amazing thing is that you can go in to B&H specifically to purchase an item only to be talked into something cheaper and better for your needs. The entire premise of the store is based upon your ability to come in, touch, feel, experiment, ask and discuss your wants/needs without sales pressure.
But, wait… the conveyor belts & dumbwaiters, the prices, the smart salespeople, the fact that they recommend cheaper products almost as a rule, none of these is the most amazing thing about B&H. Nope.
The most amazing thing is that because the owners are Orthodox Jews, the store closes every Friday afternoon for the Jewish Sabbath and on Jewish holidays. Moreover, B&H’s web site, which reportedly accounts for 70% of sales, SHUTS DOWN too. Yep, BHphotovideo.com is, to my knowledge, the only major online retailer that closes for 25 hours every weekend.
Even as other big box electronic retailers go bust and blame the economy, B&H remains loyal to its true brand of integrity, quality, and superior customer experience and remains packed with business. That makes me smile.
Excerpted from Joel Spolsky’s “It Isn’t the Economy, Stupid” May 2009 issue of INC. Magazine
About Wendi
I think most people would consider Adorama Camera adorama.com a ‘major on-line retailer’, too.
Adorama Camera owners are also Orthodox Jews; our Manhattan store closes every Friday afternoon and all day Saturday for the Jewish Sabbath and on Jewish holidays. Adorama’s web site, shuts down, too.
Adorama’s owner is an observant Orthodox Jewish gentleman, whose beliefs prohibit him – his family and his business – from operating on the Sabbath and on many of the religious holidays (which all begin an hour prior to sunset the evening before the day of the holiday, which is why we close early on Fridays).
In this era of 24-hour commerce, I guess it’s unusual to find that there really are still people who consider their spiritual duty to be more important than squeezing money out of our customers at every opportunity. I receive frequent emails from customers who state that in this day and age it is comforting to know there are people around who do not place money before all else.
Many businesses in the US and elsewhere in the world force employees to work on holidays when the time is better spent with their friends and families – or just relaxing by themselves.
Frequently, we are asked why we can’t employ non-Jews during those days – it is because to do so would involve the company conducting business – which is forbidden in Jewish Law.
We do appreciate the understanding of our customers that this is an important element of our owner’s value system. Perhaps the following links to articles in the Washington Post & the New York Times will help to make some sense of our closure policies:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB109269113906892796-IVjg4NnlaJ3o5yubXSHaK6Jm4.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/09/technology/09ecom.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Sincerely
Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
http://www.adoramacamera.com
Wendy:
Great spot. Thanks so much. We’re all looking forward to the May Inc mag too.
–
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video
I enjoyed this article because it is so similar to recent lunchtime conversations. Kudos to B&H for such a rave review. We love them too as they are one of only a few authorized dealers of our product strictly because they ‘know what they are talking about.’
congrats to henry and the rest of the crew at b&h for their wonderful company. the way they conduct their business is the reason that I buy from them almost exclusively, and why I only recommend them at the magc in pixels.com. henry, b&h is the prime example of how a company should be run. keep up the good work.