What do you do about those stores where there is little or no sales staff to ask you if you need help? I still go to those stores but that is if I know what I am looking for and others are frankly just to far from the beaten path. So when I shop either I go to the small store if I don't care about the price or I try the boxed store, known for its impersonal style and shelves of cartons piled on top of one another.
Today there is a variety of these huge warehouse-like stores, which save on personnel by keeping customer service staff to a minimum. But if you need to get some software information you are likely to be told that they do not know about the product you need and if you are lucky you will find someone who is not busy serving someone else.
Gone are the days when most store people would ask you if you needed any help, not that it mattered much to me. I used to say that I could look on my own. But in these huge stores like Wal-Mart or Costco, big savings are made by the reduced staff that would have to unload the boxes, line the shelves and price the individual items. If the store has a multi-billion dollar inventory it can also dictate to sellers what price increases are going to be if any.
But the smaller store still has its following of people who like personalized service and at times even know the store owner by name. The staff takes their time to explain what the item is about and whether there are comparable items. They answer questions about item quality and store policies. So if the person is looking for answers to questions and is not sure what to purchase a small outlet is better than a larger one but then the price is not going be as economical. If the person has a large family, can buy by bulk and knows what he wants than the boxed store is the answer, as long as he can get there.
