I agree, James. But, I also blame employers for who they hire. I have operated my farming business under the mantra "You get the quality of employee that you are willing to pay for." Pay only minimum wage for employees and you get the bottom of the barrel. Employees with a good work ethic won't stay long working for minimum wage
As I said before, the buck stops with the boss.
Stan, I worked closely with specialty retailers who paid reasonably well and trained their staff. I've worked with full line department stores. With Walmart. With big box specialty retailers like Sport Mart. With on line retailers. With tiny pro shops.
When price is the trigger that motivates the vast majority of your target customer, EVERYTHING gets affected. Including how much you can pay an hour and how many employees you can have working the floor. Every single category of specialty retailer I am aware of....the kind of retailer who carried a good assortment of brands, who had knowledgeable and helpful staff and in general tried to offer a quality experience to their clientele, has been decimated by the rise of Walmart, Amazon, etc. It;s not just those two....they are just the poster boys for the problem.
You couldn't pay me enough to open a brick and mortar store these days. Our oldest and one of the biggest retailers, The Hudson Bay Company, a full line department store and mall anchor, recently declared bankruptcy and started final liquidation sales this week. It was over 100 years old before you had a nation. Gone!
I also had my own businesses to staff. I could not agree more. Pay crap, get crap. But when the margins available in the industry one has chosen don't allow for an alternative, the manager/owner is stuck. There are a few ways around the problem but they usually require access to sufficient well heeled clients.
Ultimately we get what we pay for. And as a society we have decided we aren't interested in paying for service, or knowledgeable staff. Always exceptions but I'm generalizing.
Please note that none of what I have said should be applied to Orvis. They are one of the few retailers left who, in theory, who are bucking this trend. With high quality items and knowledgeable staff. So the situation described by the OP is intolerable and if continued will result in the failure of Orvis. It's about the implied bargain the retailer makes with it's customers. With Orvis, the bargain is great product and amazing service but the prices are high, if you don't deliver on the first two, you will quickly be dead in the water.
