Every once in a while, amidst the dark and dreary news related to the recession, lost homes, jobs and a plummet of public and private investments in short- and long-term art, talent, and people as a whole, there are several days that shine like Window No. 25 of the Christmas advent calendar. Sales – first cut, then the second cut and then clearance.

Eons ago, I wouldn’t even bother, because I knew that my choice picks of that season were gone. Oftentimes those gleaming little glazed palladium feet of the distressed patent satchel never got an opportunity to graze the dusted wooden surfaces of department store shelves as sales associates’ waitlists were filled to the curled edges with eager and wild-eyed “It” Bag-mongering consumers. Fast forward to 2008, I picked up a YSL Muse Two in patent and pony hair for less than $500. The large size. To fashion houses, the game turned to Survival of the Fittest, to some consumers, “OCD” had a whole new meaning while women (and men) spent, sometimes more than usual, scrambling for the Deals of the Century. And deals they were – some of my fine artifacts included, in addition to the beautiful Muse Two, a Marni Large Violet Balloon Bag for $500-ish, a Burberry Avonbury Trench Coat for $425, multiple Bottega Veneta hobos from Cabazon Outlet second-cuts, Wolford hosiery for less than $50, and the list goes on. And sales receipts. Lots and lots of shoe boxes filled with sales receipts I collected in the last two years. DH learned soon that “I will return what I don’t like, honey,” meant “If you are going to get that car, get it now before your wife spends your life savings on patent and exotic leathers.” (There is a true story about how it was suggested before we our move to Irvine that we need not bother with procuring moving boxes, because we had enough shopping bags to carry the contents within our entire cul-de-sac. I would be too embarrassed to mention this, had it not been for the itch to poke fun at him yet again for this horrific and exposing moment where anyone could tell the guy has never moved in his life).

I jest. But frankly, sale time is a different thing altogether post-recession. At times I find myself holding back on a purchase when within a four-week time window of the next big cut.

And then, there are different types of promotions that department stores do, to lure customers into their stores instead of shopping through the bright and alluring boutique windows on Rodeo. Double points, triple points, and the infamous Saks Fifth Avenue EGC and Friends and Family Events. It was during the latter, an F&F event for not just FW09 items but classics too, that I came across this revelation about the nature of loyalty, namely Customer Loyalty.

I hear from friends in different walks of life – engineers, doctors, retail associates, teachers, even pastors – that consumers nowadays act with such entitlement. I don’t disagree – we’ve become so spoiled as foot-stomping fist-shaking rights-seeking inhabitants of this Land of the Free that it has now come to bite us, the heydays of the 70’s and 80’s a vague, hazy and distant memory, amidst staring into impossible situations like the health care crisis, where either way we lose.

And the Freedom Sought has disappeared – not to due to lack of rights, but due to the lack of means.

But it’s not just we as consumers who have become blind-a88-drunk on entitlement – so have those on the other side of the counter. During the Saks F&F event, select designers opted in to offer 25 percent off of their products, irrespective of style or season. I called the 5th Ave. store in New York, hoping they would have a wider selection.

by numberstumper

Me: Hi, I was wondering if Chloe is participating in your Friends & Family event this time?
ESA (eager sales associate): Yes, all Chloe bags are included, as are (a string of different designer brands). The only brands not participating are Chanel, Prada, Balenciaga…
Me: I was wondering if you had the Paraty?
ESA: I’m sorry, what brand? Para…
Me: No, the Chloe Paraty, from Chloe…
ESA: Hold on, let me look up that style…
(Long wait)
ESA: Ma’am, can I get your number so I can call you back in case we get disconnected? (Sure, here it is). Okay, I will look up the name on the system and see what’s available but let me look up the name first… one moment…
(Longer wait)

Click. I hung up.

And then she left me multiple voicemails about not just the Paraty, but other bags in the promotion, and again during their next EGC event. Are they serious? I’m about to still spend more than $1,500 on a bag from you, over the phone – you didn’t have to do any marketing or “sell me” on anything, I knew what I wanted, and you are on the designer handbags sales floor feeling entitled to a three-figure commission of every sale you make and you have never heard of the flagship Paraty?? And then you keep calling me trying to gain my customer loyalty to buy regularly from you, from your store, when you didn’t even know the product I wanted to purchase to begin with?

Am I being too harsh?

I did the math. The average life span of a car purchased new currently is about six years. The MSRP on the Lexus LS Hybrid is $106,035.00. Divided over six years, with twelve months in a year, the spread amounts to a little over $1,400/month. The average “purse maven” in her 40’s who shops regularly with Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue will buy one or two handbags a month.

One to two handbags a month from a customer loyal to you and your store over the course of six years is more money spent than on a brand new Lexus LS Hybrid. I wonder what would happen if someone walked into a dealership and the salesman had no clue what model you were referring to when you mentioned the “LS” – what would his sales figures look like? Salesman Joe completes hours of training, polishing up on his product knowledge and works his connection circuits just so that he can sell one car to a family every six years, and in hopes he will get repeat business and referrals. The Saks sales associates’ repeat phone calls and the company’s repeat mailers were persistent and consistent with that of a business trying to win the long-term customer loyalty of a consumer, but the problem is, they didn’t even know what they were selling, they just wanted the sale.

Loyalty is earned, even customer loyalty, with an “E” for effort.
And if such is the case, where loyalty is the token to more customer deposits into one’s sales tally, how much “credibility” currency should we foot the investment into a business or colleague relationship, for long-term success?

How much should we invest in regular deposits into our loved ones’ emotional bank accounts?

I think I’m just thankful for grace.