Consumer SOS

Any good lawyer will tell you: Ignorance of the law is not a justifiable defense. Well, ignorance is a pretty good defense if you happen to be an overwhelmed consumer.

It takes time, effort and research when buying or contracting goods and services locally. Colorado Springs' consumers know this. We're a community that understands that hard work is a necessary part of living and living well. Yet, as strange as it sounds, even educated consumers who know what they need may not get what they want.

Let's say I need a refrigerator, paint for the living room, a bathroom tile installer, rose bushes, a new roof, courtesy of last summer's hailstorm.

Here's what I want...: Aside-by-side stainless steel refrigerator. But will it work with my 20-year-old kitchen? Will I need to update my wiring?

I want peach-colored living room walls. But will apricot-colored paint be too mellow for my sun-drenched room?



I'd likeMr. Installer to disclose that he will be subcontracting part of the bathroom tile install .Should I have known to ask?

I want the clerk in the garden department to educate me that roses do not do well in backyards with little sun, clay soil and kids with soccer balls. Now I know.

And I'd likeaclear explanation of what "satisfaction guaranteed" means with the installation of a new roof. Whose satisfaction is really guaranteed? Mine or the installer's?

It takes desire to get what you need. It takes a lot of questions to get what you want.

So how do the two, need and want, become so tangled? Often the questions we don't know to ask with a purchase or contract are the very ones that come back to haunt us. And the tricky part for consumers is how to get what we need in a way we really want it. Add to our dilemma, that we usually don't know what we want until we see it and there you have it. Double jeopardy.

Local Springs businesses. Do you want increased sales? Do you want to grow your business? Then here's the secret. What customers want (and dare I say, expect) is a little hand holding with their purchases. Customers want their expectations (which often come with wings) to equal the service they receive. Costumers want contact. Customers want attention. Customers want a smile that communicates "you're not bothering me. I'm here for you!" We want expert help in making our purchasing decisions. We want honest help in making our dreams come true.

What customers don't want is to spend precious weekend minutes in store aisles reading tiny print on large boxes trying to figure out if the product will work for them. Additionally, customers don't wish to hang on to hope, as in, "I hope this works," as their No. 1 purchasing strategy. Above all, customers don't want to hear, "We no longer carry that pretty pink pedestal sink you see on the floor. But try our south store." (We're not in the south store; we're in your store. And why is the item on display if you no longer carry it?) In return, we, as good customers, promise to return again and again to your store or local business. And buy, buy, buy.

Here are a few short takes on recent Colorado Springs shopping experiences.

Experience No. 1: Big box and home improvement stores such as Lowe's and Home Depot are chock-full of things local consumers need. But finding the items on our lists are a little like finding needles in a warehouse haystack. Aisle signs indicating store sections are often positioned too high, at weird angles, and set with lettering in block print, which is hard to read.

Consumer SOS: Store managers, please revisit your retail environment. Rethink your signage.Cavernous warehouse stores are overwhelming under the best of circumstances. So staff your stores with friendly faces that seek out those customers looking a little like lost dogs in need of a pat on the head and a drink of cold water. For goldstar service, staff your entrances with someone who knows where things are (like Wal-Mart, only better). Customers can then simply ask, "Where can I find the thingamajig for the toilet tank that looks like this?" and head off with a smile.

Experience No. 2: My heart recently went out to an 80-year-old shopper who tried to find someone, anyone, to help her with her purchase in the lingerie section of a major department store in the Chapel Hills Mall at Briargate. When she did finally flag down a young woman, the help she got was a finger pointed in the general direction of a rack on the other end of the store.

Consumer SOS: Floor managers, please train your associates to walk with their customers to where they need to be. This action demonstrates a commitment to customer service.Customers buy locally rather than online for the experience of human contact and the attention that goes with it.

Experience No. 3: Recently I contracted with a company to wash my home windows. I was taken back when the worker, after cleaning the outside windows, came inside my home and placed his soapy, drippy bucket and sponge on my bedroom carpet leaving a dark dirty stain.

Consumer SOS: Next time I'll know to ask: How will my carpet be protected from soapy buckets and a worker's muddy shoes?

Experience #4: Like many homeowners in the area, I had a new roof installed after a hailstorm late last summer. Little did I know, however, that when I signed the contract, I was not getting the four roofers I assumed would work on the roof but just one roofer and three go-fers to go for more shingles, coffee and lunch from Arby's.

Consumer SOS: Next time I'll know to ask: For the price quoted, how many trained workers will actually work installing the roof?

Local merchants. Help me, help you! Assume that your customers know what they need. But please don't assume they always know what they want. For that we'll need some handholding, a little give and take, and a fair share of good old-fashioned customer service. For our part, we promise to be as gracious and cheerful as slightly bewildered consumers in a sea of product choices and services can be.