A Look Back: Black Friday Fiasco

This year’s Black Friday tradition seemed to step on the toes of another popular tradition: Thanksgiving. Stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, etc. opened on Thanksgiving evening starting as early as 5PM. It seems as though the majority of shoppers were not thrilled about Black Friday imposing on their holiday. See Below:

http://www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/More-and-more-stores-say-they-will-open-on-Thanksgiving-night/-/10148890/22644502/-/bnhsxd/-/index.html

As you can see, consumers were going back and forth about the early door busters this year, but the numbers don’t lie. It turns out the stores that opened on Thanksgiving night sacrificed their sales on Friday. A survey conducted by The National Retail Federation estimated spending fell by 2.9% this year.

Besides the drop in profit, stores also have to worry more and more about mayhem in their stores. Every year there are stories about fights over the last inexpensive television set or iPad, but Black Thursday only increased the violence. Stores such as Wal-Mart acquired popular hashtags like #Walmartfights and #Brawlmart which had thousands of tags overnight. Police activity and security had to be increased this year more than ever.

So the question is, is all of this worth it for the retailers? Is it worth it for the consumers? We want to know your opinion, so comment below!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Nicole Leo.

Lipstick Backlash

Recently, Sephora had to do a bit of crisis management. About a week ago, the cosmetics chain had to pull a lipstick off of its shelves after receiving backlash from customers. The lipstick shade, titled "Celebutard," was a part of the Painted Love Lipstick line by Kat Von D. While the nude hue flatters most consumers, ironically, it didn't set well with many. 

The majority of the negative response came from mothers of children with developmental issues who were not a fan of the use of the derogatory word. Kim Stagliano, managing editor of Age of Autism, wrote in a Huffington Post blog, "People with disabilities are the last to benefit from what some might call 'political correctness,' and what I would call basic human decency. 'Retard' is still bandied about - even by people I like a lot, like Howard Stern and his crew, who still have wack packers with the R word in their name."

Once realizing the mistake, Sephora issued this statement saying, "It has come to our attention that the name of one shade of a lipstick we carry has caused offense to some of our clients and others. We are deeply sorry for that, and we have ceased sale of that shade both in our stores and online."

Lipstick creator, Kat Von D, did not share the same sentiment. Although it has since been deleted, she reportedly tweeted, "At the end of the day, it's just a f**king lipstick." 

Do you believe it's "just a lipstick" or is it an offensive and insensitive term to a large group of the population? Do you think Sephora handled this crisis effectively? We would love for you to share your thoughts below!

For more information: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/celebutard-lipstick-sephora_n_4233966.html#slide=more240278

http://www.prdaily.com/crisiscommunications/Articles/15577.aspx

Lessons from Working in Retail

This summer I worked as a Sales Associate in my local mall. I figured it'd be great experience, both as something to put on my then blank resume, and also as an opportunity to come out of my shell a little bit. All of my friends had told me that retail was the worst, because you had to deal with unhappy customers. However, its dealing with those difficult customers that has made me a better communicator, by following these tips:

• Keep cool under pressure- When I first started working, I was terrified of working the cash register, as math has never been my strongest point, and I didn't want to make a mistake. But its when you're scrambling to make the customer happy that you make the biggest mistakes. Take your time, do it right, and the customer won't have anything to be upset about. Most importantly, don't be afraid to make a mistake. It's only a problem when you don't learn from your mistakes.


• Never assume- Marketing in stores change constantly, making it hard to keep up with promotions. I have often lost track of them myself and am forced to ask a manager. When I later apologized for asking so many questions, my manager interjected. She told me that it was always better to ask first, rather than assume and do something the wrong way, making it harder to fix than it would have been if I had just asked for help in the first place.


• Be positive- When you do get a difficult customer who you just can't seem to please, accept it. Don't beat yourself up for it, it wasn't your fault. Just be the best you that you can be. If your client is taking their anger out on you, smile and offer the best service you can. That way, you know that you put your best foot forward.

Have you ever worked in retail? How did you handle unhappy clients? Let us know!