Friday, December 22, 2006
Feminization of Best Buy??
Today, Just Muttering linked to a post by Laura's Miscellaneous Musings regarding Best Buy stores becoming more customer service oriented.
Laura points out that USA Today calls this "feminization" of Best Buy. How does this become a male - female thing? If a store under goes "masculinization" does its employees become rude, crude and socially unacceptable? Can't USA Today leave gender politics out of it?
Who opens doors for others? Traditionally, and from what I observe is still true, males are taught to open doors for women, allow women on and off the elevator first, go down with the ship while women and children (apparently children are second to women in this case) take the lifeboats. Who lets women go first in virtually every circumstance? Who gets items off the top shelf at the grocery store for little old ladies. Men do.
Indeed, Laura's example of the good customer service she received involved a male helping her. Further more...
Part of the flip side of this is that females are so helpless and fragile that they need extra help and special environments in order to successfully negotiate a large discount store. Frankly, I think somebody, maybe many, are idiots. Everyone likes good customer service and knowledgeable sales staff. Few like loud over-bearing music in stores which make it necessary to shout in order to be heard. Those few can shop at Pac-Sun, Bad Boards or Spencer's Gifts.
And, now, good customer service is considered a female trait and pleasant stores are considered feminine.
Just another small example of the continued denigration of masculinity in America.
Laura points out that USA Today calls this "feminization" of Best Buy. How does this become a male - female thing? If a store under goes "masculinization" does its employees become rude, crude and socially unacceptable? Can't USA Today leave gender politics out of it?
Who opens doors for others? Traditionally, and from what I observe is still true, males are taught to open doors for women, allow women on and off the elevator first, go down with the ship while women and children (apparently children are second to women in this case) take the lifeboats. Who lets women go first in virtually every circumstance? Who gets items off the top shelf at the grocery store for little old ladies. Men do.
Indeed, Laura's example of the good customer service she received involved a male helping her. Further more...
Thus it was quite interesting to come across an article in today's USA TODAY about the efforts Best Buy is making to provide better service, particularly to women. Where previously the store was designed as a loud "grab and go" environment with guys in mind, now "shoppers may notice a softer, more personal atmosphere. Music is quieter... Salespeople talk to customers..."I hated the loudness of Best Buy which is one reason I rarely visit it. Even though I'm a computer programmer, there is much I don't know about hardware and, in the past, I found that Best Buy's staff didn't know much either. One of my male co-workers bought a new radio/CD player for his car at Best Buy a year or so ago. The big part of his buying story is that the salesperson only knew what was printed on the little product tags, which meant he was actually of help only to the illiterate.
Part of the flip side of this is that females are so helpless and fragile that they need extra help and special environments in order to successfully negotiate a large discount store. Frankly, I think somebody, maybe many, are idiots. Everyone likes good customer service and knowledgeable sales staff. Few like loud over-bearing music in stores which make it necessary to shout in order to be heard. Those few can shop at Pac-Sun, Bad Boards or Spencer's Gifts.
And, now, good customer service is considered a female trait and pleasant stores are considered feminine.
Just another small example of the continued denigration of masculinity in America.
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To "masculinize" a store: All products would have to be located on squared shelves of plywood and metal. There would be mud on the floor and you could only actually use the store if you were wearing boots. Work boots, preferably with steel toes, because the 'salespeople' who would be renamed 'the enemy' would constantly and intentionally drop items on you from above.
The whole place would smell like freshly sawed pine, burned food, and feet.
There would be no directions or markers of any kind indicating where products are located, nor any type of organization to be found. To get what you want, you'd have to 'know a guy' to figure out where in the store these things are.
To get what you want, verbal communication would be frowned upon (unless it was gadgetspeak), and instead the whole shopping experience would be men pointing at things and grunting approval or disapproval. I have had entire conversations with other grown men that required less.
Decoration would be large mud covered machines, pictures of power tools and hot rods, and strippers dancing in go-go cages suspended from the ceiling. The music would be ridiculously loud combinations of heavy metal, southern rock, old country and old school hip hop.
There will be a mosh pit located near the center of the manstore.
Watered down pilsner beer would be handed to every man as he walked into the manstore, and the 'food court' would be located outside, even in the rain, where you could obtain greasy meat cooked over an open flame. Side items available would include potato of the day. Nearby will be a moonshine still for those men who can still find their way home, and don't want to.
There will be a small, armored place for wives and girlfriends to sit, if they can stand the visit to the non-feminized manstore.
The whole place would smell like freshly sawed pine, burned food, and feet.
There would be no directions or markers of any kind indicating where products are located, nor any type of organization to be found. To get what you want, you'd have to 'know a guy' to figure out where in the store these things are.
To get what you want, verbal communication would be frowned upon (unless it was gadgetspeak), and instead the whole shopping experience would be men pointing at things and grunting approval or disapproval. I have had entire conversations with other grown men that required less.
Decoration would be large mud covered machines, pictures of power tools and hot rods, and strippers dancing in go-go cages suspended from the ceiling. The music would be ridiculously loud combinations of heavy metal, southern rock, old country and old school hip hop.
There will be a mosh pit located near the center of the manstore.
Watered down pilsner beer would be handed to every man as he walked into the manstore, and the 'food court' would be located outside, even in the rain, where you could obtain greasy meat cooked over an open flame. Side items available would include potato of the day. Nearby will be a moonshine still for those men who can still find their way home, and don't want to.
There will be a small, armored place for wives and girlfriends to sit, if they can stand the visit to the non-feminized manstore.
Bass Pro Shop, may be the most masculine store I've visited. All the activities for which they carry items can just as easily be participated in by females as males.
But I've never heard a woman say, "OOOhh, I saw this most darling rod and reel combo at Bass Pro the other day." Men shopping in Bass Pro are actually smiling and enjoying themselves. Men hate to leave the store and regret they didn't have more money to spend there. I've never heard a woman even mention going to Bass Pro although I do see some there being lead around by their male companions.
I hear the Cabella stores are even better but none are within a couple of hundred miles of me.
It's funny, your cariciture of men's stores is a common vision but except for the plywood/metal shelves little is true. Go into a Lowe's or Home Depot and see how clean the store is and how well organized everything is. These are good man stores. I've been known to go in just to browse the power tools.
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But I've never heard a woman say, "OOOhh, I saw this most darling rod and reel combo at Bass Pro the other day." Men shopping in Bass Pro are actually smiling and enjoying themselves. Men hate to leave the store and regret they didn't have more money to spend there. I've never heard a woman even mention going to Bass Pro although I do see some there being lead around by their male companions.
I hear the Cabella stores are even better but none are within a couple of hundred miles of me.
It's funny, your cariciture of men's stores is a common vision but except for the plywood/metal shelves little is true. Go into a Lowe's or Home Depot and see how clean the store is and how well organized everything is. These are good man stores. I've been known to go in just to browse the power tools.
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