Thank you for your patronage.

I’ve had a single sentence from a previous post rolling around in my head, and I wanted to elaborate on it.

“Do you remember when businesses were simply grateful for your business?”

Not to be a pessimist, but it seems that customer appreciation has been lacking in modern business. Yeah, there’s a sale here, a “thank you” printed on your receipt there, but when was the last time you felt legitimately appreciated for keeping someone else’s company afloat with your dollars?

Maybe it’s been the case that I, personally, have been exposed to some appallingly substandard customer service lately…the woman behind the counter updating her twitter account while ringing me up, the sales associate rolling their eyes and letting loose a healthy sigh when I ask a question…You know, things like that. It’s not that I feel that I need to be worshiped for shopping, but a bit of courtesy would be nice. I am, after all, contributing to their paycheck. Without us as customers, there would be no business.

However, it’s the opinion of this shopper that the problem on the employee level stems from a far greater situation: lack of true customer value on a company-wide level. How often have you seen “up to” printed in almost indecipherable hieroglyphics right underneath “75% off” on a sale sign…and the reality turns out that the majority of said sale items are actually discounted by less that 25%? Oh, here’s another one that I love…questionably vague labels over clearance and sale bins that are strategically located directly next to the highest-ticket items in the store.

Simple mistakes and carelessness on the part of corporate plan-o-grams? Nope. On the contrary, these are traps, very carefully set to trick you into placing higher-cost merchandise into your cart…merchandise that you’ll be less likely to refuse when being corrected and stared down by the cashier when you check out.

Here’s how it goes. For the purpose of experimentation, we’ll use an imaginary, nondescript clothing store. You’re there, shopping around the sales and clearance, trying to save a few bucks and get your new wardrobe on in the process. You grab 3 pairs of jeans, marked down “up to” 75% off.

When you bring your merchandise to the counter and the total far exceeds what you’d expected because those three pairs of jeans were $15 more expensive than you thought due to forty-some-odd percent worth of discount that you didn’t get.

Now you feel awkward for having overlooked such a minute detail, the cashier seems annoyed for having to explain the details to you, and everyone behind you is shooting off dirty looks, and if you decide you don’t want these items now, you’ve got the obligatory call to a shift supervisor to perform a manual void while he, and your fellow patrons, mutter unflattering things under their breath.

So, what do you do? If even half of a companies’ customer base is willing to face the stress of getting these items removed from their transaction, there’s still half that’ll let it slide, equating to (in the case of our hypothetical clothing store purchase) and extra $45 per sale…for a steady customer flow of 400-500 patrons daily, you’re looking at a profit amounting to $11,250 (of “valued” customer money) daily, just for placing their sales questionably about their store.

Here’s what we do: Don’t stand for it. Get that shift supervisor up front for that manual register void. Let the people behind you shoot their dirty looks. It’s your money, not theirs. Take it seriously and don’t simply allow it to be taken from you unless you’re getting what you want. Like we say here at Hook UP Feed: let the consumers target the brands. Reverse the cycle.

Remember: Businesses may be providing you a product or service, but you’re also providing a more vital service to them…you’re keeping them open for business with your money. Don’t do it for free.