With the advent of internet-based business-to-person commerce and the growing pervasiveness of category-specific mass merchandisers a stark dilemma has evolved: what is the value of service? My recent experience at Performance Footwear epitomized this. After visiting virtually every athletic shoe chain for an all-around shoe that would fit me and being wholly unsuccessful in my endeavor, I found this store, which was much closer to my home then any of those mall-based shops, via Yelp.
Performance Footwear's proprietor, Tom Buck, must have spent a half-hour or more, having me try on numerous pairs and explaining to me the reasons behind the costing of $150+ models vs. $50 ones, until it became obvious that what I needed was a special order, which he would gladly obtain for me.
Being an inveterate shopper, I subsequently discovered that this particular New Balance shoe in a non-standard (more narrow) width was also obtainable -- at a price $15 less -- on Amazon.com. Nonetheless, I did not cancel my order with Tom and go with Amazon. Why?
I believe it is essential that service be rewarded or else it will disappear, and more stores like the one Tom owns will close due to the lack of business. There is no doubt in my mind that the information Tom conveyed and the professional focus he provided to the solution of my shoe-fitting problem was worth the price differential. He truly earned my business.