How I buy stuff

Well, I buy stuff for many reasons. My most import buying decisions are made out of necessity. Things like toilet paper, food, and medicine are necessities. So these are my most often purchased items.

Luxury items are what I do my research on. If I’m in the market for a new TV or computer I’m going to go to many different websites trying to compare prices and read reviews. I will also sometimes take a risk and purchase something on Ebay. I have had luck most the time but have had one time that I received a broken camera and the seller disappeared. I finally did get my money back but the time and effort out weighed the savings.

Clothes are my other shopping challenge. I look for quality and durability mixed with style. I am not afraid to spend some extra money on nice brand name clothing if I’m going to get a product that will last me years. In clothing I have found that name brand designers more likely than not have a far superior product. I do stay away from flash trends though.  “Culture is pervasive. What people eat, how they dress, what they think and feel, and what language they speak are all dimensions of culture.”(MKTG, Lamb, Pg 69)

Me as the consumer

I am a white male thirty two years of age that was born and raised in America. I am interested in women, sports, beer, and anything else manly or at least that what I’m supposed to be interested in according to the general stereo type. In reality I do like most all those things but I live to travel and explore. My true interests in life are my family, friends, food, my art, and school.

I shop pretty much anywhere that carries medium to high end products. I try and buy quality over quantity in clothes, furniture, cars, and so on. I have this philosophy because I try and keep things for awhile and have found you normally do get what you pay for.
I save my extra money to travel and spend considerable time doing research on the next place I’m going to visit even if it’s a weekend trip to California. I try and live within my means but have a tendency to splurge on crazy nights out with friends on the strip. Always seems like a good idea to buy that $12 martini at Winn at the time but und up regretting it the next morning.

I try and never spend money on cheap crap that I only use once and then it sits in the garage. I also try and avoid impulse buys such as the newest LCD TV because it is on sale. I figure that TV will be a quarter of the cost when my current TV breaks and if I want to watch something in super high def I can go to my friend’s house who has it. I know he will be home because he spent all his money on the new Super high def LCD TV.

Quality Customer Service

Week 1 quality customer service experience.

A recent quality customer service experience I have had was on a visit to LA. I wanted some new Ralph Lauren Polo shirts and was on Rodeo Drive browsing the shops. I went into the polo store and started trying on their new line. A sales guy came up to me and started offering shirts that weren’t even on the floor yet. They were awesome and less expensive than the ones I was going to buy. He then offered wine and snacks. Of course I wanted some free wine, why the hell not. The consequences of excepting his offer was I spent twice as much time and money then I was originally going to but for some reason I still felt that I purchased better and more original shirts. I left that store with a nice buzz and feeling like I got some kind of a deal even though I paid full price. Amazing how perception can change just with a nice sales guy and a few glasses of wine.

The point of the sales guy being so outgoing and friendly to just the average customer was obviously to get me to buy more merchandise but to return to that specific store. As I was leaving he handed me a card and said he would give me a 15% discount if I asked for him next time.

This experience gave me a new respect for Polo and also opened my eyes that if you shop at the flagship stores you are able to buy the better items before anyone else if you ask. Next time I’m in LA I will return to and ask for that sales associate.