Fuck the consumer

I was just sitting on my couch and I had a random thought. It's crazy how ungrateful sneaker retailers have become. There are no lines when a new car is released. There are no lines outside of Gucci or any other high end retailer during a new release. The sneaker game is one of the few industries where you can expect to wait outside for hours just to purchase a product. You would think that this type of loyalty would warrant a big expression of customer appreciation no? Well, no is exactly right. Instead of customer appreciation you get stores who treat customers like shit.

When you walk in a store you're "greeted" by cocky employees with smug attitudes who act like you need the product more than they need your money. I thought the customer was always right? Or even worse you go to purchase a shoe and have to deal with insane prices above retail or are forced to buy something else in the store just so you can purchase what you really want. I remember when a store would be happy to have customers come in and spend their hard earned cash in their store but, now it's as if the stores don't need the consumer.

Of course I realize that this cockiness is due to the "sneaker craze" thats going on right now but, retailers beware. There's only a handful of TRUE sneaker enthusiasts out here and we're fed up. When this hype dies down are you sure customers will come to you to purchase products? If consumers no longer have to deal with long lines do you think they will come to your local store instead of a bigger chain? Places like Niketown, Footlocker, and Finishline can afford to experiment with pricing and sneaker release procedures because they're established and have been battle tested. Is your "Mom and Pop" shop battle tested? Just because you have more than one store do you believe your untouchable?

All I can say is I hope the benefits you reap from greed now aren't the reason you suffer later. The problem with most people is they don't see further than 5 minutes in front of their face. In lamens terms this simply means that they have no 5-10 year plan. I believe that it's thinking like this that will be the reason for the closure of many small sneaker shops once the hype disappears. It's simple, treat others they way you want to be treated.

Peace.