It's a shopper's world

I've heard it phrased many different ways the last few weeks: shopper's world; buyer's market; consumer cut-off. Starting with the soaring gasoline prices this summer, the American consumer has been on a roller-coaster ride of harrowing proportions. While our local gas prices only flirted with $4/gal and fell as fast as the September stock market (I paid $1.81 two hours ago), as an area, we, too, have figuratively gathered our skirts about us and decided to hunker down. Personally, my poor customer recovery experience with Chico's (documented in several previous blogs) has meant I've bought only one item since August. One. This from a woman who regularly visited twice a month and is on a first name/personal family issues basis with the sales personnel in one store.

(For the record, I'm still not receiving catalogs or emails from Chico's and only know of all their current bargains because friends email them to me. There are so many of them, it's a bit scary. Have other customers been so ignored?)

So, given the state of retailers, particularly those in the high-end, boutique arena, it wasn't a surprise to receive a gift card from Neiman Marcus for $25. There was an expiration date several weeks hence and all I had to do to cash my little gift was use my NM card for the purchase. They wanted me to come shopping and were willing to pay me to do so.

Twenty eight years ago I followed the advice of establishing my own credit and I chose to do so with an NM card. At the time, it was the only credit card they accepted. When they loosened that tie and began taking others, I put my NM card away. But--I smiled to myself as I fingered the gift card--I knew where it was.

I had read in the Wall Street Journal that NM had taken a large we're-not-buying hit in Sept. I figured that was the reason for the sudden and unprecedented largesse. And it worked. I trotted my little-used card in, picked up an item I had been lusting after (a new perfume) and plunked down the cards. Had they been cashing many of those, I asked the clerk. She nodded, smiled back, and seemed glad that her job was one step farther from being gone.

Now, if I could just get Chico's attention.