• Great Train Store Chain Closes

    From mark.ferracane6@gmail.com@21:1/5 to Rufo Cabinian on Mon Feb 24 07:50:33 2020
    On Saturday, June 10, 2000 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Rufo Cabinian wrote:
    I believe that the reason they closed is simple.

    They've got attitude. .... BAD ATTITUDE.
    They've got service .... BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE.
    They've got people .... YOUNG TEENAGERS, WHO JUST LIKE TO WORK IN THE MALL.
    They've got products .... WELL OVER-PRICED ABOVE MARKET PRODUCTS.
    They've got everything ... EXCEPT LOYAL AND REPEAT CUSTOMERS.
    No it was not Bad Attitude, It was that the bank would give us money to build more stores but not pay our bills. I was the Key Holder for the TGTS #11 in Natick, MA. I enjoyed my job, even tho it was part time! We would have Every one with knowledge
    in our Store. We had the A-TEAM, Chris, ME and Rich. We would be the ones to see at the store. I wish we were still open!



    Tony Cruz <acruz@rust.net> wrote in message news:0s_%4.975$vP1.32395@ord-read.news.verio.net...
    Both points are well taken.

    But in all fairness, the Great Train Store at the Somerset Collection North in Troy Michigan was, until very recently GROSSLY overpriced. As of late, they were simply overpriced [not grossly so ;-) ] but their store personnel, while polite, knew about as much about model railroading as
    they
    did about ancient Chinese literature. Their enthusiasm for matching the customer with an appropriate product was dismal as well. You don't act apathetic when someone who can otherwise afford it, is mulling over
    whether
    or not he or she REALLY wants to sink well over $200 for that Thomas the Tank train set or similar item.

    Their apathy is really showing now, since they have nothing more to lose: Half their inventory of certain items is shown with vastly
    different
    prices for the same item. When you take 20% off the cheaper of the two, you're about on par with normal hobby store prices. Don't get me wrong, I'm also VERY sorry to see them go even though I sank a few hundred there now and then. I understand they served a very "beginner specific" niche market. Problem was, they served that niche market very poorly for two
    main
    reasons:

    a) Stupid greedy management.
    b) Poorly trained store personnel (this is a variant of "a", above.)

    I have two contrasts with the above. One direct, the other,
    .metaphorical:

    Train Center Hobbies in Royal Oak, Michigan has about the same amount of floor space and about the same product line as GTS. Their clerks are no more nor less polite than those at GTS. OTOH, they know O, HO, N and G Gauge INTIMATELY. They sell for far less, but they sell far more.

    Bike USA in Birmingham, Michigan sells bikes for well over $2,500 as a matter of routine. Their personnel are kind AND knowledgeable to the extreme. They RELATE to their customers without being pushy. Showing a sincere interest in the customer's needs creates sales. How else would
    you
    expect this store to sell expensive bikes within two miles of a place that can't sell expensive albeit cheaper trains? All this in a very affluent part of Oakland County no less.

    So summarize, cause and effect killed GTS, pure and simple.

    My two cents...

    --


    In HIS Service,

    Tony Cruz
    Remember, there are three kinds of mathematicians: Those who can count...and those who can't.
    Mathu wrote in message <8hngve$725$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net>...
    OwensRwy <owensrwy@aol.com> wrote...
    If Railroad Hobbies in Roseville closes, that's a reason to lament.
    That's
    what I
    consider a local hobby shop. But lament a chain of overpriced, overkitsched,
    and understocked mall shops that seemed to cater more to the "Thomas the >Tank
    Engine" folks than the "Where's that Cannon thinwall cab" folks? Not I.

    Well, that attitude may certainly suit your purposes, but it may not bode >well for the next generation of modelers. I guess your attitude is "if they
    don't serve what I want, they don't serve the hobby," huh?





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