Hat shop blues

[Strider]

Fellows,

When I first started working here at The Village Hat Shop, I thought: "This is the perfect job for me! A hat store! Wow. How lucky am I to have gotten that job?" I would soon find out that I was terribly, terribly mistaken about the nature of the job for which I had applied.

My friends, I love hats. I'm sure that you can understand that, and as such, I don't like to see hats abused. I have learned to ignore people trying on one of our many pith helmets, only to remark: "Look, I'm Indiana Jones!" What are you going to do, right? Some people just have no idea, and don't really care to. [huh]

However, there comes a time when a hat lover/enthusiast like myself can reach his breaking point. Day after day, I watch customers try on hats, only to throw them back into their cubbies with absolutely no regard given to bash or damage. The hats in the store are sized from smallest to largest, to prevent ribbon/brim/crown damage, and it seems that 95% of customers could care less. There have been several instances where a customer's carelessness has led to the damaging of a hat, making it unsellable, and the customer has protested to high heaven about having to pay for their carelessness. How dare we ask you to pay for a product you've ruined?

Many, many are the times that customers have tried on a hat, only to find out that it's too expensive for their tastes, and give the employees here H-E-double-hockey-sticks about it. I have had to bite my tongue several times to keep from asking: "Well, what do you expect to pay for a fine felt hat?" Many customers want Fillet Mingon quality for McDonald's prices. I can't count the amount of times I've seen a fine Dobbs or Stetson fedora tossed recklessly on the countertop after the customer has seen the price, as they walk out, disgusted.

Last but not least, I've come to find that I am disgusted with customer's behavior whilst in my store. Is it just me, or is it inappropriate to try on a hat just to take a picture of yourself in it, with no intention to buy? A potential buyer will not want that hat now, because it has been worn by someone else. Either that, or I hear things like the following so many times a day that I lose count:

Person 1: "Oh my gosh! That hat is so great! It's perfect for you, you should TOTALLY get it!"
Person 2: "Yeah, I love it. I would seriously wear this, too! You're right, it IS perfect for me."

(Keep in mind that the conversation above is in reference to a giant chicken hat, or a gargantuan "ten gallon" foam cowboy hat.)

Me: "Great! I can get you rung up right here, if you like."

Them: "Ohhh..noo, that's okay. We're just looking..thanks."

I thought the hat was perfect. I thought you would totally wear it! Like, for real, 'n stuff! I thought you loved it, and that it was awesome!

What happened?

Have the rest of you noticed things like this happening when you go to a hat store to buy? Or are most of your purchases of hats done via ebay or other fine online hatteries? Sorry for the rant, but I needed to blow off some steam to some people who would understand.

Thanks.

Regards,
Strider

 

[Biltmore Bob]

When I go into a hat store...

It's usually me and a bunch of old black guys that are the customers. Those old black guys treat the hats for sale with respect. The salesman at Miller stands with the customer while he tries on the hat, ready to retrieve it at a moments notice.

 

[scotrace]

Careless and poorly raised

Not just hat shops. Last week at a aTarget store the racks of sale items were probably 30% unsaleable due to manhandling, dropping to the floor, etc.

 

[Panamabob]

Can you count the vueltas (rings) in your super finos for me? I've emailed and nobody will answer me.

 

[Feraud]

That is a sad tale Strider. Sorry to hear about some of the ugly realizations of your working in a hat store. To me it should sound like the perfect job.

Not just hat shops. Last week at a aTarget store the racks of sale items were probably 30% unsaleable due to manhandling, dropping to the floor, etc.

Poorly raised citizens. That is exactly the problem. I have seen people in a Marshalls store change an infant's diaper in an aisle and leave it on a shelf. No kidding.. People let their children run rampant through stores and restaurants like it is a playground.
My wife and I are thoroughly disgusted living in Queens, N.Y. People do not care about their communities at all. And it shows. They do not even pretend to care. I am a native New Yorker but my wife and I are exploring options to leave this city.

 

[Aaron Hats]

Strider, I think the situation you describe reflects the entire retail industry, not just hats though we certainly get our share of picture-takers. A lot of the problems you describe are just part of working in retail and dealing with people who haven't learned common courtesy and respect for things that aren't theirs. At the other end of the spectrum though are the customers who enjoy talking hats, thank you for your help and come back again and again. These are the customers who make it worthwhile.

I think hats need to be sold along side suits, dress shoes, leather belts, wallets, money clips, etc.

I don't know that it would make a difference unless their was an area in major department stores set up as a mini hat shop. I was recently at a Filenes and looking at their skimpy offering of hats. Not only was their selection horrible but their prices were 25-50% higher than mine for the exact same hats from DP and Betmar.

A hat store on its own is no more than a joke shop these days.

Thunderbolt, I couldn't disagree with you more. We no longer sell those novelty type hats because we needed the room for "real" hats. I don't know how our competitors like the VHS, Mike the Hatter & Hats in the Belfry are doing but we just had our best month every. We've also seen our average transaction amount increase meaning people are buying more expensive and/or multiple hats.

Just had to throw in my 2 cents.

 

[android]

You pick your clients by the merchandise you sell and the way you display it.

When you sell this:

right next to this:

I would not expect the customers to be able to differentiate between them.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Strider -- which Village Hat Shop do you work in? I live in SD and frequently visit the Hillcrest shop and the one in Seaport Village. The latter gets lots of tourists and they are the folks who come in and giggle and try on lots of goofy hats and then walk out.

Of course, there are locals who are no better, but there are those of us who do come in seriously searching for quality hats. I have a black Bogart hat from VHS that I love, a Jaxon Iconoclast, a Stetson Weekender, several linen and wool caps, a Tilley hemp hat, and have given away a number of others that I got from you folks.

karol

 

[dlgilbert]

Android,

The Nemo hat is awesome. Does it come in fur felt? ;-)

 

[Michael Mallory]

First, let me say that I love the Village Hat Shop. The one closest to me is in Long Beach. I have...jeez, I don't know how many VHS hats. I think the problem being described, however, is that many of the satellite stores are located in touristy areas like Southern California piers, where all too often the walk-in clientele are people who don't know how to use silverware. Sorry for the stereotype, but...I LIVE here. I see the type every day: people who can't spell any words other than those etched into their tattoos. So folks like this are destined to not appreciate a good hat. Or even a cheap one.

 

[Strider]

The local hat shop in my town went out of business due to the lack of sales. People just want to come in and play dress up then leave.

This doesn't surprise me at all. The "play dress up and leave" comment is EXACTLY what takes place at least 80% of the time at the VHS. I hate to say it, when I started working there, I thought I would love the place. I have become a very jaded employee as of late, and have actually put in my two week's notice at the store, because I can't handle watching people ruin hats and act holier than thou over it, like they aren't doing anything wrong, and how dare I...etc..

Strider, I think the situation you describe reflects the entire retail industry, not just hats though we certainly get our share of picture-takers. A lot of the problems you describe are just part of working in retail and dealing with people who haven't learned common courtesy and respect for things that aren't theirs.

Is it? I don't think it should be. I have actually had a customer tell me this same thing when he overheard me joking about other customers' carelessness and overall disrespect for product with another customer who had brought that subject up themselves. With a haughty disdain, and general "how dare you!?" attitude, he told me "You know what?! That's the kind of business you're in!!"

Wrong.

I even checked the sign on the outside of the door. It didn't say The Village Cleaning Service. I read it a couple of times to make sure. It distinctively read: "The Village HAT Shop". We are in the business of selling hats. How can I sell a hat that people or their bratty children, whom they make no attempt whatsoever to control, and act as if they can do no wrong, has ruined via carelessness? Somewhere along the road, the store got confused with a novelty store, which, to me, is a shame.

At the other end of the spectrum though are the customers who enjoy talking hats, thank you for your help and come back again and again. These are the customers who make it worthwhile.

Boy, do I ever agree with you there!

Strider -- which Village Hat Shop do you work in? I live in SD and frequently visit the Hillcrest shop and the one in Seaport Village.

I work in the Seaport Village location. You will know it is me if you see a 20-something employee wearing an Adventurebilt. I won't be working there for much longer, however. So if you wanted to stop by and say hello, you'd better do it quick. My name is Alan. You can ask for me.

@Android: Actually, our fine hats are on the complete other side of the store from the novelty hats. They are behind the counter. There have been several customers who treat our fine Biltmore, Stetson and Dobbs hats with little consideration to the fine hat they are holding. As I said, there have been several times where a customer will try on a fine hat, say, for instance, a Biltmore, and rave about how much they like it, how great it would go with ~whatever~, and as soon as they see the price, they throw it on the counter and storm out.

Panama Bob: Next time I go in, I will count for you.

Regards,
Strider

PS: Thanks for the input, fellas.

 

[hatflick1]

Strider, I really sympathize. I have seen the same 'look at me' rummaging in a hat shop located in the seaside village (or whatever that sad retail thing is) up in Ventura. At shops which feature hats in the Los Angeles Farmer's Market. The Village Hat Shop on South Street in Philly. And so on around the country. I believe the silly headwear makes any covering in the shop open season for a tourist giggle and toss. Where I have not witnessed this behavior is Hollywood Hatters on Melrose, Baron's Hats of California, Burbank, The Hat Guys, Oakland, Berkeley Hats near the university and Cable Car Clothiers in San Francisco. Perhaps once you have endured Village Hatters another few months, you should make the move to a more congenial surroundings.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Location, location, location...

As stated, that must be it. In Houston, at either Miller or The Hat Store, a cusotmer that acted like that would be asked to leave (I think). Whenever I visit either of these stores I don't see bratty kids or spoiled tourists, what I see are knowledgable hat wearers, cowboys or frightened customers getting up the balls to get their first hat (kinda like someone buying their first gun).

The Hat Store has all their hats behind glass. Miller has most behind glass.

The guy that owns The Hat Store will kill someone if they ruin one of his high priced cowboy hats.

Now and then some wanabe gangsters go into Miller when I'm there. But they don't fool around. They're after a pastel Kangol or wool felt Biltmore, they know what they want.

 

[Cabinetman]

My wife and I visited the VHS in Seaport Village in April when we were there for a conference. My wife bought herself a straw hat and we purchased another straw to bring home to our daughter. Both very cute - hats and girls.

I was not impressed at all with the help, or lack thereof. Those employed that day had seemingly sequestered themselves to the tiny area behind the counter and only assisted when blatantly asked, and then with hesitation. They didn't seem to have any more respect for the hats than they did for the customers either. When I asked to see a hat, it was reluctantly given to me. I tried it on, found that it did not suit me (happened to be a boater - I'd never had opportunity to try one on before anywhere), and put it back. I also looked at 8 panel caps, but didn't find any that worked for me either. The bins that these were kept in were simply begging to be disheveled. Mind you, of course I did not contribute to this problem, but there was no one milling about trying to keep the shop in shape.

The shop at Seaport Village is way too small for the amount of stock that is there. It is pretty cramped. Of the stock that is there, I believe the "nicer" hats should be discontinued. That location (and others like it) is so very much for tourists looking for a relatively decent hat (not a great hat) to wear while on vacation and not to spend a lot of money in. Another way to look at it, I was interested in seeing their straws and other better hats, but was not at all impressed. I suppose I have become as much a hat snob as so many others here. The "better" hats I saw were too expensive (drawing from earlier comments in this thread) for the casual traveler/shopper and not of sufficient quality for others. I am sure there is a market for these hats, but perhaps VHS would do better by not attempting to cater to it.

Just my opinion, of course, but based on personal observation, albeit a single trip. Then again, you only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

The novelty hats and tourist trade certainly do have something to do with the attitude of customers in the store. I have seen it over and over in the Seaport Village store, but not as much in the Hillcrest Store, except right before parades and festivals and such.

The Seaport Village shop is sometimes so packed with people, it is hard to get help for an individual purchase you might want to make -- best to come in away from peak business hours. I find lots of stores like that now; there is not enough staff for the volume of customers.

There is a hat shop in the downtown area, used to be the Western Hat Works but now they have mostly fedoras and changed their name to the Hat Works. I've been in that shop recently and they have the more serious clientele, I could not imagine someone coming in there and goofing around, I believe they would be shown the door. Much of their clientele are African-American and Hispanic men, plus some folks come in to get their hats cleaned and re-blocked. Serious hat people.

I have to concede that even I have tried on a VHS novelty/costume hats at times just to see what I looked like. Mostly, I look silly, of course, but I do gingerly put the hat back, not toss it. It would be hard to work in VHS if someone was a person who loved quality hats.

Still, I have been happy that VHS exists in San Diego. Western Hat Works was just that for many years, mostly cowboy hats and a surly owner. Wild Bill's Emporium is friendly and has lots of hats -- cowboy hats and the occasional "Gun Club" kind of fedora, or is that a western hat? Department stores have mostly carried the wool Eddie-Bauer style walking hat, in green or brown. So, I have been mostly pleased that VHS existed and have referred some people on this Lounge to the place to select a fedora.

karol

 

[Strider]

My wife and I visited the VHS in Seaport Village in April when we were there for a conference. My wife bought herself a straw hat and we purchased another straw to bring home to our daughter. Both very cute - hats and girls.

I was not impressed at all with the help, or lack thereof. Those employed that day had seemingly sequestered themselves to the tiny area behind the counter

I can attest to this. I was not employed at the store during the visit you describe, however, I've seen the same behavior over the past few months that I have been employed there. The only explanation I can offer for this is something to this effect: There are times when it is just silly to try and move from one end of the store to the other. There are so many people, that you will end up saying: "excuse me", "pardon me", "EXCUSE ME!" somewhere around the area of at least 10 times going only one way. God have mercy on your soul if you're trying to get back to where you started at.

During periods like that, we don't do anything, mostly because it's pointless to. There is no point to trying to move around the store, or to clean the place when there is standing room only. Even when there's only a moderate amount of customers in the store. There's just no point in it. I have remarked to my assistant manager at least three times that I refused to touch another hat in the store until every last customer had left.

Cleaning when customers are there is like trying to draw a cirlce in the sand, with someone walking right behind you messing it up as you go. Many a time, I have started at one end of the wall and worked my way to the other end cleaning, only to find out that where I started at has been destroyed in the meantime. It's really very disheartening for a hat lover like myself. I feel like the MAID. "I just cleaned this place. Can we keep it clean for 5 minutes!?".
At some point, I want to do the work and have it STAY DONE for once.

They didn't seem to have any more respect for the hats than they did for the customers either.

I believe I've covered the customers. The hats - most of the employees there are not hat lovers like myself. They hold most of the hats in that store in the same regard as most of the customers do, only slightly more so, because it is the product.

When I asked to see a hat, it was reluctantly given to me.

I don't do that. I give people hats and smile when they ask. However, I have had several instances where people have asked to see hats that I know are very expensive. VERY expensive. I have had several people want to look at the hats, only to find out the price is expensive, and make up a reason to balk. "Ohh, ok. Well, yeah. I'll be back later, gotta talk to my wife..."

Bull***t.

No one ever has told me "this is too expensive, I can't afford it". They make up an excuse, and bad ones. Just tell me! I'm a joe shmoe employee. I can hack it. Jeeze, what does it matter what I think of you? So, getting back to my point, when an obvious tourist, or casual hat wearer asks to see my 400$ hats, I hesitate. Why get up and get it, when they most likely aren't going to buy it?

The shop at Seaport Village is way too small for the amount of stock that is there. It is pretty cramped. Of the stock that is there, I believe the "nicer" hats should be discontinued. That location (and others like it) is so very much for tourists looking for a relatively decent hat (not a great hat) to wear while on vacation and not to spend a lot of money in. Another way to look at it, I was interested in seeing their straws and other better hats, but was not at all impressed. I suppose I have become as much a hat snob as so many others here. The "better" hats I saw were too expensive (drawing from earlier comments in this thread) for the casual traveler/shopper and not of sufficient quality for others. I am sure there is a market for these hats, but perhaps VHS would do better by not attempting to cater to it.

I think you have a good point.

Regards,
Strider