Lessons in running pants.

I’ve always been a bargain shopper.  I love Marshall’s and sale racks and anything with a price tag under $10.  I’ve always thought it would be better to get a lot of stuff versus one thing…it just seemed like common sense to me.  There were a few things I was willing to pay extra for…jeans…purses (well…one purse.  Every other purse I have purchased pretty much came from Target)…outerwear.  You can’t go wrong with a good winter coat.  I sort of believe in the whole “cost per wear” motto.  But when I look through catalogs or magazines and see a white t-shirt that costs $70 I just don’t get it.  A t-shirt is a t-shirt…so why would I pay $70 for it?!?!  Shopping runs in my veins…but unfortunately a lot of money does not.

 

Yesterday I was at the gym…and I was getting so frustrated because my pants kept falling down.  I looked like an idiot stopping every 5 minutes to pull them up and I vowed to march out of there and go buy new ones.  I have an entire drawer full of work-out pants that I have bought at my go-to places…Kohl’s, Target, TJ Maxx…but something about them just isn’t quite right.  They’re too big…they fall down…etc.  So they tend to just stay in that drawer.  As I walked out the door of the gym…I stopped for a second to think about where to go.  I was a few blocks from a Lululemon and had an internal conversation with myself on whether or not I wanted to go in there.  $90 for a pair of running pants was so ridiculous to me and my bargain shopper soul just couldn’t rationalize it.  But after much deliberation…I decided to go check out the sale rack.

 

I walked into Lululemon with the intention of perusing the sale rack and most likely leaving empty handed.  But the second I stepped foot in that store…I immediately saw what made them different.  As a business owner I find how businesses are run so fascinating…and I could see what set them apart every second that passed.

 

• I was greeted with a hello…but not overwhelmed with someone trying to shop for me.
• As I found my way to the pants…a sales associate came and let me know the difference in all my options.
• She then suggested I was a much smaller size than I really am which then immediately made her my best friend.
• She grabbed several sizes and fits of pants and took me back to the dressing room.
• She asked my name and introduced me to another sales associate…who also felt like my best friend.
• She asked to see everything I tried on and gave me good…honest feedback.
• As I found a pair I liked…she helped me to understand that I had been buying the wrong size and see what the fit was supposed to feel like.
• And as I left the dressing room with my soon-to-be purchase in hand…the original girl who had helped me struck up a conversation and started asking me about myself.  Where I work out.  What I do.  And as we finished up our conversation she told me how glad she was that I found a good pair of pants and challenged me that with the right pair of pants…I’ll be shocked at how much faster I can run.

 

I had no intention of buying a $90 pair of running pants.  I was planning on buying something on sale that probably wouldn’t have fit me right and calling it a day.  But from the second I entered that store…I didn’t stand a chance.  Every employee took an interest in me.  It never felt like they were selling me something…but like they really cared that I left with an item that would improve my life.  And you know what…I’ve never owned a pair of running pants that fit as good as these do.  And I am actually excited to go to the gym today to try them out.  Because I 100% believe they will make me run faster.  Now you may be thinking that I was just a victim of sales tactics…but so what?  That’s ok…because it worked.  I bought something I wasn’t planning on and spent more than I would have liked because of the experience I was given.  And as a business owner…it’s experiences like these that help me grow not only as a person…but as a business.  Lululemon had three things:

 

1. A superior product
2. Amazing customer service
3. And a genuine interest in their customer

 

I think those are things any business can learn from.