TYPE: Chain

Region: West

Location: Freestanding store off the interstate on a busy street.

Five-star rating:

Appearance:

Inventory:

Staff:

External appearance: Red store name in large letters against a white concrete building front.

Window display: Full-length windows across complete storefront, with tinted glass across lower one-third. Four large signs reading, "Clearance 20-50% off." Also visible were the backs of three banners hanging from the ceiling.

Entrance: On the front door, a sign read: "No other discounts or discount cards or coupons good during sale." To the right was a Dasani cooler and a tall stack of green baskets. A stand with printed materials included information on "new product submissions" and bright, fluorescent fliers about an upcoming VBS workshop. A large open area in front of the registers with candy was adjacent to racks of cages with highly unusual plush "breathing" pets. To store left, seasonal merchandise was on sale. Ahead were 13 different rounders and displays with a variety of jewelry and "Pass It On" cards positioned rather randomly around a structural column.

Layout and inventory: Due to a seasonal transition, there were empty shelves and racks, boxes and book carts throughout the store. Signs read, "20% off this section" or "30% off this section."

Gifts were to the left with framed art on slatwall, followed by multiple card racks, then the Bible department at store back. Three neatly organized and signed Bible cover sections were on the side slatwall. One section, with a variety of face-front product that included the Girls Guide to Life, The Purpose-Driven Life and Thomas Kinkade fiction, looked out of place. A huge "restrooms" sign hung on the wall above the Bible section, which also had a table and two chairs.

At the back center of the store, books were displayed around a column, with three Guitar Praise boxes on top, at the entrance to a large, teen-oriented space. The dark walls, dim lighting, turned-off television and half-empty shelves and racks created an almost spooky feeling. Signs highlighted a "40% blowout," but the area seemed forgotten. A hat rack was two-thirds empty. A mirrored shoe bench was adjacent to boxed shoes on a table. To the right, empty tables included one evidently intended for a coffee pot. T-shirts hung on the back wall, and many types of Not of This World apparel were displayed.

In an adjacent nook, a large yellow and red clearance sign hung from the ceiling. The space also stored empty rounders and displays. Christian education and church supplies were in the back store corner, anchored by a light-colored wood table and two chairs. The children's area included American Girl products and numerous Webkinz racks. Children's books were face-front. Rectangular tables had been positioned end to end to make a long clearance area that separated the children's and music departments from store center, where books were clearly categorized.

Appearance: Messy. We arrived 10 minutes after the store opened, but random bits of paper and litter were scattered on carpeting throughout the store. Drooping drapery only partially covered the work shelf behind the registers.

Staff: Two frontliners saw us enter, but ignored us. My companion said: "She's just talking to someone on the phone about stocking some shelves. She could have at least stopped talking to smile."

To preview a video, I walked through the huge store to ask for help from a frontliner, who replied: "We lost the remote, so I don't know if I can get this to work." She did try, however, climbing onto a chair to reach the wall-mounted machine above the television, but was unsuccessful in even turning on the player. She then went to get help from someone else, who had to get a ladder in order to successfully start the disc. I had to find him again when it stopped after the initial commercials.

Verdict: The reduced prices during the store's sale period made this a wonderful time to shop, but during the hour I visited the store, there were few customers.

If this were your regular store? OK, except the store needed to be cleaner.

Would a non-Christian feel comfortable here? Yes. It has the "big retail" impersonal look and feel.

What will you remember of your visit a week from now? The helpful mini map right on the store's homepage.

THE STORE MANAGER RESPONDS:

"Thank you for your visit to our store. As retailers, we appreciate feedback and constructive criticism because we know there is always room to grow and improve.

"Our customer service standards are set high; greeting every customer is non-negotiable. If they were not met on your visit in some areas, we recognize that and will use it as a teachable moment.

"As for the state of the store, we would like to recognize that your visit came at a time when our chain was in financial flux. Product was not coming in, and we were in the middle of a hard liquidation sale. Since that time, we're excited to have gained new ownership and a renewed sense of purpose and mission. We are confident that if you returned to our store, what you'd see would be noticeably improved. Our goal is that your service would be just as remarkable."

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