As they ready themselves for the busiest season of the year, and one that could be make or break in some instances, Christian retailers are making sure that their shelves are in good shape.

I hope they make the time to ensure that their selves are, too.

For this final, crucial quarter won't just be about securing a good 2010, it will be vital for a healthy 2011 and all the years thereafter.

Shopper loyalty has probably never been at a lower ebb and with good reason. Consumers can find Christian products at countless other stores, or the Internet if they don't even want to venture out of the house, and the economic pinch means they are evaluating every purchase in multiple ways.

Online, a good price may be enough to secure a buy, but in-store they don't want only good value for money, they expect the exchange process to be a good one, too. If it's not, likely they won't be back again.

So customer service has never been more important.

It has also become something of an unplanned theme for this issue, as we touch on the topic several times:

• Our Mystery Shopper evaluator laments the less-than-stellar level of personal care experienced in scores of stores across the country (page 36)
• One retailer suggests he and his peers need to redefine success, finding it in the lives of their customers rather than in their ledgers (page 3)
• Another store owner notes how an attractive loyalty program is resulting in repeat business  (page 8).

As we were pulling these various articles together, I also had a personal experience of poor customer service on Christian Store Day of all days, regrettably.

We had gone into the store in question looking to make a purchase to support the campaign, but there was no greeting when my wife and I entered (in fact, no one at the counter even knew anything about Christian Store Day when we asked about it, though the location was listed as a participant at the event Web site ... but that's another story).

Nor was there any real personal engagement when we went to the counter to inquire about two specific titles. One author, fairly well established, the young frontliner had never heard of. 

The second title we asked about might be on the shelf, according to the P.O.S., she said, heading to a section of the store without explanation or comment or invitation—presumably expecting us to tag along behind.

Once there, she pointed out that the store did not have the title we were looking for, but they did have another one by the author. She never offered any disappointment that neither title was available nor suggested placing a special order. 

Needless to say, our encounter wasn't the most positive experience (As an aside, in the music department we also spotted a sign about CDs, "If you unwrap it, you have bought it!"). I asked my wife as we left, "If this had been a church, would you want to go back?" You can probably guess her answer.

I'm not picking on the young person involved. It could be that they were new or tired or had never been given any real training or it had been a long or bad day. But as a customer, that isn't really my concern and, frankly, it shouldn't have mattered. When you are out on the sales floor, you should be in ministry mode.

As the old saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. But that first impression can be a lasting one—and the last one.

My hope is that stores recognize that this Christmas season isn't just about securing a purchase from visitors; rather, it is about establishing a connection with them. And what better time to embrace that than when we are celebrating the incarnation—God not merely passing along a set of rules but coming to be with us, to share our world and our joys and hopes and fears.

May Christian store shoppers find not just Christmas gifts in these next few weeks, but Christmas presence. A place of welcome and warmth and, most of all, "Immanuel, God with us." That would be an experience to draw them back.