It couldn’t have happened to a nicer company…
All over I’m seeing blog entries entitled “Shinders RIP”. The company has been going down in flames for awhile now, and all the stores have been closed for a few days, so I think it’s time for me to weigh in on it.
I feel bad for the people who lost their jobs, who weren’t getting paid, but Shinders was not a great company. They had a lot of really awful company policies, not the least of which was poor, bordering on abusive, customer service. (As an aside to that, some of the customers almost seemed a bit masochistic and enjoyed the abuse that they received from some of the employees.)
It’s tough when you want to support a small, local, independent business, over a large chain store. But what do you do when that small, local shop is run by people who treat their customers like crap, and is not a pleasant place to shop? Do you bite the bullet and continue to support local? Fortunately, here in the TC, we have many many choices for local companies, particularly for comics, games, etc. My hope is that another newsstand is able to fill the niche left by Shinders, for those wanting the magazine and newspaper selection, and hopefully, it’ll be run in a friendlier, more customer service oriented way.
In 1993-94 I worked for Shinders at some of the suburban stores. For the most part, my co-workers were a nice bunch of people. The job was not the worst job I’ve had. I got nice discounts on comics, games, etc. The people who came in were fun to talk to. But I realized that Shinders valued their employees only slightly more than their customers, which is to say, hardly at all. In the first year I worked there, I was put in charge of one of the departments, made a buyer for RPG, made a shift leader and third key, but when time came to dole out raises, I was told that they weren’t going to give me one because I wasn’t showing enough initiative. Three months later, when I turned in my notice, I was told that they were just about to offer me a 25 cent raise. I did not rescind my notice.
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Not that I was a fan of heading in there over my lunch break, but where am I supposed to pick up First Ave tickets downtown now?
It sounds like their demise wasn’t directly due to their customer service skills, but I can relate to you on that level. I didn’t go into Shinder’s stores very often, but when I did, I always felt out of place buying something like an obscure newspaper or magazine they carried. Perhaps they were more friendly to their regulars, but I can only imagine how many people were occasional shoppers who weren’t particularly impressed with the helpfulness of the staff for this type of common, but infrequent, purchase.
For me, it isn’t that they were the best store for comics or games — but they were one of the first places that I would get those things. And it was one of those places that was almost everywhere — practically every mall had a Shinders nearby.
So for me, it’s more that sort of nostalgia than any abiding thought that the chain was the best…
For what it’s worth, the employees at the Roseville store were always helpful and friendly.
Do you think it has something to do with snobbery? Like in “High Fidelity?” I never shopped at Shinders, but I do get that holier-than-thou music vibe at The Fetus every once in a while, even when I’m looking for some obscure hip hop artist that has plenty of street cred. Just wondering…