AFTER 25 YEARS, SERVICE MERCHANDISE SAYS "GOOD-BYE" TO CLIPBOARDS; COMPANY REPLACES CLIPBOARD ORDERING WITH NEW, CUSTOMER FRIENDLY PULL TICKET SYSTEM.NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1997--In a major initiative designed to simplify and enhance the shopping experience, national retailer Service Merchandise Service Merchandise was a chain of large stores carrying fine jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics that existed from 1934 to 2002. The company's former chairman, Raymond Zimmerman, resurrected Service Merchandise as an Internet-only retailer in 2004 after buying the name has replaced its traditional clipboard A reserved section of memory that is used as a temporary holding area for data that is copied or moved from one application to another using the copy and paste and cut and paste (move) menu options. Each time you transfer something into the clipboard, the previous contents are deleted. ordering process with a whole new way to shop -- pull tickets. In the new system, which has been rolled out in all 359 Service Merchandise stores, pull tickets are attached to every display sample in the store, except for jewelry jewelry, personal adornments worn for ornament or utility, to show rank or wealth, or to follow superstitious custom or fashion. The most universal forms of jewelry are the necklace, bracelet, ring, pin, and earring. . Simple instructions tell customers to take a ticket for the desired item to any register. The bar coded pull tickets are scanned for the most accurate and fastest check-out possible. "We listened to our customers," said CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Gary Witkin. "The message was perfectly clear -- `we love your product selection and value, but we don't like your clipboard system.'" Before, customers were provided a clipboard and form to take with them while they shopped. Selections were made by taking the time to write down the catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. numbers and then taking the form to a register. At that point, a customer might learn their selection was not available, or the process slowed by mistakes in keying hand-written catalog numbers. If an item is temporarily out of stock, a bright yellow 'topper' is placed in the ticket sleeve. This notification allows the customer to make an alternate selection from the Company's broad merchandise categories. The system also eliminates two opportunities for human error -- when customers wrote down the item number, and when associates keyed it into the register. "We must respect our customers' time," added Witkin. "This new process will dramatically improve the efficiency and speed of our customer service." Pull tickets were tested extensively in more than 30 stores. Exit surveys indicated that nearly 90% of customers thought the new pull tickets were easy to understand and use. In addition, 87% of those surveyed recognized it as a great time-saver. Store associates utilize radio frequency (RF) scanning technology to maintain the accuracy and service levels of this new system. Service Merchandise fine jewelry and today's lifestyle home product stores offer dominant selections of name brand products and value pricing For the strategic management concept, see . In public roads and transport, value pricing or road pricing is the practice of raising funds by charging users directly rather than via taxation. in the merchandise worlds of fine jewelry, kitchen and dining, home accents and furniture, looking healthy/staying healthy, season to season, travel shop, electronics, and kid essentials. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based company employs approximately 25,000 associates and operates 359 stores in 34 states. Service Merchandise stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbol SME (1) (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) See SMB. (2) (Subject Matter Expert) An individual who is well-versed in the policies and procedures of a particular department or division. . More information is available on the company's web site at http://www.servicemerchandise.com . CONTACT: Service Merchandise Company, Inc., Brentwood Media contact: Greg Winnett, 615/660-7211 Financial contact: Gwayne Ton, 615/660-3474 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion