Darren Bastin, Sales Director UK and Ireland at RetailSystem, asks: “What happened to patience?”
At some point over the last few years, patience seems to have quietly packed its bags and left the building.
Everything now is expected instantly. Same day delivery. Next day shipping. Replies within minutes. Customers can track a takeaway pizza down to the nearest traffic light, so naturally many now expect the same level of visibility for a three piece suite travelling halfway across the country.
And in fairness, modern technology has brought some brilliant improvements. Customers are better informed, communication is quicker, and businesses can respond faster than ever before. But somewhere along the way, the expectation of immediacy has started creeping into areas where it does not always fit naturally.
Furniture retail is one of them.
Because unlike ordering a phone charger at eleven o’clock at night, buying furniture still tends to involve a bit more thought, care and patience. A sofa is not just another parcel arriving in a cardboard box. It is something that will sit in someone’s home for years. The same goes for beds, dining tables and all the other pieces people build their homes around.
Furniture retail still has its own rhythm. A good sale is only the beginning. The order has to be checked, ordered, received, scheduled & delivered……… with a bit of luck, carried into the customer’s home without anyone discovering the hallway is half an inch narrower than expected. It takes planning, communication and a little patience from everyone involved.
The same patience applies behind the scenes too. Supplier schedules shift. Traffic exists purely, it would seem, to test delivery drivers emotionally. And sometimes the best service a retailer can give is not promising the impossible just to secure a sale, but being honest about what can realistically be achieved.
That honesty builds trust.
The funny thing is, most customers actually understand this when it is explained properly. People appreciate straight talking far more than vague promises and crossed fingers. Nobody enjoys delays, but most are surprisingly reasonable when they feel informed and looked after.
Perhaps that is the bigger lesson here. Patience is easier when communication is good.
Retail itself also demands patience. Good staff take time to train properly. Strong reputations are built slowly. Repeat customers do not appear overnight. Most successful retailers have earned their place over years, sometimes decades, of consistently doing the right things well.
In a world obsessed with speed, there is something quietly reassuring about that.
Because while technology continues to move faster every year, some parts of life are probably still better when they are not rushed. Choosing furniture is one of them. Building relationships is another.
So maybe patience has not disappeared completely after all. Maybe it just needs the occasional reminder.
And perhaps somewhere between the rush for next day everything, there is still room for taking a little more time, having a proper conversation, and getting things right the first time around.
Which, in furniture retail, has always counted for quite a lot.
www.linkedin.com/in/darren-bastin-429a0a2b7/ / darren@retailsystem.com
