Observations and InsightsBy Alejandra Cervigni

Regional Products

This store sells regional products from Argentina; the displayof the merchandise was neat and somewhat original. Theproducts were easy to find, specially for tourists who may notspeak Spanish but may be interested in ethnic things they mayhave seen elsewhere but don’t know the names or how to askfor them.

Interior Design Store

This store was one of the most beautiful arranged places of allthe ones I saw, it was modern but cozy, the employees werekind and they knew about the products they were selling. Youwere allowed touch anything and sit in any of the couches theyhad. The store display made you feel welcome.

Nursery Store

This store was like a magical place, so full of life, so full ofcolors and it gave you the feeling that you were in a mini

jungle. The fact that it is self serve helps because nobody isrushing you which is great since, if you like plants, it’s

definitely a place where you want to spend as much time asyou can looking and choosing what you want to eventually buy.The way the products were display made you feel you were outof the polluted city, somewhere in the country, and that’s not

an easy feeling to find in any populated city.

Music Store

I love music, is one of the best companions we have in life,there is always a song that reminds us of a certain time in ourlives. Music brings out emotions in people, what can be betterthan that? I’m fascinated by the layout of this place; I seeinstruments of all kinds and forms. But as soon as I get intothe store I hear no music in the background. Really? A musicstore with silent background. Suddenly I feel empty and I

want to get out of there, what if the guitar I want to buy isas silent as this place? They just lost a potential buyer.

Candy Store

This store is in serious need of a makeover. I never thought itwas possible to make chocolate look boring, or see candies socolorless. If Willy Wonka came here he would have a heartattack. All the products were cheap and they looked the partas well. No wonder the store was practically empty. Cheaperproducts not always attract people to make them want to buythose products. On a good note, this place saved my diettoday.

Women Clothing Store

Not much to say about this store other than the sellers wererude and seemed uninterested to sell anything from there.They were talking between them while I was waiting to gethelp from one of them. The clothes are cheap and evenmismatched on the display window, which shows the lack ofpassion and knowledge they have for what they do. In myopinion a store for women should be a treat for the eyes,appealing to the client. There were no place to sit inside thestore either, is that a sign that they don’t want people to staythere long?. Big mistake.

Coffee Shop and Candy Store

This last store i went to was one of the most surprising ones.They sell coffee from all over the world and chocolates aswell. They also have a couple of tables for people to enjoy acoffee there while watching people pass by on the street,which i enjoy doing very much. The seller knew all aboutcoffees, how strong or not they were, asked me what kind ofcoffee maker i had to give me the best coffee for it and sheseem honestly interested in giving me exactly what i waslooking for. She was polite and very attentive to my questions.I definitely bought Guatemalan coffee and also stayed therefor a nice coffee with a little chocolate bar they offered meto try. Thought it is a small place, i guess it was a big surpriseto see how well they manage it to make it seem much biggerthan it really is.

Final Insights

After having seen all kinds of businesses, i realized thatsometimes we take for granted how important it is the waysellers treat you when you go to a store to buy something.Wether is a small plant or a big musical instrument.In the end, it’s inevitable to come to the conclusion that inorder to have a succesful business you need specially twothings: first you need to love what you do and second you needto know what you are doing. If you lack those two elements itwill show and it may want people go somewhere else to buythat same product you are offering.In any business you start or have, it is also very important topay attention to details, people buy what they see attractive,not only what they find useful. So the client always has to bethe number one priority, make them feel comfortable can bevery profitable. People want to be treated special whenshopping so, in any type of store, they should see and feeltheir time and, specially, their money is worth spending in thatplace.