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Westfield store Photo

By Bob Moreau
Manager of Westfield Comics, Madison, WI

Been mulling this over for the past week considering that I was asked to write this post and it seems pretty straightforward. first of all, I hope that being asked to write a brief post on the topic indicates that there are a lot more than just a handful of people out there who think we have a terrific comic shop. We do frequently hear it from customers and our retail store has been in service for nearly 20 years – so hopefully we’re doing something right.

Having one of the premiere subscription services in the service as your parent company is certainly helps to make a terrific store. Besides the name recognition alone, you’ve got someone enjoying your back and you’re there for each other when support is needed (e.g., when someone needs help with a certain back issue that you don’t happen to have lying around). Besides that it really boils down to the relationship between you and your customers. Sure, location always helps, but if you develop a track record for knowing how to establish rapport with customers, people will normally find you. We’re also lucky that Madison is a college town, a “big, little city”, as it’s called, that’s full of intelligent people who like where they live.

Most of our customers like to converse about their favorite titles and spend a lot more time here than they would at your average box store. even if you don’t share their opinion, you must always make sure that you respect theirs. A sense of familiarity never hurts and I think people like it if you acknowledge them by name. Shouting “Norm!” on cheers is the best example. I have, however, checked our store’s database and sadly “Norm” doesn’t seem to be a popular name at the moment. but we have lots of others named Ted, Jeff, Adam, Paul….you get the picture. a lot of of our regulars use our pull service and there must be no reason that our employees would have to ask their names when they come in the door. Our store is well lit, well organized and spacious. nothing to be terrified of. We have a large number of regular female customers but if someone brings in their partner or girlfriend we do our best to not make them feel like outcasts.

I think it’s crucial that you try not only to know the products you sell, but that you try to know your customers as well. Be their pal while they’re in the store, and you might actually find yourself becoming pals outside the store too. The cheers analogy is relevant, but at least shopping at our store shouldn’t contribute to the cops pulling you over on the drive home.