True story.

My 15-year-old son’s best friend’s parents work at the Macy’s in our local mall.

I know that Macy’s is struggling, so I decided I would do some shopping there when I could. I really wanted my son’s friend’s parents to keep their jobs, because they don’t live close, and I’m worried that if they lose their jobs they will pull their son out of the school he’s in and my son will lose his friend. (They used to live in the neighborhood but moved to get a larger living space).

So I went over to the Macy’s to buy a throw rug. We have carpet in our house and the cats chew it up and I just wanted to buy a small throw rug to cover up part of the carpet.

When I got to the Macy’s, the escalator was broken. No big deal. I walked up three flights. I then found the rugs but they were incredibly expensive. The cheapest one was many hundreds of dollars.

The next problem was that I could not find anyone to pay for the rug! It was late on a Sunday and no one seemed to be around anywhere. I found myself wandering from department to department, carrying the heavy rug on my shoulder. I finally found an employee, but they said they could not help me. I needed to go back to the housewares department and find someone there.

I finally found myself getting so frustrated that I almost started shouting, “Is there noone here who can help me?!? I just need some help!”

But then I calmed down and realized that shouting like a lunatic was probably a bad idea. I put back the rug, left the Macy’s, walked back down the stairs, came home, fired up the Internet, and ordered a nice throw rug for $50 in a few minutes. It arrived at my front door a day later.

I think what’s happening is that, as brick and mortar stores bring in fewer sales, they are having to cut staff and cut spending. As they do so, the shopping experience becomes less and less pleasant. Which then drives more people online. Which then means the store must cut more people and more budget. It’s a vicious cycle. I’m going to miss having brick and mortar stores nearby when I need something urgently. But I don’t see how you stop it.