Goodbye JC Penney

QUOTE FOR MY DAY: 

We've got to put a lot of money into changing behavior.  Bill Gates

I was shopping at the mall with a friend the other day. We spent the entire day going through racks of bargains, finding great deals and telling each other how good we look and laughing about it. It was a great day, a fun day, a day that filled up my self esteem bucket.

Then I met the store manager at JC Penney. His store was going through many changes, a remodel, and a price restructuring. He wasn't happy about it and after our conversation, I wasn't either. Last year, JC Penney had converted to a walmart style of pricing. One low price, all day, everyday. I loved it. If I saw something I wanted to purchase, I could buy it without regret, without wondering if a coupon or sale would happen tomorrow, or next week, or whenever. I fell in love with my local JC Penney store.

Our conversation was very informative. Simply put, the people didn't like it so JC Penney was changing it. My local JC Penney Store increased prices on 8,000 items that day alone and had more increases planned for the next day. JC Penny had lost $4,000,000,000 (that's 4 Billion Dollars!) over the time that they had went to a flat pricing structure. This store manager had received hate mail, harassing phone calls, and great losses in overall sales. So they were going back to the coupon thing. He held up a blouse newly marked $48, and told me it was only $28 yesterday. But I could buy a Sunday newspaper and cut out the coupon and save $10 on that blouse. I was so disappointed.

I am not against cutting out coupons, but I usually get to the store and realize I left my coupon on the counter at home. Or I get to the cash register to pay and can't find my coupon, then get embarrassed and pay the full price, then I take my purchase back two days later after feeling guilty and ignorant. I have a lot on my mind and finding a coupon is not a high priority. Getting to the Cookie Factory after walking from one end of the mall to the other is a priority.

Goodbye JC Penney and your coupons...