http://www.jsonline.com/business/chain-tests-new-concept-in-mattress-shopping-stores-with-no-employe...
When I initially saw this, my immediate reaction was "Well, here's the harbinger of things to come, what with the move to increase minimum wage." As I began to process it a bit, I considered that this was probably a one off oddball idea that has less to do with containing costs than it does with the guys who run the business responsible for coming up with it. Either way, it's unique.
Penny Mustard is a company run by a couple of former farm boys, Arvid and Ben Huth, who, literally, leveraged a few cows into a successful, small-scale, multiple outlet furniture business.
Their style is kind of an anachronism, harkening back to the days of colorful business owners like Lenny "Crazy TV Lenny" Mattioli of American TV and Appliance fame. While more low key and subtle in their approach, they employ some of the hucksterism of days gone by. The rebranding of the store several years back (from PM Furniture Gallery to Penny Mustard) came about as the result of a contest where people sent in suggested names. They warranty their furniture for 287 years, or 8 generations. They have a bedroom set named after the guitarist in Fleetwood Mac.
So, considering the source, perhaps the concept of an unstaffed mattress showroom isn't as odd or as indicative of a trend in job elimination for cost containment purposes as it might seem at first glance. But it still presents some interesting challenges.
The idea behind it is that people are inhibited in terms of rolling around and getting comfortable and testing mattresses when there's a salesperson around. I've been mattress shopping. I've never felt particularly inhibited, nor have I noticed others who seemed that way, but so be it. These guys are in the business and there must be something to it. It seems too risky a move just for the purpose of having another attention-getting gimmick designed to get people into your stores.
But, seriously, how can this not be a recipe for, if not disaster, some pretty entertaining leaked security footage?
You've got mattresses. You've got an unstaffed store. You've got cameras to monitor activity. You've got automated, remote opening and closing. And you're embarking on this venture in an age when, thanks to things like reality TV and internet based viral near-instant celebrity status, people's inhibitions seem to be at an all time low. Which runs counter to the stated reason for going this route in the first place, but...whatever.
I honestly can't wait for the first one of these places to go live. I don't care where they put it, it's gonna draw hijinks like flies to you-know-what. Personally, I'm hoping for a booze-fueled orgy of debauchery and destruction on the part of some bored college students. It'll more likely be some couple who wants to spice up their love life a bit. Or a drunken pair who hooked up at a bar on a weekend afternoon. Or some hit-n-run vandalism. I'd settle for footage of a bunch a kids taking advantage of the opportunity to bounce to their hearts' content or a family stopping in for a group nap.
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