Thanksgiving is upon us, which means two things- ski season
is imminent and holiday shopping season is here.
10+ years of working in or around a ski and golf shop have
given me a pretty good insight into consumer shopping habits. Based on that experience (and for the purpose
of our mutual entertainment) I can lump people into a couple basic categories:
The PRO usually has a list, checks it twice and has the
whole thing close to wrapped up BEFORE Thanksgiving. This shopper is smart and
savvy, but often has plenty of time to plan and shop. There is a small, highly-evolved group of Pros
that manage all this without spending vast amounts of time and effort.
The SARDINE (Northern Michigan
variation a.k.a. SMELT) waits until all the other Sardines are going to the
same place to do the same thing. The Sardine then hits the stores and struggles
against the crowd. Some Sardines report that this frenzy of activity adds
stress and excitement to the event which fuels their fire to complete the task
at hand. Others comment that the tight time and space confines squeeze out the
essence of the holiday. Many Sardines
aspire to be Pros, but lack of planning or time constraints have thus far
prevented their evolution. Sardines are at high-risk to devolve into our next category.
The STATE LEGISLATOR puts off the inevitable until it is
almost too late. They usually throw
together whatever they can in a last minute dash to beat the clock. This usually guarantees terrible gift
choices, and/or a complete abandonment of fiscal responsibility. Gift
recipients can often be heard saying, “Oh, you shouldn’t have…No, really, you
shouldn’t have.” (Who knew there would be political commentary?)
Regardless of whatever group you may currently fit into,
there is great news- You can evolve! I
have witnessed many a miracle on Christmas Eve at Boyne Country Sports stores. After the final surge of Sardines in the
morning, the shop is usually pretty quiet. Typically there are just a couple
Legislators looking to spend their way out of a jam and working up some inane
plan to pay for it later and a couple remaining Sardines who are in danger of devolving
into Legislators.
The understanding sales staff offer a life-line to these floundering
shoppers- A Boyne Gift Card. A Boyne Gift card is perfect because it can be used to “do stuff”
and to “buy stuff”. The possibilities
are vast. After realizing all the tremendous
possibilities, many a shopper has an epiphany and evolves on the spot. “Gee, This is perfect. I should have done
this two months ago and saved myself the time and aggravation!” POOF! A Pro is born.
If you haven’t yet, here is your ticket to evolve. You can spend the season smiling while doing
more enjoyable things (like early-season skiing which looks very promising).
Your family and friends will maintain the smile continuum when they receive the
card and again when they convert it into whatever their heart desires. Who knew it could be so easy, and so good?
Happy Thanksgiving!
-JJ
