Another Thing We Hear a Lot . . .

Joie de Vivre is a store of extremes in some ways. A customer can come in and the place can be a madhouse . . . especially around Christmas, Valentine's Day, or a busy weekend. But during the week, we can go for an hour some days without one person walking in. And when one does, they often say "I've never been in here before when there was no one else here." I think they're partly amazed - and partly they feel a little odd or anxious being the only customer. I often feel I need to reassure them - telling them how normal it is for it to be quiet on a weekday morning when no holiday is looming . . . and I also feel what they're also wanting to hear is - this is normal, we're not going out of business anytime soon. And over the years I've noticed, some customers prefer to be here when it's relatively quiet - if it gets too noisy or hectic, they walk right out. Others love it when the sound machines are beeping, the fuzzy cow is singing, someone's trying a kazoo, and all the clocks are going off. It's just interesting how much the experience of shopping here can vary!