Author: briana_leuth

I can’t believe I only have one more day left! I thought that this two weeks would feel a lot longer than it has. Today there was one customer that was quite hilarious. Devra, basically the co-owner, told me how this particular customer asks the same questions and does the same thing everytime she comes in. She always starts off by asking if there is anything new. Since Halie’s only goes to market twice a year, it is very rare that they get in new products, and this customer knows that. The employee of the day answers in the same manner, “nope nothing new”. She then browses the store, touching everything, trying everything on, and then asks “so any new handbags*(replace with specific item)?” The employee answers again, this time slightly more irritated “nope, no new handbags.” She rarely purchases anything, but takes a long time to peruse all the items of the store. All the employees of Halie’s had been telling me about her for my days there, and finally I met the infamous gypsy-like customer. It was definitely like meeting a celebrity around there!

Today was loads of fun, as we hosted the event we spent all day preparing for. The Raleigh mom’s came in for the prepaid ticketed event, where the store was closed to the public for a couple of hours. The highlight of the event was for sure when the mom’s became catty over the gift bags. Since the items put in them were leftover samples from market, and other things that Halie’s used to sell, not all of the bags contained the same things. To us, the bags seemed equal, but not to the customers! Shady comments were exchanged and murmurs over the inequity of the bags was not how I was expecting the customers to act. Little did I know this would be the most entertaining part of the day! (No photos could be taken, since it was an exclusive event)

I have never seen the store so slow! Today while I was there, there was a total of three customers, with only one person buying something. This was very boring, but it got me and the employees to get ahead on some upcoming events. We stuffed “swag bags” for tomorrow’s event with a group of women from Raleigh. While doing this we sorted through all the leftover stuff that Corrie had from market, and divided it up for the gift bags. This process was extremely difficult, as we wrapped all the cups in cellophane. It’s a lot harder than it looks! I have such respect for gift wrappers now… a lot goes into it! To round out the day we announced the online shopping capable website launch! A slow day turned into a busy and fun day in a matter of minutes.

Today I again decorated the sign for outside the store with liquid chalk, but this time with much more frustration. I had time to kill since the store was pretty slow this morning, so I spent an hour perfecting the placement and sizing of each letter that made up the quote, “I would stop shopping, but I’m not a quitter”. I thought this was so cute and quirky, not even thinking to look next door I poured my heart and soul into creating a beautiful, elegant sign to make people laugh and raise an interest of potential customers strolling by. After a tedious hour of crafting the sign, I was proud of my work and set it up outside the display window. Thankfully I glanced to my left, and was dumbfounded that Halie’s rival store had the exact same quote on their display sign. I was so frustrated with myself for not even thinking to check the sign of the neighboring store! While it set me back another hour, I practiced the gift of patience today as it was greatly needed.

Competition among small businesses run high, especially when they are right next door to each other. Halie’s Boutique is to the right of Magnolia’s, selling similar items. Magnolia’s sells more clothing, attracting more people, so Halie’s has to fight to keep customers interested as they walk down the sidewalk to stop in more than one boutique of similar nature. Today I learned that the display window as well as signage is a main tactic Halie’s uses to lure in customers. I redesigned the sign to give outside of the store a new look. I never realized there were so many companies that sell the same products, and the competition that lies behind the many stores that we carelessly wander into and don’t think a second about where we purchase our goods from.

A few days ago a large order of monogrammed hats was placed at Halie’s and the lead associate was quick to accept it, without realizing the complications that come with it. The woman who was in charge of monogramming stared at Devra wide-eyed as she told her the order that they were to complete by Friday. The monogrammer had never worked with hats, and is still getting equipped with the new machinery. She attempted for several hours to get the angle of the hat in the small spaced monogramming machine, eventually damaging the product. She tried countless times, and I could hear each new attempt as it was accompanied by “again??” or profane words that should not be repeated. Unfortunately, the loss to the company was greater than what the order was worth, so Halie’s had to cancel the order and explain to the customer that it was impossible to fulfill the order within such a short deadline. This was such a great learning experience because it showed the dedication and hard work that goes into each product that we so often take for granted. Today I learned that perseverance is key, and even if it doesn’t work in the end, it is worth the journey!

Today I didn’t physically go to my internship, but I spent my time preparing for the upcoming days. I spent my time researching trending hashtags, and finding ways to gain more followers and views, as I am shadowing the marketers in the following weeks. I am super excited to see what kinds of things I will be doing/learning in the days to come. A few weeks ago I interviewed with the owner of Halie’s Boutique, and she highlighted some possibilities of merchandising the store, learning how the buying process works, running the social media accounts, and delivering marketing information to various businesses. The interview process was a bit intimidating, as it was my first time spending thirty minutes being questioned about me, my background, and my skills. By the end, the interview seemed more like a conversation and with time I became more comfortable. While at first I was dreading the interview, it was good practice and I was able to learn what questions I was good at answering and which ones I needed to prepare more for. Can’t wait for tomorrow to see what all I will learn!

So excited to intern at Halie’s Boutique and learning all the behind-the-scenes of a small business!