ABOUT US
Old School General Store
Dusty Old Things
 Old Grocery Store
In the old Mercantile, the customer gave their shopping list to the clerk, who retrieved the items. Everything was behind the counter. Old-fashioned mercantile-type stores did not have aisles where customers could select items for themselves.
What we now call “self-service” was first introduced in 1916 in Memphis by Clarence Saunders, who revolutionized shopping protocol in his Piggly Wiggly store. Hoping to improve wait times for customers who were dependent on the clerk to fulfill their list, Saunders provided open shelves for customers to browse, baskets in which customers could place their items, and the checkout counter where customers could pay for their products. Saunder's new shopping configuration would spread quickly across the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s, laying the groundwork for the modern supermarkets we shop in today. |
The Mercantile
It will offer a wide range of products, with the focus, as before, on outdoor living, outdoor activities, and camping. Our additional product and merchandise lists will open the door to other ideas, services, and products, either in response to popular demand or by offering something unique to The Mercantile's visitors and customers.
A mercantile is “of or relating to merchants or trade.” Therefore, we think of our store and clientele as “The Mercantile Nation.” It is a group of customers, merchants, and traders who come together to discover the next great item or explore what is possible. History While the early 1600s saw the start of mercantile thought, it spread from country to country as our world came together and civilization began to take hold on all corners of the globe. Trading products and money crystallized it over time, but for our purposes here, our marketplace, The Mercantile, is akin to the old-fashioned store on the corner of Main Street in any town, anywhere. It was where people gathered to purchase the goods they needed to live day to day, and at times, those customers offered back products of their own making, selling them in the mercantile to supplement their incomes. So it was in those face-to-face transactional moments that people shared what they could do best and what they needed most. The mercantile trading and buying stores offered communities a familiar and safe place to meet, trade, and teach. The marketplace became the center of the town, and residents bought and sold their products together while teaching their children about economics. Your background or who your parents were, did not matter. The marketplace around The Mercantile store became the great equalizer. Basic needs are the same regardless of who you are, and those in The Mercantile were all there for the same thing; to obtain life’s basic needs and perhaps look at unique possibilities beyond their small towns. Trades, sales, and buys made daily transactions the life-blood of a community. Soon, the soda fountain was created where customers could sit at a counter for sandwiches, drinks, and sweets. In time, all things change, and so did The Mercantile stores. The mercantile slowly faded into the background as they died out to larger stores, branding, and the blowing winds of political uncertainty. However, the need for products and basic supplies never ended, and while the term “mercantile” became a dusty relic, the activity it generated never ended. Instead, it just shifted with the tides of change. I felt it was time to try and bring back a bit of the old flare, that old etiquette that made civilization work. While trading, buying, and selling have all taken on new looks and continue to evolve with the human condition, although, transactions , the handing over of money for an item, a product, or service will never change. Customer Service Store transactions will endure as long as man lasts. However, there is a lost mercantile gem that has never been dusted off and taken back out to the new world. It is a golden promise lost in all the economic and financial bantering of civilization, the needs of wars, and the fallen mercantile creators. They saw the world through a community’s eyes and for a brief moment in time, they gave us a gem for all consumers. It was called Customer Service. A concept that sadly died as The Mercantile faded away. Customer Service was a concept that gave the customer confidence and trust in those who were selling the items and in the items themselves. Customer Service was giving with joy. A desire to please the customer and to provide to them a shopping experience that kept them coming back to the store. It fed loyalty. The customer was able to get the products they needed and wanted along with a friendly personal helper who would do whatever it took to make sure the customer was satisfied. It felt like home. Unfortunately, those days seem to have passed with an ugly thud. My hope in re-opening The Mercantile is to counteract the "thud" of lost customer service and perhaps, if even for a moment, recover the joy of shopping , trust of the product, and the knowledge that a live individual will be there to help should you have questions, if you need to exchange a product, or if you want to lodge a complaint. Knowing a representative from the store will be there to back their product and help the customer created a community of trust, confidence and assurance. It was as it should be. In The Mercantile, you did not just sell products; you provided life’s necessities to an individual or family who lived not too far from you. The store offered those necessities, but it also gave them a life of connections. Each community member shared in their marketplace as mandated by their own unique and precious life. They also joined together with other town residents who became the community in totality with all the unique and different personalities. The Mercantile offered customer service to everyone regardless of the need, and the community rallied around each other. The Mercantile was indeed the great equalizer. It was the center of meetings, connections, love, and play, bringing together young and old, rich and poor, the sick and the well. When there, the basics of life meant the same to everyone who had to make it through the harsh winter, nurse an ill loved one, or bury a family member. Customer service took on many forms, but primarily it provided the adhesiveness of a group well lived. They knew their people, and they pulled together as one whenever the need arose. It did not always entail a transaction or sale. It was more about the people, their home, the way of living, and assuring not one among them left in need. They knew their people and provided service to them based on essential knowledge of their products and the people who used them. At The Mercantile what we are creating here takes those old-fashioned principles of common human decency and inclusion to gather in our new and unusual market square by The Mercantile store. Here, we want to share, engage with our community, and reach out to everyone. The basics will prevail, but the customer service born from the basics of economic development will forever be the life-blood of the community. Our community here, The Mercantile Market Square, is much different in scope and size, but it is our hope our new store will be a fun, engaging, and teaching area in a strange new marketplace “online.” Instead, we focus on customer service. We strive to engage with all who pass through the doors of The Mercantile. This website will kick off The Mercantile’s new design and offerings. Our sincere desire with this exceptional site is to provide high-quality products and services; products that are hard to find, and a way to share hard to find product stories with us so our team can jump in and help you locate that one unique item you have searched out for a long time. We think quality products, open and responsive customer service, and a passion for pairing customers with the right products and services are the perfect solution to otherwise boring lists of useless goods. As The Mercantile grows, so too will its community. How it develops will depend on those who “live” there. It will be amazing to watch and see how it will grow on its own. As it does, we will make adjustments to pages, rooms, products, and discussions. It will be exciting to see our community come together as it grows. The Mercantile engages customers who desire additional help in their quest and allows customers the comfort and quiet of simply browsing or checking out new items in the store. My hope is The Mercantile will be fun, full of items, and brimming with chatter. Watch for construction updates and opening announcements. We do not consider ourselves social media. We are a store after all, but the store is indeed the community. It is made up of people of today and those of tomorrow. We are a nation of our own. Our nation includes those who live, love, and die for our way of life and for the children who will take it over from us. As we develop our principles and routines, we strive to ensure that the little phrase “customer service” is something that touches each one of us, helping when needed, cheering when appropriate, and crying when we have to let go. It is an old relic of the past. But I find it dreadful that we have lost what it was and how losing it has adversely affected the entire community. We are longing not for a product but for that interactive marketplace where we can browse, shop, buy and sell with a bit of help from a friend when needed. A place of gathering called home. The Mercantile will be open and running soon. Come along. Let’s see what we make of it. |