Dealing with customer angst has been the hardest part of 2009 business climate for Betsy Utnick. She and her husband Paul have owned Plaza Optical in the town of Monroe for more than a quarter-century.
During those years, the two, along with a resident ophthalmologist giving exams, have worked with thousands of customers helping to choose frames, fit glasses and in the process, build relationships. Their first customers”™ children have grown up and now come to the store for their own families”™ glasses. “It”™s not just because they know us,” said the Utnicks. “They also know we care about the quality of our work; we want our customers to be satisfied, come back and to recommend us to others.”
“At the beginning of 2008, when things first started to unravel, I told my husband this would be the year we”™d feel it ”“ and I”™m sorry to say, I was right,” said Betsy Utnick. “Despite the increases we”™ve been hit with, we”™ve kept our prices the same; it”™s been a real challenge, especially with all the new taxes and charges tacked on to everything we use. The MTA tax is just a slap in the face. We have one employee, and we all drive to work. We have to make sure our books balance and not spend money we don”™t have. Don”™t they have the same responsibility to the public?”
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But what Betsy Utnick has really experienced “is the anger. Customers are angry in general, at their insurance companies or at us because we can”™t do anything about getting the insurance company to change its mind. Mainly, I think they are angry because things aren”™t getting any better. Sometimes it can get to you, but we understand the way they feel. As far as the insurance, we”™ve got no control over what they decide to pay or not pay. We don”™t know what the future will bring and neither do the customers.
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“Locally, we don”™t see many businesses patronizing each other,” she said. “I try whenever I can because I need them to keep their doors open. They”™re good neighbors and we don”™t need any more empty storefronts. Unfortunately, our business community seems disconnected. Some of the stores support each other, but others don”™t seem to realize how important it is to shop from each other.”
The Utnicks just joined the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, hoping to increase business connections and to take advantage of the programs the chamber offers. “It”™s a good way to get out there and meet others,” said Paul Utnick.
The once-bustling strip mall where the couple has had their current store for 15 years has a hole in its center. Nearly 30,000 square feet of space where K-Mart was once a neighborhood fixture has been vacant for more than two years. National Wholesale Liquidators came in on a month-to-month lease and initially did well, but shoppers started dropping it off their list and that was gone, too.
“When we lost K-Mart, which was really our anchor, it really hurt,” Paul said. “We keep hearing rumors that a new store or business is coming in, but then nothing happens. That”™s frustrating for us as business owners because it is the gateway to the shopping center.”
And as for 2009? “We just hope the next year will be a better one,” the couple said. “We”™re not sorry to see this year go.”
