Superior service includes advising shoppers on good gift items and going above and beyond customers' expectations by providing additional services, including service after the sale. Lots of vendors try to convince shoppers that they can provide superior service. Everyone from e-retailers to catalogs to big box stores to local merchants all claim to give the best service. Local merchants can special-order requested items if they don't stock exactly the item shoppers are seeking. Local merchants also offer the convenience of being located near shoppers' homes and workplace.
Many shoppers have trouble believing it, but local merchants also offer competitive prices.
Shoppers can't beat the good feeling of doing business with their hometown neighbors. Your business matters to Ottawa and its merchants. Doing business locally puts money back into our community money that is important to provide additional services to residents, such as fire and police protection, plus library and recreational services among many others. A healthy local retail community encourages other retailers to locate here. That should be an important priority for all of us.