Do you remember Service Merchandise?

[cybrkitn]

Our wedding bands came from there, and we did a bridal registry there too.

DH and I did as well. We were married back in 1999.

 

[avgeek81]

We had one in our town. I think we bought our treadmill there. My brother worked there for 3 days in high school. Wasnt a good fit for him, too much manual labor I guess and I remember the other guys who worked there giving him a hard time.

He ended up working at sears which was next door. Worked there all thru high school/college

 

[clori]

I remembe going the with my parents. I filled out a short Application For a college scholarship and won $500.

 

[dizluvah]

I remember going into Service Merchandise as a kid with family. My cousin bought a Movado watch there for her boyfriend - I had never heard of Movado before that.

 

[dgthree]

Yes, I remember Service Merchandise, and their catalog. It figured heavily in my holiday present list making for a lot of my childhood.

I seem to remember two different systems... I remember the clipboard and the little pencil but I also remember, and maybe this was later on, being able to take a pre-printed slip for the item. But still with the conveyor belt. Circuit City (at least ours) had the conveyor belt too but I think it was only for really high-priced items back in the days when a megabyte of RAM cost $100.

I remember that towards the end you could order (and check stock) via computer, which was always a better option to me than waiting in line with the piece of paper.

There was another similar store called Consumers Distributing that was closer to home, but Service seemed to have better stock & prices.

Ours is now split between a Petsmart and a Home Goods.

Is that the on on Rte 17 in Paramus, opposite the Fashion Center? That was my store. =)

 

[Squirlz]

I worked at a place like that in Columbus called Esco. The shopper placed their clipboard in the slot and an alarm would sound until one of us guys in the back came to get it. I have a LOT of stories from that place. Many involving pretty girls that worked at the jewelry counter.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Yes, I remember it. Back in "the day" it was where everybody used to register for weddings. I loved that store as a kid.

 

[dgthree]

i remember a Service Merchandise on route 17 in paramus, a Consumers in West New York, and another one (Grand?) in Teterboro, by the airport

all the same: catalog, in-store display, conveyer belt

got jewelry, luggage, lava lamps and clocks from them.

There was also a Consumers in Tenafly, and (I think) one on rte 4 in Paramus (in the strip where Kohls is now). In addition to Paramus, I remember Service Merchandise stores in Nanuet, NY & Wayne, NJ.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

I had a brand names too. I thought it was the coolest when I was a kid

 

[Disney Springs]

Too funny that there's a thread about Service Merchandise! My DH and I just did a road trip to my home city where I grew up, and I pointed at a large building that is now a Babies R Us....but it used to be a Service Merchandise when I was a child.

Service Merchandise had everything....I'd browse the toys, while my dad would look at the electronics. Loved that store!

 

[Tink575]

I remember Service Merchandise and Consumers Warehouse. At Service Merchandise, you went in and pulled a number. Then you got the clipboard and little pencil and filled out the order form. When your number was called you turned your order form in and they called downstairs to the warehouse. When your item came up on the conveyor belt they called you to the pickup.

When the Cabbage Patch dolls first came out in the early 80's, people were frantic to get them for Christmas. Service had a waiting list in a black and white notebook. Midway through the next year they called me to pick up a doll. I went to get it and put it away for the following Christmas for my DD.

Things often fell off that conveyor belt in our store and got broken. I learned to open the box before putting it in the car and check the item out, after I found out on Christmas Eve that Barbie's Dream Cottage was missing one of its support poles.

 

[NaLisa]

One thing I noticed in my old hometown--several of the former SM stores were never occupied again after the chain closed. Maybe because the odd way the stores were set up, with just one of every product on display in the showroom and then (I imagine) huge warehouses in the back?

 

[sue1013]

There is a store in London that is a catalogue store. Imagine Sam's club type variety, but ordering in a catalogue and waiting for them to bring it up to you! I bought a pillow and comforter and they gave me a bag the size of a grocery bag because it was so tightly vacuum packed . It was quite fun. Argos.co.uk

There's one in Dublin too. When we went in I thought the setup was kind of familiar must have been remembering Service Merchandise.

 

[Squirlz]

So at the Esco we sold lots of those cheap jewelry boxes that came from Cambodia or whatever in pulpy cardboard boxes sealed with paper tape. This lady brought on back for exchange because hers had a scratch on the top; straight down the middle, end to end. She brought the second one back as it too had a scratch straight down the middle, end to end.

The third one she decided to inspect before she left the sstore. We watched as she took out her pen knife and cut the tape, straight down the middle, end to end.

Another woman returned her personal massage device. Reason for return? "Not satisfied".

 

[Handbag Lady]

I LOVED Service Merchandise. Our store, I swear, had pneumatic tubes for orders.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

So at the Esco we sold lots of those cheap jewelry boxes that came from Cambodia or whatever in pulpy cardboard boxes sealed with paper tape. This lady brought on back for exchange because hers had a scratch on the top; straight down the middle, end to end. She brought the second one back as it too had a scratch straight down the middle, end to end.

The third one she decided to inspect before she left the sstore. We watched as she took out her pen knife and cut the tape, straight down the middle, end to end.

Another woman returned her personal massage device. Reason for return? "Not satisfied".

 

[Underneath The Sky]

They have a store like this in pretty much every big-ish British city. Called Argos. I really didn't think it was weird until I saw this thread!

 

[KBoopaloo]

I remember Service Merchandise and Consumers Warehouse. At Service Merchandise, you went in and pulled a number. Then you got the clipboard and little pencil and filled out the order form. When your number was called you turned your order form in and they called downstairs to the warehouse. When your item came up on the conveyor belt they called you to the pickup.

When the Cabbage Patch dolls first came out in the early 80's, people were frantic to get them for Christmas. Service had a waiting list in a black and white notebook. Midway through the next year they called me to pick up a doll. I went to get it and put it away for the following Christmas for my DD.

Things often fell off that conveyor belt in our store and got broken. I learned to open the box before putting it in the car and check the item out, after I found out on Christmas Eve that Barbie's Dream Cottage was missing one of its support poles.

Yes! My Service Merchandise story is also Cabbage Patch related. They year they came out and everyone was crazy, my parents put their name on the waiting list. It came through just days before Christmas. My dad said when that Cabbage Patch came rolling down the conveyor belt, it caused a real frenzy among the people waiting. He thought he was going to have to fight some overzealous parents for it. He said he was lucky to get out of the store alive!

 

[si-am]

My parents used to shop at Service Merchandise all the time when I was a kid. I only have fuzzy memories of the place, but it seems like I always enjoyed looking at the clocks!

 

[mamamary]

The Consumers by us was strictly catalog. You went through the books and wrote down your purchase. They had a few things on display behind the counter, but nothing for the consumer to touch and feel in the store.

The Service Merchandise had the stuff in the store for you to look at. Then you would fill out your paper and pay. Then, you waited around the conveyor belt hoping it would be coming down soon, so you could leave!

I remember them never having your first choice. It was always an ordeal to shop there!

My first job was working in Consumers. The store always attracted alot of people because of these great sales but we'd only have a few of each item and people would complain. The store didn't last too long.