Like so many mall department stores, JCPenney has gone the way of the VCR repairman. My parents shopped at JCPenney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward when I was a kid, and most of my childhood clothes, shoes, and toys came from JCPenney. Back then, you'd find good products reasonably priced, and the stores were clean and the people were friendly. Times have changed, though.
The stores that are thriving in this mall seem to be geared toward a particular demographic. JCPenney is not one of those stores. That's not to say that JCPenney doesn't have something for everyone - they do - but everyone doesn't shop at malls, anymore.
I doubt this store is doing enough business to keep the lights on. Of the three or four workers that are visibly present during the week, only one or two are manning open registers. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the other customers in the store are actually security, trying to minimize their daily losses.
With a lack of business comes a lack of pay, and I don't blame the workers for not being overly friendly. I haven't had a problem with any of the workers, but reading other reviews, I can see that other people have. To that, I would say you reap what you sow.
And, given the economy and the store setting prices that are rarely a bargain, the workers at this store are probably less-than-confident in long-term employment with JCPenney. That lack of confidence shows in the way they do business, from customer interaction (or lack thereof) to upkeep of the little things.
The attached photo sums it up. The end of a bygone era. A little stool in the shoe department. The padded part is where the employee working the shoe department would sit, opposite the customer that would be seated in a comfortable chair. The rubber part is where the customer would place their foot in the new shoe with the help of the employee, if needed. Except, there is no comfortable chair. There is no employee working the shoe department. And the padded part of the stool is stained from who-knows-what, and nobody appears to have attempted to clean it in years because they either don't know any better, or they don't care.
This store, like that stool, was once a nice thing to have, but it's been neglected, and was set aside by those that didn't know how to use it for so long, now it just sits there.
I doubt anyone will be surprised when this store finally closes. More than likely, people that go to this store will be surprised that it's still open. JCPenney used to be a great store.
Used to be.
Two stars for nostalgia, and that's about it for this particular store.