Karen Katz is the CEO of the well-known retail chain, Neiman Marcus. “Neiman’s” has a reputation as the department store that appeals to the upper-most tier of the American socioeconomic spectrum: the rich.”

Traditionally trained economists would suggest the economic downturn would hardly effect America’s wealthy, but this isn’t a textbook recession.

Katz’ position interests me as a student of excellent customer service. I’m a retailer of fine reading glasses, the former managing partners of a New York advertising agency, and a guy with several special Neiman Marcus relationships.

About those relationships: several friends are ardent customers of the chain, colleagues are selling to and/or have sold to Neiman Marcus as suppliers, and a swath of Neimans’ sales associates are personal friends.

Neiman’s never, ever discounts its merchandise and that’s smart when your goal is to maintain equity in the brand for a  uber-upscale retail operation. But it might not be so savvy in this pickle barrel of an economy.

The equity of any brand, any business, is first and foremost, dependent upon survival. If Neiman’s doesn’t survive the current economic environment it’ll go out of business and exist only as a nostalgic memory to those who loved shopping there during better times.

My sources tell me business there is dismal. The chain is attracting few visitors and even fewer paying customers. Suppliers aren’t being paid on time. Employee and supplier morale is low.

Loyal customers are dismayed at the lack of new merchandise.  And even if there was new merchandise from which to select they’ve been reluctant to purchase either because they’re freaked over their shinking stock portfolios or are embarrassed to openly spend on luxury merchandise. Whatever.

Neiman’s needs customers. It needs merchandise. It needs to provide its sales associates with customers to whom they can sell [Ms. Katz, don't tell me that's the sales associates' job. You're smarter than that.]

What Neiman Marcus must do is examine its business model, stop pulling in costly outside consulting firms for advice and listen to its customers and sales associates. The insights of those audiences are profound, though often discounted or ignored by senior managements at all kinds of companies [note just Neiman Marcus].

Ms. Katz, perhaps you don’t have to discount. But you know your in-store events and other traditional tactics aren’t working.

Why not swallow your pride, conduct some research and make surprise anonymous visits to your stores and ask around [if you announce you're coming stores, staffs will be consumed with giving the store a paint job, putting down new rugs, setting up special displays, and more--just to impress you.  Your store visits routinely cost you $125,000 up & above what you spend for travel and entertainment with your posse]. You’ll be surprised at peoples’ willingness to share. And you’ll be delighted to learn you’ve been working with some smart people who understand the chain’s plight and have solutions that tower over your consultants’ recommendation to lay off customer service personnel. Let the little people responsible for revenue generation throw some ideas your way.

They’ve got a lot of good ones. Really good ideas.

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That’s why it was so interesting for me to learn one of the most common questions in the reading glasses business is “I’m a man with a big head. Are there reading glasses that’ll fit me?”

I’m glad to say there are.  And I’m glad to share some great recommendations with you.   Those recommendations include Scojo’s Hicks Street, Clark Kent, The Geek, and York Street. There are a few more too, but isn’t it great how an industry responds to the challenges of a market segment like men with large noggins?

It's me wearing Seeqa's Aspen reading glasses.

Of course, I’m wearing reading glasses. Have the best collection of ‘em in the nation. That’s one of the perks of bein’ in the business.

There’s been a lot of activity in the clearance sale section of our online reading glasses store. That’s not surprising.

There’s also been a huge volume of fine reading glasses being sold. Is that an example of the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle class disappearing? Don’t think so. Not enough time has passed to call this a trend, but I’m watching for ya!

That’s what one network commentator said about Sarah Palin. I’m not entirely clear about the difference between nice looking & good looking. But I sure like looking at the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Thing is, I think she’s both good looking and nice looking. Her perfect sweep of a hairdo. Her glossed lips. Those wonderful rimless reading glasses. The issue isn’t whether she can take care of her children and lead the country at the same time. It’s whether she can lead the country while the men under her charge gawk at her gams.

Hell, I know plenty guys who’d like taking orders from Sarah Palin.

Did I mention her reading glasses? Very stylish. Very modern. Very seductive.

Think those are men’s reading glasses because of their shape. But feminine women somehow look even more feminine in men’s apparel. Love to see girls in men’s shirts, for example.

Her interview with Katie Couric made the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska appear as informed as any average American soccer mom. It was two nice looking/good looking women having a chat. One with her reading glasses on, the other with her reading glasses on her desk.

Think she doesn’t have enough experience in foreign affairs? Well not only is Alaska right next to Russia, but she’s often eaten breakfast at the International House of Pancakes. That, and her cool reading glasses, are good enough for me.

“Love your selection and the design of your site,” I’m paraphrasing.

You may not remember me but I’ve bought glasses from you before. I was so happy to discover your site. Have been buying my reading glasses from an 80-year-old woman’s site for the last few years,” she explained.

Though I never say anything bad about my competition I’m really glad when a customer does. The fashionista went on.

“There’s got to be a time in one’s life when ‘Deborah’ is no longer a ‘Debby,” she told me. “It’s a matter of dignity.”

Don’t know if she’s right. At almost 60-years-old I’m still happy when friends (and my teen aged niece and nephew) call me “Markie.” I don’t feel a loss of dignity. And when I’m around those who call me “Markie” I’ll often refer to myself by that name in the 3rd person. Isn’t that similarly odd as an 80-year-old calling herself by a childish version of her name?

I emailed the fashionista with that information. She messaged back, “On you, it’s cute.”

My fashionista bought these wonderful glasses in red & black:

And she said she can’t wait till the arrive.