Try to have a conversation with a retail manager, and you'll hear the woes and exasperated tone permeate through their eyes and pores well before they can even muster a proper response: Retail Sucks

"Everyone's buying online," they'll say, if they are not malaise enough to give you a full answer. But why?

Sure, I often treat Best Buy like a experience because let's face it, both the prices and selection online are fantastic.

The last couple of times I went into Best Buy, I stood looking at a Router for 10 minutes before an employee even looked my way to ask for help. I spent my entire shopping experience holding the Router in one hand, smart phone in the other, and Safari browser window finding the same item online for $15 dollars cheaper, no tax, and free shipping. By the time the employee mustered up enough courage to wander over and lifelessly ask if I had any questions, I had spent just enough time doing my own research to genuinely respond, "Nope, I'm all good."

Best Buy gets a ton of flack, they're not the only culprit of poor retail adjustment -- in fact, recent studies even show that Best Buy has a system that ignores customers like me. Apparently they knew I wouldn't buy anything from the moment they ID and stereotype me at the door.

Research shows that over 50 percent of North American shoppers do not feel that employees appear to be genuinely interested in serving them.

Yeah, some online retail companies are doing really well, but that doesn't mean the end of the road for brick-and-mortar. With over 60% of people still making online purchasing decisions based on word-of-mouth that happened offline, it's safe to say retail still has a strong, viable purpose.

Take a look at popular west coast burger chain In-N-Out's exuberant employee base, or the passionate folks at Apple's many retail fronts.

You can't walk a few feet into either one of those stores without being greeted by an employee with a smile on their face. Yeah, they have great products to be passionate about, but so do other retail stores with strikingly less effective employees.

Managers have to come to terms with why their customer base has decided to walk into their brick-and-mortar, as opposed to completing their shopping duties online. Do their customers want to see a friendly face? Do they want to feel the product? Do they want to try it on? Do they want employee expertise?

Sometimes I go shopping at the mall because I want to be persuaded. I have too much self control online, but if I have someone explaining why I should get that iPad 3 when my iPad 2 looks exactly the same, I'm more likely to melt my credit card after a couple minute conversation.

The clothing industry should be allowed to moan sightly less than other brick-and-mortars when talking floundering sales. Yeah, online is accessible and affordable, but little has been done in the way of innovating and expediting the online experience of making sure clothes fit and feel the way we need them to. There's no way to try on that new pair of jeans by staring them down through my computer screen.

With a bit of ingenuity, foresight, and research, clothing retailers still have a great shot. Even if you can acknowledge that your clothing store is simply a gigantic dressing room for your brand, at least you've made the first step to recovery and acknowledged your customer.

The idea of using an offline presence to promote your online one isn't terribly off base either. It won't show up on your books, but the customer who saw your store in the mall, made sure it fit in your dressing room, and then bought your product online is still a sale. It used to be that an employee incentive program was a thoughtful way to increase employee morale.

Companies like Apple and In-N-Out don't have a commission program, but slightly higher wages than their competitors and decent benefits packages go a long way to keeping both of their employees perky and positive.

Yes, employers, may be doing things wrong -- but doesn't mean they have to curl up in a corner of a room and play Friendster dead. Taking a good hard look at your employees and finding fun, respectful ways to incentivize their time and further involve them into your brand could go a long way to the success of your retail presence.

Infographic via