Laura's Winning Ideas

My mentor, Warren Yerks, taught us to use retail customer service techniques in our proposal team. We took up his suggestion to welcome all visitors to the department with “How Can I Help You?” and it made a difference.

Today I’m noticing a good example of the difference derived by maintaining this kind of customer focus.

Contrast these two neighborhood establishments, of which, one closed last week.

The closing is too bad, because this small casual dining spot had a lot going for it. The location was good, food was good, and the menu included a variety of attractive selections. The restaurant was clean and nicely decorated.

However, the problem was a complete lack of customer focus.

Evidence of lack of customer focus:

A) The tea selection was stored in canisters on a shelf behind the cashier’s station. I couldn’t read the labels from that distance, and there was no listing on the menu. The first time I tried to order tea, I said that if the labels were in larger type, I could probably read them, or if the choices were on the menu I could save her the time helping me with this selection. Each time I came in, I would say, “I’m sorry, but I still can’t read those labels, can you tell me what the teas are again?” She never got the drift.

There were several other small indications that she was disengaged from her customers, and my husband thought I was nuts when I suggested she would not last long. It seemed the food was good and she seemed to have plenty of new customers.

The errors were minor, but she gave customers a loud and clear message that cost her business. We know when we’re not valued.

The other place is a Dunn Bros. franchise owned by Todd Williams. This place was doomed when it opened. It is in the worst retail corner within 5 miles. It is tucked at the end of an empty commercial strip and has poor visibility. Finally, there is a Starbucks across the street with a perfect location: high visibility on the correct side of the road for commuters to pull over for a cup of Joe. Doomed.

I don’t need to feel sorry for Todd anymore.

Evidence of a focus on customer service:
A) I pull up to the drive-up window one day, don’t buy anything, but inquire as to whether I can get used coffee grounds. The fellow quizzes me as to why I want their garbage, and I explain that it is quite valuable for my compost heap and is great amendment to the clay soil around here. The next time I drive up, there is a sign in the window offering spent coffee grounds for the yard.

B) I’ve gone in a few times and taken my Wall Street Journal with me. A few businesspeople hang out here with their laptops and their Wall Street Journal. Next time I go in, the newspaper on the lending table is a fresh Wall Street Journal they’ve put out.

C) At a local festival, the area restaurants rent booths and set up a display to sell food from their stores. Dunn Bros. was there, with a similar offering to the Starbucks booth I’ve seen at other festivals, offering a sweet frozen coffee drink. The difference was that they decorated and dressed up as pirates, complete with parrot and eye patches. It was a hoot, and set them apart from the other merchants.

D) Every time the kids bring some fundraiser home, this shop is a prime contributor. We’re surrounded! The high school athletic program sold “discount cards” with feeble offers (10% off at an ice cream parlor after September!?!) but the only reason we kept the card is that it has a FREE drink (no purchase necessary) for Dunn Bros.

No tricky marketing or branding campaign will succeed if you don’t really care about your customers. The instances here aren’t evidence of any huge creativity, but rather a focus on the customer and how they can help.

Try it in your department and see how things change. Answer the phone with “Laura Ricci, How Can I Help You?” and see what happens.