Last week, I planned to hang up some posters in my house using small binder clips. It was supposed to be an easy project to brighten up the room with my new favorite poster from a bicycle retailer:
I had some clips, but not enough to hang all the posters. So I decided to make a run to an office supply store to get some. It was challenging to find this simple item and I had an adventure that made me think about some of the basic principles of retail and the wide range of service experiences available.
Notable stop #1: Local drug-store chain. I’d been in a few times before and they have an aisle dedicated to school and office supplies. I walked in without being greeted, didn’t see another employee, found an empty slot for the black ones (the multi-colored were in stock). I found an employee at the front of the store who made it clear that she would “have to go all the way to the back and check” to see if they had more in stock. I left empty-handed.
Lesson #1: Create a poor experience and I won’t come back.
Notable stop #2: Office supply chain. I’d not been into this store before. I was greeted when I walked in and, without asking, the person correctly identified that I was looking for the thing I held in my hand. You read that right: he was paying attention. He directed me to the binder clips and gave me his name in case I needed anything further. As I walked passed another staffer, I got a friendly “Good afternoon”. I found my clips, bought more than I planned, paid twice what I would have on amazon.com and was generally pleased.
Lesson #2: Create a good experience and I will definitely come back.
To be clear, I valued the help far more than I valued the item and this frequently holds true for any customer in any store.
I now trust store #2 to help me in the future and I will go to them first from now on for every item they sell. Because of my poor experience, store #1 is now my last resort for every item they sell.
How do you ensure that your retailer is seen as trustworthy for every item you sell? Endeavor to truly serve every customer. To quote Stan Day, CEO of SRAM: “Say ‘yes’ to your customer to the greatest extent possible.”