Part 1: The Good
While visiting my jeweler last week (sorry wife, no new bling, it was simply a business discussion) I was surprised to learn that he gladly pays for any parking tickets his customers get while shopping in his store (whether they make a purchase or not). Not only is he happy to pay the tickets, but he openly advertises this to many of his patrons, especially the elderly who often choose to park right in front of the store in the loading zone rather than try to find another parking spot downtown.
In fact, while I was in the store, the owner excused himself from our conversation to walk a woman out to her car, carry her purchase for her, and make sure she didn’t have a ticket. He walked back in a minute later with the parking ticket he grabbed off of the woman’s windshield so he could pay it online.
Part 2: The Bad
Later that day my wife was trying on clothes in a pricy women’s clothing store across the street from my jeweler (revenge for not getting a new pair of earrings?). While in the store she overheard the following conversation:
Customer: “Oh my gosh, my meter is about to expire, I have to hurry!”
Clothing Store Owner: “You had better get out there quick, those meter maids are ruthless.”
Customer: (Dropping the dress in her hand and running out of the store) “I lost track of time!”
The Lesson
The customer didn’t go back in the clothing store to get the dress she set down when she ran out to check her meter (and she may have still gotten a ticket). Conversely, the jewelry store customer walked out with a purchase, and even though she was parked in a loading zone, she wasn’t worried about watching the clock because she knew that if she got a parking ticket, it would be paid by the jewelry store.
One of the most difficult things for business owners to do is get potential customers through the door. Why would the clothing store owner chase someone out of the store rather than offer to pay for a $10 parking ticket? Clearly she wasn’t thinking about the value of a customer with a $400 dress in her hand.
I’m sure the clothing store customer didn’t have any negative feelings about the experience. But what if the clothing store owner had said, “Please take your time to try on the dress and anything else you’d like. If you get any parking tickets while you’re shopping here, we’ll pay them for you.” The customer would have probably been so bowled over and amazed that she would be more likely to make a purchase.
Moreover, imagine the customer telling that story to her friends. The clothing store owner would have reached twenty women that would now be thinking about the amazing service they could get at that store (that alone is worth the $10 parking ticket).
The moral of the story is that sometimes business owners are focused too much on “operations” and not enough on what customers really need. Giving your customers what they need to make a purchase may not be as simple as offering them more time by paying their parking tickets, but sometimes the smallest gestures are the most effective ones.
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Wow, great post.
Thanks Ryan, I appreciate the feedback!
Nice post, Drew, and an important point. It would also seem important for the jewelry store to offer this service to every customer – that is to say that the policy is so ingrained in the minds of the sales associates that it is automatic. Otherwise, the word of mouth would turn sour when the friend of the paid parking ticket client doesn't get his or her ticket paid and he or she tells another twenty people the bad story.
Back to your examples, those who work in retail stores downtown are customers in every other store they shop. Why do they expect a certain level of treatment from every other store and then fail to understand consumer needs in their own places of business? I wonder how much the clothing store owner complains about his or her shopping experience in other stores? I would imagine that he or she does. As for the jeweler, I wonder if he or she experiences shopping in other stores and notices the good? It's all a matter of attitude. Since it is proven that what one thinks will happen, will happen, shouldn't one always think the best? (including kinder thoughts about the meter attendants who are simply doing a job well?)
I may be naive, but it seems to me that retailers ought to, as the old song goes: accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. Like you, I want to shop with people who are interested in me, like me, and take care of me; not whine to me, at me, about me and send me on my way empty-handed. Thanks for the blog and for the chance to sound off.
Thank you for your excellent points, George. You make an excellent point that retailers are also consumers, and they should look at their business as a customer would. You aren't naive at all—in business, like attracts like. Businesses that show genuine interest in their customers will attract customers with a genuine interest in their success. Conversely, businesses that, as you say, whine to you, at you, and about you, will attract the exact customers that cause them complain even more; if they attract any new customers at all!
Thanks for sounding off and sharing your thoughts!
Thank you for your excellent points, George. You make an excellent point that retailers are also consumers, and they should look at their business as a customer would. You aren't naive at all—in business, like attracts like. Businesses that show genuine interest in their customers will attract customers with a genuine interest in their success. Conversely, businesses that, as you say, whine to you, at you, and about you, will attract the exact customers that cause them complain even more; if they attract any new customers at all!
Thanks for sounding off and sharing your thoughts!