A Bad Customer Experience

Have you ever had a bad experience at a grocery store. Did it make you feel upset or embarrassed.

Well that happened to me today.  I'm still a bit shaky by what happened but I wanted to share it with you!

What happened....
I was in the checkout line packing my own groceries in the 6 plastic bag's I paid for. I had a lot of groceries, over $150 in total, so there were quite a few items to pack and I was on my own.  The store was fairly busy, as it was a Saturday but there were still quite a few unopened checkout lines.  The cashier wasn't helping me pack my groceries, but that was ok  as I was motoring along and I had no expectations of being helped because it was a discount grocer....

The situation....  
The cashier  finished scanning my groceries before I finished packing them into the bags.   She asked me to close out my bill so she could start on the next customer and I said I would as soon as I finished packing my bags as I wanted to be sure I had enough plastic bags.  For those of you who are not from Canada,you have to pay for the platic grocery bags at the store.  Also, the last time I was at this store and  paid before finishing the packing the next clients groceries started piling into my own.  It wasn't pretty.

When I continued packing my groceries the cashier got mad at me, and to make matters worse, an angry man  in-line behind me started yelling at me!!! I was mortified.   I said just give me a minute as I needed one or two more bags as I had a few more items to pack. The cashier held the bag behind her back and wouldn't give it to me until I closed out my bill!!!!

Needless to say I paid my bill.  But I was embarrassed, and felt awful.

What I did ....
After paying for my groceries I went over to the customer service counter and asked to speak to the manager.  I explained what happened.  The manager confirmed that it was their fault as the cashiers were taught not to rush the customers to pay and to help out if it was busy.  She said she would speak to the cashier.

Did Customer Service do their job?
What do you think?  All and all it was a terrible experience.  I left the grocery store with a bad taste in my mouth, wondering if the customer service manager would actually do anything, and feeling abused and embarrassed by how the cashier treated me.  This after spending $150 in the store.  Not the best experience.


What do you think?

Great Customer Service

Have a loyal customer,  keep them!  If you don't have a loyal customer? Build one.  Obvious, yes, but sadly it's not always done.

Here's an example of a great customer experience by experts in the field, Starbucks!  They definitely increased my brand loyalty after this experience.

I was at a Starbucks Coffee Shop (or as I like to call it, 'Bucks') and was waiting for my Tall Non-fat Skinny Latte.  As I picked up my Latte I noticed a piece of paper floating in my drink.  (YUCK!!!)

Within seconds the Starbucks employee whisked away my coffee, made me a new coffee, and gave me a free coupon to come in for another coffee without ME saying 'BOO'.   The Starbucks employee  apologised for the less than perfect drink, SINCERELY, while giving me a replacement.

There was no requirement for me to make my case,  in fact I barely had a chance to recognise there was something wrong before it was fixed.

The result?  I was impressed?!  They made a potentially bad customer experience, into a very positive customer experience.

What we can all learn from this excellent example of great customer service?

1. Consumers notice.
2. A good experience can create a  customer ambassador.
3. A good experience builds loyalty. 
4. Give the consumer a reason to go back (coupon).
5. It's very important to train your employees and reward them for great service.

Thank-you Starbucks for making a bad experience into a great experience, and for showing the rest of us how great customer service works.

Summerhill Market - A Rosedale gem, worth visiting!

The Summerhill Market is one of my favourite small grocery stores.  With it's unique offering it drives traffic to it's store at all hours every day of the week.  I think it's a great example of what is possible when you aren't distracted by what the latest research is telling you to do with your pricing, selection, merchandising and layout.

It is clear from the moment you enter the store that the owners are listening and trusting their business sense while using their imagination.  The owners are also cleverly keeping a  close connection with their very important shoppers.  Don't misunderstand me, I think shopper research is and can be very insightful; but the reality is that knowing your shopper and your market while applying your business knowledge beats any research, hands down.

Opened since 1954 and family managed, I absolutely LOVE shopping at the Summerhill Market.  I make any number of excuses to head over.  Thanks to the many unique products as well as fresh produce and meats, including excellent prepared foods, it isn't hard to find a reason.  Word of warning to the shoppers, this isn't the store to go to for a 'great deal'.  It's prices are well,  just plane expensive, and let's face it, anyone shopping at Summerhill Market isn't going there for a deal.  

Why shop at Summerhill Market?  It has excellent produce, meat and deli, a great selection of unique products, Montreal style bagels (my favourite), fun foodie gift ideas, fabulous entertaining tips, and has a great catering service.  Lastly, why shop at Summerhill Market?  It's fun to shop at.  Even when you are running in to pick up the catfood or milk, I am sure you will be inspired by their fabulous selection and perhaps get tempted to pick up a few more items (I know I do!).

I hope you have a chance to drop in when you are in  Toronto. I am sure you will enjoy the trip and will not leave empty handed!

 

Will you be shopping on line this holiday season?

Shopping online is increasing.   49% are planning on shopping online this year versus only 42% last year.  Clearly this is a trend that is here to stay.   But given the convenience of online shopping, why is the planned increase only 7%?  Why not higher?
My thoughts? It can be ALOT better.  I know I'd shop online more if they made some of these improvements.

• Make it faster and easier to move back and forth from the checkout to shopping
• Improve the search capabilities
• Show better pictures i.e show the product being used (versus white/plain backgrounds)
• Identify "New" launches more clearly (this is particularly important with toys!)

What's stopping you from shopping more online?
I'd love to hear back.

The importance of understanding your shopper!!

I had a bad customer service experience shopping yesterday.  I was shopping for a snazzy outfit for a gig I was doing that night.  There was a 99% chance I was going to buy something, I was a motivated shopper.  I knew I wanted something red, I knew I wanted something dressy, and other than that, I was open to what would catch my eye....  I didn't have a lot of time, so I chose to go to one of my favourite stores where I have had good success picking out an outfit in the past.

I went to boutique called, Narnia.  It's on Yonge Street north of Lawrence in Toronto. It's a small boutique, with an interesting selection of merchandize.  What I love about the store is the personalised service you get when you shop. The sales ladies are really great at  helping you find an outfit, well prior to yesterday, anyway.....

Here's how it went...
I walked into the store, started looking around and picking up various tops, and outfits, all with a red motif.  One of the very helpful sales ladies walks up to me and asks if I would like her to start a changing room for me, and I answer back, absolutely!  We give each other big smiles, and I'm happy thinking I made the right choice, I am on my way to one awesome outfit for my gig.

But that's when it all ended with a big BANG.

The sales lady takes the clothes I had chosen and looks at one of my outfits I picked up.  She turns to me and says, that the dress is sized a bit small,  and that she will include this purple dress in an extra large.  FULL STOP.  Did I just hear that?  Did the sales lady just SHOUT in the store that she was pulling another dress for me to try on in EXTRA LARGE?!!!  Are you kidding?

OK, I'll admit I'm not skinny, and even if I do or should wear an extra large, isn't that rule number one that you don't go shouting it around the store?! I was stunned.

What was her big mistake?  Besides embarrassing me by shouting out that I needed to take an extra large, she never even probed to understand what I was looking for.  If she had asked a few simple questions she would have known I wanted something in red, so the EXTRA LARGE purple outfit, wasn't going to cut it, even if it fit me like a glove.

I didn't say anything to her, but I went ahead and tried on the red outfit, and the other items I picked out, which at this point feeling out of sorts, I didn't think any of them looked good on.    I didn't try on the EXTRA LARGE purple dress, hah, I wasn't going to let her be right about that, and I left very quickly without purchasing anything in the store.

What's the lesson here?

Well - #1 never say EXTRA LARGE,  EVER,  in this type of situation.  She could have said any of a number of things, like "I have another, in a different size that you might like to compare".

The other point, is that the sales person didn't take the time to understand what I was looking for, an outfit for an outing that night that was red.

Will I go back to Narnia?  Well at this point probably, as I have had great experiences there in the past.  But the reality, is that a bad customer experience doesn't go away easily.

Lastly, for those of you who are wondering, yes, I did find my outfit for the night.  I went to a competing store across the street, TIQUE, and I got a smokin outfit for my gig!

Work your packaging on SHELF!

Do you consider the shopper in the development of your packaging?  Your brand must attract the shopper in-store to make it to your consumer!  How does it look on shelf? Alone, multiple facings, with it sub-brands, versus the competition, versus the thousands of items in the store...does it pop?   Is it distinctive, and easily recognised by the shopper?  Who does it best?

• Coke:  It's simple red and white packaging mean coke and can be seen from a great distance.

 

• No Name:   The yellow with black working  cut through on shelf communicating value and low price.  

Think of the challenge of sticking out behind a freezer door?  Who does this well?

• Breyers:   It's black packaging probably broke every designer's rules, but it's contrast in the freezer versus it's competition, is a clear winner.

Each of these brands success on shelf is due to it's simplicity and it's ability to stick out versus it's competition on shelf.

How well is your packaging working for you on shelf?

Getting on the Shopping List!

True or false?  Every Marketer wants their brand to be on the shopping list?  True!  After all, the shopper is the gate-keeper to the elusive consumer.

How lists are developed, who prepares them, when, and why, is critical, but still not well understood by all Marketers.   More importantly, with the increase in the number of shoppers making lists, and the focus on value,  how is the shopping list changing?

And even if the product makes it to the list, how does the in-store environment influence the ultimate decision to purchase?

On this latter point, I enjoyed reading the following article about the importance of the marketer understanding how the environment impacts the shopping trip, please have a read -  http://phenomenagroup.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/the-list/  

But take note, it's still critical to get your brand or category on the shopping list.

With more people making lists, they are looking for short-cuts and ways to be more efficient.  So create your own shopping list app, make your on-line sites better by streamlining planning and list making, and remember  the shopper is the gate-keeper to your consumer...so get to know them better.