I’ve got the kids today while my wife works. Laundry, feeding, reprimanding and the very necessary trip to the supermarket are all on the to-do list. We can’t make it through the hurricane with a few almonds and some old breakfast cereal that nobody likes, can we? Of course not, so make the list and check it twice knowing full well that some critical item (milk?) will be forgotten anyway.
Shoes on. Seatbelts fastened. Numerous in-transit requests concerning candy and other junk denied. Park. Grab a wet cart in the rain. Run across the lot. Put on the bargain hunter hat and get busy. That’s where the real story begins. This could have been a training video on how to discourage customers.
Endcap displays are normally where you find the deals. All of the important things you need, all on sale. Not today. Today (in the early afternoon), every endcap was set for tomorrow’s ad with today’s full prices. The guy in the tie said, “Yes sir, our sales start tomorrow.” Obviously this is for their convenience and not the customers’. Those ends all looked wonderful, and gave me lots of reasons not to buy. Maybe I will get that stuff tomorrow – at the warehouse club. Sorry! Too bad!
$12.50 for a can of Folgers? Uh, is this Starbucks and you didn’t change the sign? The same stuff was $8.00 at Target last week. No coffee for me. Sorry! Too bad! By the way, what is that logo that Stop & Shop (and Giant, another Ahold USA brand) uses? It reminds me of customers fainting and falling over backwards from their prices.
If a company is going to have the cast iron determination to shake every last nickel from you with their prices, you could hope for a great checkout, right? Maybe, but not today. As everyone is shopping hard to prepare for the big storm, there was one express line, two regular lines staffed by humans, and a row of self-serve stations. Ugh.
The guy watching the self-serve was busy writing some secret notes on a tiny piece of paper while customers juggled through the maddening interface of these checklanes that were likely designed by the same fellas who came up with the Yugo. The systems look like the Frankenstein of the IT world: a scanner here, a screen there, another screen for your credit card and yet another screen where you sign your name. Don’t forget the light-up slot for your coupons (that doesn’t light up) and the hockey goal-esque red and green flashing lights bolted atop this monstrosity. Does red mean goal? Do I get a discount?
Secret-note man came to help for a moment and bagged a few items. Until he had to go back to his secret note. All the while my kids are banging on the Redbox machine like retirees at the nickel slots while I force sweaty frozen foods into plastic bags and hope to finish my task before the next customer’s OJ squashes my bread. Sorry.
What are my points in sharing my “what I did on my day off” story? Don’t show your clients and customers what you can’t or won’t do for them. Justify your prices with the quality and service you deliver. Exceed your customers’ expectations. And let your spouse do the shopping.
Work: Getting It & Keeping It 