Lose Customers by ‘Optimising’. A Vague Example.

When I was a kid I used to love pocket money day*. I’d run round the block to my local sweet shop and with a huge smile on my face ask the shopkeeper for a 10p mix**

The sweet old dear would then smile back, force herself up out of her old chair, tear herself away from her three bar fire and create my well-earned bag of treats.

She’d stop sometimes and look up at me, I could see in her eyes she was weighing me up to work out which 10 sweets would please me the most. A white chocolate button maybe (you know the ones with the rainbow bits on)? No

He had one last week. One of my new sherbet space ships? Maybe, we’ll throw one in. He’s too young for bubble gum. All these thoughts would go through her head as I patiently waited for my hand-picked bespoke array of sugary goodness.

After what seemed like a fortnight, she’d complete the magic ten, and in one swift move spin the bag over, sealing in the sweets and hand them over. Thank you. See you next week.

I’d leave the shop feeling really valued and appreciated as a customer.

This went on for a few years until one day the ‘sweet old lady’ decided to optimise. Optimise? Optimise!

As usual I was handed my pocket money on the Saturday morning – I remember it like it was yesterday. I frolicked around to the shop as usual, asked for my 10p mix. The shopkeeper got out of her old chair, tore herself away from the three bar fire, and created my well-earned bag of treats. Only she didn’t did she? Oh no she didn’t. She reached under the counter and pulled out a pre-made 10p mix!

‘NO!’ You cry; and right you are. I stood staring in shock as the ‘sweet old dear’ returned to her chair. Then left.

Quick Wins

Making your customers feel valued often costs nothing.  Put yourself in your customers shoes, do you make them feel special in any way? Do you serve them or ‘process’ them? Are there any small changes you could make to your processes to make your customers feel more valued?

I’m betting there are

* For the youth of today; pocket money refers to a fixed amount of money provided by parents to their children on a weekly or monthly basis. And no, we couldn’t have whatever we wanted when we wanted it. There was no such thing as a tantrum either.

 ** A 10p mix is simply a paper bag with ten one penny sweets in it. Yes we only got 10 sweets at a time, and yes you could buy sweets that cost 1p each.