Today's Best Crazy Word...at the grocery store, no less.

My local Jewel-Osco....but, wait, what's that on the sign?

 

 I was at my local market [a large Midwestern super market chain] this morning to pick up a couple things when I looked up at the aisle marker and saw "Powder Drink." Check. "Bottled Juice" Check. "Aseptics" Huh? What? What the bejeebers is that. I looked around the shelves for a clue. Nothing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I asked the checkout clerk, "Hey, what's Aseptics? What's supposed to be in the Aseptics aisle?" He said, boy, you got me, I have no idea what that is. But, just a minute, let me call the manager. He put her on the phone with me at the checkout counter. When I asked her, she said, "I have no idea." with a chuckle. But she asked if I would show her where it was. So, we walked down the aisle and I pointed up. Puzzled, she said she really didn't know what 'Aseptics' were or are. But she called over another store person who was in the aisle who solved the mystery. It's juice boxes! Oh yeah, sure, that's......huh? Juice boxes?                                                                                                                                                         I went home and looked up "aseptics" and sure enough, it means sterile box often used for juice or milk. But I asked over 8 people at the grocery store and not one had any idea what the sign meant. The closest guess was, "....maybe something to do with bandages?"  THE LESSON. The words you use everyplace, anyplace, make a difference. They must make sense to your customers. You should avoid industry jargon on you website, in your marketing pieces and in your signage.   I wonder if the sign at my Jewel-Osco store will change. They are huge company. Probably not....very soon. But, I am smiling thinking about the big-wig marketing guy who came up with that sign thinking, "Oh yeah, everybody knows Cereal, Fruit, Soup, Soap and Aseptics.

Lessons from the Shoe Store

I am always looking for great examples of customer service sales and terrible examples of customer service. I am sorry to say that this is a terrific example of a small business making some classic missteps.

I received a coupon at a local trade show for a discount on tennis shoes at a store that specializes in tennis shoes about 16 miles from my house. I wore out my shoes so I went online to check on their hours and directions.

Their website was down. I figured it would probably be up the next day...but no such luck. So I called the shop. The lady who answered said, "I am very sorry but that coupon has expired." Ah nuts. I thought about it for a day and called the shop again and this time got the owner. She was very nice and said, "Oh we'll honor that; but actually there's a new one in your association magazine this month so you can use that one." Hooray.

It took a week before I had time to get up there but I made the trip on Tuesday. By then one of my shoes had a hole in it so I was desperate since it's unsafe to play with shoes that worn.

Off I go to the store. Jessica is the lady who greeted me and waited on me. It turned out she's a college student and although she wears a badge that says "Certified Fitter XXX" something or other, she has only worked there 2 weeks. She did know how to properly size my feet and had some good advice about the proper fit. Although she did not know much about tennis shoes. Fortunately, there's lots of good information about the pros and cons of different brands and models within brands on the various online shoe websites; and I checked it before I went to the shop.

I choose the latest model of New Balance shoes and went to the counter with Jessica to pay for my shoes. As I opened my bag, I found that I'd lost my magazine coupon! I explained to Jessica that I had a coupon; that I had talked to the store owner on the phone; and that I lived a 30 mile round trip away and had come to their store purposely. She offered to hold the shoes for me to come back.

What do you think I did? Remember, I really believe in supporting local businesses....when it makes sense.

I went home and got online and found that the retail price on the shoes on the New Balance website and on other sites was $10 less than the regular price at the store and that the 10% discount would make them the regular price. Strike one.

I also found that shipping was less than the sales tax and gas I would have to pay to travel back to the store. Strike two.

I called the store back and let them know not to hold the shoes because I intended to purchase them online since I was at their store and forgot my coupon and did not want to drive back there again. The lady who answered was very nice and said thanks for letting us know but asked no further questions and did not offer anything. Strike three.


So here's the lesson:

1. Affinity group marketing can be very powerful if you manage it properly. Perhaps a single discount or incentive program for a group is a wiser choice than a series of discounts and dates. 
2. Never, ever let a customer walk out of your store because they "forgot the coupon." I've even negotiated discounts at big box stores with no coupon in hand. 
3. Make sure that your prices are legitimate. Don't assume that customers are not Internet savvy. 
4. Assume that if a customer walks out of your store without making a purchase or without a great experience, they will not be back again. 
5. It's likely that a customer who has either a great purchasing experience or a very poor purchasing experience will tell other people. I told one of my tennis partners yesterday, in fact. Although, research shows that a negative shopping experience story is likely to be retold many more times. 
6. Train your staff. It's not just about the speeds and feeds on your product line or services, it's about how to handle customer service situations. 
7. I got the coupon at a trade show from the store owner but she never asked my email address and therefore missed an opportunity to email me information about shoes and sales and special events at her store. 
8. Check on your website regularly. I talked to store personnel twice and they did not know that their website was down. And, three weeks later it's still down. Their web address is on everything they publish so this is a major fault.