Category Archives: Greeting & Rapport

Grabbing their attention.

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Door handles of the DQ Grill & Chill in Bend, OR

Door handles of the DQ Grill & Chill in Bend, OR

Almost as iconic as the trademarked curl on the top of their cones is Dairy Queen’s red spoon.

It is a stroke of branding genius that DQ restaurants are beginning to adorn their stores with oversized red spoon as door pulls.   This photo was taken last weekend in Bend OR.  I always appreciate themed door pulls at specialty stores.  The pulls are a great way to create a positive customer impression!

You do not have to take my word for it.  The red spoon door pulls were featured in LockNet, the website about doors and locks for businesses. See link below.

http://www.locknet.com/lockbytes/custom-door-hardware-boosting-your-brand/

 

 

Another way not to coach

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by Polylerus

by Polylerus

I stopped in national chain store at the mall the other day, drawn in by the signs in by the many promotional signs in the window.

Standing near the front of the store, an employee was working with a customer as a smiling manager approached.  Without so much as an introduction, the manager asked the customer, “Did he mention the sales going on?”

“Not yet,” responded the somewhat bewildered customer.

Turning to the employee, the manager continued, “I can’t believe you haven’t mentioned the promotions even after our huddle this morning. Jesus!”

At this point, I didn’t want to see any more and left the store.  I think the customer was thinking the same thing.

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The Expert – Part 1

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EXPERT – Someone having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.

expertThis is the first in a four-part series on dealing with experts in your retail store from several different perspectives.  For the sake of these posts, when I refer to an expert I am referring to someone who has advantaged knowledge or experience about the products being sold and their usage. Today’s perspective is dealing with a customer that is an expert.

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keep-calm-and-listen-to-your-customer-11-jpg-2

I was doing a little research today and I ran across an image that caught my eye.  Digging a bit further, I discovered the image source was from Keep Calm-o-matic.

The Keep Calm-o-Matic is the place to express your creativity, dreams and imagination. You can create, discover and shop.

They make a variety of customizable products based on the WWII poster used throughout England to encourage their citizens to carry on in spite of the rocket attacks and bombings from the Nazis. (The website is so easy and engaging I bought a customized poster and a coffee mug and I do not even drink coffee.)  See for yourself at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

It’s the drugs talking

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img_1738Several years ago, I saw a fascinating TV show on retailing. If my memory serves me correctly, it was called Buyology.  One of the most interesting segments reported on the stress of shopping and Holiday shopping especially.

When you are under significant stress, the body creates the steroid, cortisol, to help you deal with  the situation.  It is your body’s chemical behind the “fight or flight” mechanism.

Another characteristic of cortisol is that you can test a person’s cortisol level using a simple oral swab, so researchers went out and swabbed people’s mouths during stressful events to measure the stress caused by certain events.

The researchers tested combat pilots; it seems they have high stress levels in when being shot at.  (Only a governmental program would spend a lot of money to find that result.) They also tested Holiday shoppers at a major mall the weekend before Christmas.

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You have no idea…

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optic

Last fall I was in the market for a new tent and after doing some research, I narrowed the choices down to just three.  Given my size, I like to try tents out before I buy them so I headed out to the local Mountain Hardwear shop where they had the Mountain Hardwear Optic 2.5 in stock.

Having done my research ahead of time, I knew the statistics on the tent such as dimensions, weight, packed size and materials.  I also knew the price.  At $240, it is a moderately priced tent in the Mountain Hardwear line, where tents can range to over $500.

I arrived at the store nicely dressed and freshly showered.  As I entered the store, I was greeted warmly by the person near the cash wrap as I made my way to the back of the store to the tent department.  As luck would have it, the Optic 2.5 was actually set up on the sales floor for display.  This kept me from going through the hassle of asking to have the tent set-up.  As I bent down to crawl into the tent, a clerk approached me.

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If I were to buy furniture today…Part 2

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Chilton Table in Spalted Sugarberry by Room & Board

As we continued through Room & Board, I was feeling less and less inclined to spend any money there and was anxious to leave.

But then, towards the back of the store, we found ourselves standing in front of an interesting piece, the Chilton Table in Spalted Sugarberry. My wife and I looked at one another and began to talk about how we both truly admired the table.  We also admitted that neither of us cared all that much for our current dining room table bought less than 3 years ago.

As we stood examining the table and discussing how a table like this would be great to have in our home, an amazing thing happened.  Amazing since I had long since given up hope that anyone would ever greet us much less offer any help.

A smiling Room & Board employee stepped up to a nearby computer terminal to lookup some information. While going about her business, she turned to my wife and I and said, “Isn’t it a beautiful table?”

“It is beautiful,” my wife responded.

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