November 30, 2013
► Customer Feedback: A Seasonal Specialty Stores Report Card was received from an anonymous customer. Their general shopping experience was Excellent. “Store clerks are always helpful and knowledgeable.” Did any of our team members do an unusually good job? “Patrick is especially good. Helps with everything. Very knowledgeable.” Sales help, communication, product performance, in-store advice, and free water testing were all rated excellent. This person would recommend us to a friend.
► New advertising, weekly specials, and department promotions start Sunday, December 1st: “Family Fun Sale”
► Black Friday specials end Sunday, December 1st.
► Mark Brennan made a presentation to the Target Buying Group last week. During it, he mentioned that our store was the “second-largest Napoleon dealer in New England”. Pretty good after only two years. Great job! I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we sell more Saber than Napoleon!
► From Victor: Please. Be proud of your store, pick up paper or pens on the floor or in the parking lot.
► From Seth: This holiday season, think about what you can do to exceed customer expectations. The other night I went to the Burger King drive-thru. I had to wait an exceedingly long time and they made both of my sandwiches wrong. I went back to get them to correct the order, and they gave me the most cursory and insincere apology. On the other hand, when I place an order from Chipotle, if I show up early and have to wait, they always give me a free drink. In one case the business made a mistake and barely acknowledged it. In the other case, the business didn’t even do anything wrong, but was acknowledging the fact that I was having to wait a little bit. Which place do you think I would rather do my business with? Namco is spending the next few months working to improve their customer service. We know that we are better than them, but we need to make sure that every customer sees that as well. If you think that there is something that can be done to improve a customer’s experience, or if you feel that a customer has experienced some sort of inconvenience, let the manager on duty know. Let us see what can be done right away to make it so that customer will never want to do business anywhere else.
► A word to the wise. We have 12 bottles of Lavender/Chamomile Bath Salts, available as a great Christmas present – for yourself or someone else. We are selling them at a giant loss, because they do not belong in a hot tub – they are bath salts, not spa scents. We are selling them at $2.97 each, a $14.99 value. You do not get a discount – they are already below cost. So if you want some, they are $2.97 to you, too.
► News of the weird, from the Hippo:
Solutions to non-problems: 1. Illinois state Rep. Luis Arroyo introduced a bill in March that would ban the state’s restaurants from serving lion meat. 2. Georgia state Rep. Jay Neal introduced legislation in February to ban the implantation of a human embryo into a nonhuman. Rep. Neal told the Associated Press that this has been a hot issue in other states.
► It Could be Worse, from Reader’s Digest: Shortly after 9/11, our division manager wanted to do something to unite the company. He told my boss to assemble everyone in the boardroom and to place the lyrics of the national anthem on each seat. On the day of the event, I had filled the room with streamers, balloons, and small flags and, as requested, had placed a song sheet with the lyrics of the national anthem on each chair. “What’s this?!” the division manager shouted at me. Pointing to the song sheet with the title “Star-Spangled Banner” on it, he continued, “I wanted the lyrics to the national anthem!” Anonymous