I went to Manistee, MI and did a full day workshop on Shareworthy Customer Service (thanks, Tim, for that wonderful word). Part of my contract was to visit stores the day before and the day after the event to get a feel for the town and give them some one-on-one time after the workshop.

One of the stores I visited was a shoe store called Snyder’s (you can see the co-owner “Shoe Man Dan” in the video in the link up above). Even though it was off-season for this primarily summer resort kind of town, Snyder’s was hopping. The store was busy. The staff was engaged. The displays were fresh and brightly lit.

This was a store that got it. This was a store that understood the importance of building relationships, keeping the store updated, doing retail the way it needs to be done. For a store doing this well, I was curious what they were hoping to learn in my workshop.

I asked Jill, the manager, what she hoped to learn. She said…

“Everything I possibly can.”

Here was the best retailer on River Street, the shining star of retail in Manistee, and they were sending one owner and two managers to a day-long customer service workshop. In an interview after the workshop, Dan was asked if he planned to implement any of the strategies I talked about. His answer?

“Everything I possibly can.”

Now you know why they are the shining star. They are always striving to be better.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Yes, I bought a pair of shoes from them.