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Author: Phil Wrzesinski

New Way to Get This Blog

Okay, full disclosure… My wife made me do it, lol.

Over on the right of this blog is a new feature – Follow by Email.

My wife was complaining that she only follows this blog so it wasn’t worth opening up an RSS feed just for me.  She wished she would get the blog via email.  So last night we found this app that allows such a feature.

Note: when you sign up it will ask you to verify by typing in some funny text and then send you a confirmation email.  Just click on the link in that email and you should start getting email notifications of this blog.  I don’t know for sure how that will look (until this post gets published, that is).  But it is one more way for us to stay connected.

Try it out and give me some feedback.

Thanks!

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS One thing my wife mentioned was that she can forward an email quite easily.  And since she is not on Twitter, that is her preferred method of interaction.  One more lesson for all of us… Meet your customers where they are.

Don’t Make Them Guess

Have a different way of doing things?  Don’t make your customers guess.  Tell them right up front.  Here is how we do things.  Put it on a sign.  Put it in a brochure, flier, or even a simple handout.  Make sure every employee tells it to every customer.  Never assume they know.  Never assume they will figure it out on their own.

I took the family to one of our favorite restaurants this past weekend.  They have a lovely outdoor patio overlooking a beautiful lake – great way to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend.  In previous visits we learned that the wait staff will serve drinks on the patio (slowly, but eventually), but not food.  You have to go to their take-out window.  So when we walked in, knowing we wanted to sit on the patio and enjoy the sunshine, we first stopped at the take-out window.

But when we entered the patio there was a server bringing food out to all three of the occupied tables.  Okay, we thought, now they serve food.  Cool!  Drinks ought to come faster now.  Except the waitress never once stopped by our table.  Not. Even. Once.

I ended up going to the bar to get our drinks.


And guess how I felt?  Yeah, shunned, ignored, and confused.  Do they serve on the patio or do they not serve on the patio?  Do they serve only the southern end of the patio or only groups of six or more?  Do they serve if you ask but not if you don’t?

Confusion can be your enemy when you are trying to delight your customers.  For the most part, we only do the things we feel comfortable doing.  Confusion negates comfort.  And not only was I confused, I most certainly was not delighted.

Do things differently.  I strongly encourage it.  But let your customers know plainly and simply how you do things differently so there will be no confusion.  Only comfort.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  Ikea is a classic example of doing things differently and letting you know up front through signage and brochures.  In fact, I think their signage is some of the best in the retail world.  Apple is another example who does it through staff training.  You have to interact with the staff to learn their ways, though, and not everyone wants to interact with the staff (men and introverts).

It’s Not a Battleship at War

“To open a shop is easy, to keep it open an art.” – Chinese Proverb

“If making a profit were easy, everyone would be doing it.” – Roy H. Williams

My grandfather, who founded Toy House in 1949, served on the USS Arkansas Battleship during World War II.  68 years ago today he was training for D-Day.  67 years ago today he was preparing for Okinawa.  His tour of duty aboard the Arkansas was his first ever experience on a boat of any kind.  Yet, before his tour ended he earned his way up to being Officer of the Deck Underway (OOD), in other words, the top person in charge of the ship at sea.  

“Once you have been OOD on a battleship during wartime, well… everything else seems pretty easy in comparison.” – Phil Conley

Thanks for putting it all in perspective, Gramps.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  I interviewed my grandfather on a couple occasions and am currently working on a book about some of the more interesting stories in our history and some of the lessons we have learned along the way.

A Tough Question

I have been asked to apply for a position on an advisory board for a new retail organization.  Part of the application process includes a questionnaire.  I am stuck on the last question…

Without regard for funding, what is one area of concentration or program you would implement today to help independent specialty stores survive? 

There are so many ways to go with this…

I could focus on vendor programs slanted in the favor of indie stores such as Minimum Ad Pricing policies, exclusive products, not selling to online discounters, etc.
I could focus on advertising and marketing to promote the value of shopping local and shopping independent.
I could focus on websites to help customers find their local indie store, or even website design for all local stores so that everyone would have that electronic presence required necessary to compete in today’s electronic world.

But the first place my mind went when I read that question was Training.  In many ways, we are our own worst enemies.  We undermine our own stores through weak customer service, bad inventory management, or ignorance of our financials.  We put out horrible ads that do nothing to attract customers.  We hire poorly, neglect training and wonder why our staff doesn’t get it.

Sure, most indie retailers do one or two things well, some impressively well.  But often that is not enough.

Dr. Ernesto Sirolli believes independent businesses need to be strong in three areas – product, marketing, and finances – to be successful, but most individuals have a passion for only one, maybe two of those.  It takes all three to be successful so his approach is to pair people with different strengths together.

I believe you can learn to be good at all three, but you have to first want to learn.  And that may be the hardest hurdle to overcome.  You can lead an indie retailer to training, but you can’t make him learn.

I guess in the end I will probably go with Vendor Programs in my answer.  But just imagine a world where every independent shop truly had WOW customer service, excellent cash flow, strong finances, and magnetic marketing…

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Yes, I was talking about you… and me, too.  I have a whole bunch of areas I need to improve.  Are you seeking yours out as actively as I am seeking out mine?

PPS Have you seen my 2-day Retail Success Academy course?  Get your business friends together and you can hire me to share what I know.  (The offer for 4 hours of training with the purchase of 60 books is still available, too)

Pulling for Karen

I’m pulling for Karen.

I wasn’t at first.  But now I am hoping Karen succeeds.

Karen was our bus driver for a fifth-grade field trip to Gettysburg, PA, Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC.  And she was the worst tour bus driver I have ever encountered.

Missed turns?  Every. Time. We. Got. On. The. Bus.  We saw places in Washington and Baltimore that aren’t even on the maps.  And this was with a GPS device sitting next to her.  The big joke was that the GPS was programmed with an I-hate-bus-drivers mode.  On our way out of Washington, we made not one but two turn arounds where we got off the highway and went in the opposite directions.  We had to cancel one item on our itinerary because of all the lost time from getting lost.

Curb Jumping?  A few of us were ready to warn nearby pedestrians every time we got on the bus to watch their toes.  In her defense, there were a couple tight turns I would not have wanted to attempt.  But many of the curb hops were in bus lanes.  Someone in planning thought there was enough room for a bus there.

Whiplash? There was no problem with the Don’t-stand-while-the-bus-is-in-motion rule.  Standing while she drove was taking your life into your hands, or at least the part of your anatomy that was about to be lurched into the seat back nearby.

At one point we were all roasting because the air-conditioning was not turned on.  Our leaders did not want to distract her to ask about it because they had seen her inability to drive and turn on switches at the same time (assuming she knew which switch to turn on).

As we said goodbye (riddance?) to Karen for the last time, however, I learned something that changed my mind.  This was Karen’s very first trip behind the wheel.  She had her license, passed the tests, but never had actually taken a group out on tour.  Yet they sent her out with a group of fifth-graders on a tight schedule to three very busy areas, including one famous for its gridlock (both traffic and otherwise).

That is in direct violation of Step #6 in my process for creating strong, long-lasting employees.  Step #6 simply says… Give them a safe place to practice their new skills, a safe way to get on-the-job experience.  

Karen should have been making the simple drive through the night from Jackson, MI to Breezewood, PA and back again.  Get a few of those under your belt before you try to tackle a city like Washington, DC.

It would be akin to you training a brand new person on the staff and then handing her your most difficult customer under the most difficult circumstances right out of the chute.

Karen’s company did not do her any favors.  It will now be up to her own strength of character and how bad she wants this job, that will determine whether she decides to stay in this profession or moves on to something else.  She might end up being one of the best drivers ever.  She might walk away feeling like a failure. The worst is that she might walk away even though she could have been one of the best drivers ever, all because her company put her in a position to fail.

Don’t do that to your employees.  Set them up for success.  There is a simple, intuitive way to do it.  I’ve written it down for you here.

In the meantime, I’m pulling for Karen to succeed.  Wouldn’t you?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  Kudos to the adult chaperones and leaders on this trip.  The kids never fully knew what was going on (other than the constant lurching and curb-hopping).  And at the end of it all we had a safe and successful field trip.

The Waiting Game

Speaking of what to do while waiting…

I took this picture in the stall of the men’s bathroom at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. (sorry for the poor cellphone quality of the pic)

There were animal poop and pee facts in every stall.  (Did you know a blue whale can hold over 55 gallons of urine in his bladder?)

Some of the kids in my group were going into every stall of every bathroom just to read the facts.  Now that is a WOW Factor!

Bathrooms are great opportunities to surprise and delight.  This is just one way.  How many more ways can you create?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS One of the brilliant things about what the National Aquarium did is that fun facts like this are easy and desirable to share.  And we love to share!  If you’re going to steal this idea, Give your customers something share-worthy

PPS  This is a great project for the staff.  Show them this blog. Then set them free to create a bathroom that gets talked about… in a good way!  (Plus, if they create it, they will take more ownership to keep it clean.)

From the Mouths of Babes

I’m on a field trip with my fifth-grade son to Washington DC.  I get to watch over three young boys this evening.  So I asked them after a full day of touristing… What would you consider to be the best and worst customer service you received today?

The best?  Happened in the Food Court at the Old Post Office Pavilion.  The guy working the Chick-En-Joy stand had a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and passion for his food.  Got the boys fired up for eating chicken nuggets better than anyone this side of Ronald.

The worst? Waiting in line.  We waited to get off the bus.  We waited to get into breakfast.  We waited to enter the National Archives.  We even waited to go through security to enter a food court.  A lot of hurry-up and wait.

Not earth-shattering revelations, but two good lessons, nonetheless.

Lesson #1
No matter what your age, you will always be attracted to the person who has passion and enthusiasm for his products.  If nothing else, you will stop and listen to his pitch for his tasty chicken strips and nuggets even if you opt for the adobe chicken burrito two stands over.

Lesson #2
No one likes to wait in line.  Disney and other theme parks have learned this and found diversions to keep you occupied during necessary waits and delays.

What can you do distract, divert and delight your customers whenever necessary waiting is required?  Do you offer them a chair while you look something up?  Do you hand them reading material?  My chiropractor does that, always offering a new brochure asking “Have you read this?” at every visit.  Do you give them something to occupy their mind to make the wait go quicker?  We didn’t get any of that today, and it showed.

The kids have spoken.  Listen to the children.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  My favorite customer service was our tour guide at Gettysburg (our first stop on the way to DC).  He combined history, storytelling, and passion into a rocked-my-world presentation that makes me want to go back with the rest of the family… soon.  The clincher was the stories.  He knew we were from Michigan so he told us about how the Michigan 16th Calvary held the line against a more powerful Texas group and changed the course of the battle for good.  The details were rich and powerful and credible.  The emotions were palpable.  Tell stories about your business. They will make a difference and make people want to come back.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

You are not in business to make pennies.  You are in business to make dollars, lots of them, over a long period of time.

So why are you getting so upset at the customer who didn’t come in right away to use to the free gift certificate you gave her?  Why are you mad at her when she shows up a year later?  She showed up, didn’t she?

So why are you arguing with the customer over the return she wants to make because it wasn’t the right item for her?  Why are you making her angry just to save yourself from pulling a few dollars out of the drawer today?

So why are you fretting over the one customer who showed a few days after the coupon you sent her expired? Does the fact that 500 other customers showed up on time with their coupons give you a reason to make this one customer angry enough to post on Facebook about you?

Bob Negen of Whizbang Training came to Jackson to speak to our downtown businesses.  He told us a story that has stuck with me a long time.  He was buying an Apple Computer.  He had heard about how great they were.  Unfortunately, his wasn’t so great.  After three repairs, it still wasn’t working.  Never had worked.  They wanted to repair it one more time.  He wanted to start with a new one.  They said no.  And for the cost of one computer they lost his business forever.

Did I mention that his business had 5 computers at that time?
And he had 2 at home?
And he plans to be in business another 20 or so years?
And he needs printers, cables, mouses, too?
And he likes to upgrade to new stuff every three years?

Seven computers times seven upgrades equals 49 computers.  The Apple guy lost 49 sales because of that one sale.  Oh, but he saved the price of one computer (sarcasm intended).

Look at your horizon.  How long do you want to be in business?  When you take a long view of your business you see that every transaction is simply a means by which you get to earn another transaction.  Sometimes you will make money on this transaction.  Sometimes you won’t.  The goal of each transaction, however, is to delight the customer enough so that she will come back and bring her friends with her.  Nothing more, nothing less.

When you begin to look at it that way, you’ll be dollars (and sense) ahead of your competition.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS For more ways to delight customers and earn more transactions, check out my free eBook Customer Service: From Weak to WOW!.  

PPS  Thanks, Mary, for inspiring this blog.  Sorry that other toy store didn’t get it.

Not Wide Enough

I pulled into the hospital parking lot.  I had a Daddy Class to teach in 15 minutes.  I hate this parking lot.  Almost with a passion, which seems much too strong a feeling for a patch of pavement with white lines.

My problem is the white lines.  They are too close together.  My Chevy Silverado barely fits between them.  And with the extended cab back doors that swing open, it is impossible to get anything or anyone out of the back seat if a car is parked next to me.

And this is a hospital.  With elderly people.  With wheel chairs and walkers.  With babies.  With car seats and strollers.

If I don’t want to go into this parking lot (and it is empty on Saturday mornings when I go to teach my class, yet I still feel this way), I wonder how many other people get filled with negative thoughts before they even walk through the front door.

If you have control of your parking lot, control the emotions people feel when they pull in to visit you.  Make those lines at least ten feet apart, not nine feet (like the hospital) or even nine and a half like most lots.  Make the spaces wide enough so that moms with strollers and elderly with wheel chairs have plenty of room to maneuver.

Sure, you might have to give up a spot or two.  But a few less spaces filled by happy shoppers who feel good when they pull in is far better for your business than putting everyone in a foul mood before they walk through the front door.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  Those lost spaces often only come into play at peak times, and peak times are when people expect parking to be more of a hassle.  This is simply an exercise in managing expectations and feelings, the fundamental principle of Branding.

Financials You Can Understand

I told you about the book I wrote for the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association called Financials You Can Understand: Building Blocks for Successful Toy Stores.

The book is finished, published and available for purchase.

Here is what the editors wrote about the book…

“After reading this book you will know and understand all of the numbers in your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement – from where they came, what they mean and how you can make them stronger. You will know what other numbers you should be tracking and how they compare to other specialty toy stores. If you understand the basics, look for special boxes with advanced, in-depth knowledge on more detailed ways to track your numbers. Most importantly, you will know how to make your business better.”

Who should buy this book?

Anyone who owns a retail store and (or) feels clueless when the accountant starts talking about your financial statements will find this book amazingly helpful.

Although much of the discussion is designed around the toy industry, the information, insights, and analysis will translate well to any type of retailer.  If you struggle to understand your accountant when he talks to you, or struggle to wrap your head around all the numbers on your financial statements, this book will be like taking the coolest, easiest, most practical accounting class ever that makes it all something you can understand.

You can buy the book here.


-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  You can still download my Financials eBook for free.  It does not have the detail or analysis that this new book does.  But it does cover some basic stuff.

PPS  Yes, the book might seem expensive at first glance, until you see the value in it.  Even a small retailer will gain enough knowledge to recoup that investment in short order.

PPPS  Full disclosure.  I do not gain financially from the sale of this book.  I have received my compensation for writing it.  But like with everything I do, there is no satisfaction for me until you benefit from my efforts. Please buy a copy for yourself or as a gift to a fellow retailer who could benefit.