The Marketers’ Senate

I don’t usually eat dairy and rarely have it at home.
I really enjoy ice cream, however, and occasionally will
go to a good ice cream store for their high quality treats.
In the western suburbs of Chicago there is a dairy run by a
family that has several stores, and more recently they’ve
expanded into other suburbs and into Chicago. When I stopped
at one of their stores recently, I asked for a sundae with a
little chocolate sauce, a little caramel sauce, and a little
marshmallow topping.

The girl behind the counter looked at the cash register/computer
with a furrowed brow as she tried to figure out how to take my order.
Next, she conferred with two other teenage employees who were behind
her making sundaes and other ice cream concoctions. There was
much whispering. After about 30 seconds she returned to the
counter and said to me, “We can’t do that. Our computer won’t let us.”

Your computer won’t let you?

“Yeah,” she replied. “We can make a chocolate sundae or a caramel
sundae or a marshmallow sundae. But not a mixture. The computer
doesn’t know how to do that. Unless you want to be charged for extra topping.”

I don’t want extra. I just want a little of each; say, 1/3 of a serving of each.

(By now I realized they needed a little help solving their
customer service problem, and since they were kids, I thought
it would be fun.)

Why don’t you just ring it up as a chocolate sundae but then
give me 1/3 of each of those toppings?

She thought for a moment and said, “Just a minute,” and then
conferred with a third teenage boy. This boy came out from
behind the back counter to check what I wanted personally, and
then said he would do it. He added, “If the other manager was
here today, I’d get chewed out for making your special request, though.”

I took that opportunity with him (and the teenage girl taking my order)
to say that their employer should not make it difficult for them
to serve customers and to fulfill a simple special request.
I acknowledged that I understood the computer stood in their way
and the systems in place were sometimes a stumbling block
(even though the systems were intended to help). They both seemed
relieved that I was not taking it out on them.

The young man commented that stores like theirs were set up to
charge customers more money for extra anything. I told
him that charging extra for extra is fine. In my case,
though, I didn’t want extra. He then had an “ah-ha!” moment and
replied, “Right! You want the equivalent of one serving coming
from 3 toppings.” So I got my chocolate, caramel, marshmallow sundae.
Then I moved out of the way so that they could wait on all the
other people who were lined up behind me.

The dairy computer got in the way of these employees so much that
they could not problem-solve until I helped them do it.

The funny thing is that I remember watching a Candid Camera show
about three or four years earlier that took place in one of these
dairy’s stores. In the bit, the Candid Camera actress worked behind
the counter with dairy employees telling customers that all they
had at the store that day was vanilla: vanilla with vanilla
with vanilla. She totally messed with the customers. She didn’t
need a computer to tell her anything. Once the bit was exposed, they
gave the customers anything they wanted.

If the dairy could be so creative as to work with Candid Camera on
some customer shtick, surely they can be more creative when it comes
to fulfilling simple requests from customers, right?

For any business, the bottom line is that if your employees feel
that they cannot serve your customers because your systems will
not allow them to do so, you may lose customers.

Therefore, set up systems that are relatively easy for your employees
to run (especially if you have young employees). In addition, make it
easy for your employees to serve your customers by creating systems
that are reasonably flexible.

Meanwhile, you never know when I might show up at your business and make a special
request. Could your system handle it? Could your employees work
around your systems to provide it?

When it’s least expected
You’re elected
You’re the star today!
Smile, Glory’s at your business!

With a hocus pocus
You’re in focus
It’s your lucky day!
Smile, Glory’s at your business!

© 2006 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in helping small business owners
(of 500 employees or less) to increase their Entrepreneurial IQ, which
leads to increased profit and decreased stress. Whether an entrepreneur is at the top
of his game like any top athletes you can think of today, or a rookie just
starting his business, Glory works with the entire spectrum of entrepreneur.
Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

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