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How To Lose & Then Regain A Customer

I spend a lot of time traveling between client sites that are a ways away from my office. The two places I usually choose to spend that time are Starbuck's and Borders Bookstores. They both have T-Mobile and are nice places to work. If I have a long period of time I will usually go to a Borders and when I get stuck or just need a break from what I'm working on I will walk around and pick up magazines, books, CD's, etc. I can also get something to snack on and the all-important coffee jolt to get me through the day!

Being a lover of knowledge I spend a ton of money on books every year. The tactical ones I know I want are usually ordered on Amazon for the convenience. It's the things I see when wandering around that I will buy at Borders or in the airport.

Now I'm sure that I'm not alone in this and there are hundreds of thousands of professionals who have similar habits out there. I also bet that these people make up the majority of the profits that a book store sees because of the average purchase size being $100+ and frequency several times per month.

So, what got me irritated?

In the last few weeks I've been having several meetings near a Borders in Sacramento in a higher end shopping center and down the street from CSUS campus. My guess is that there are a higher percentage of people like me in this area than in other areas - just a thought.

What do I need when I go to a Borders? Just a table and power outlet. Give me those two things combined with snacks and coffee and I'll likely spend $50+ between books, magazines and food over the course of a couple hours.

What does this Borders have? No power outlets except one in the corner where they moved all tables away from and put a sticker on it saying "DO NOT USE - NO LAPTOPS" Basically "GO AWAY AND DO NOT GIVE US YOUR MONEY!" Last night after my laptop dies but a couple hours before I was going to leave I still wanted to buy a few things that I was looking at. After standing in line for 10 minutes I gave up and left. They got a grand total of $1.90 for a cup of coffee.

This morning I went to another, friendlier Borders and they also only have one outlet but they have put a long table right next to it, added a second outlet on the column and even put up a sign saying that this table was "Reserved For T-Mobile Customers."

What a contrast! Well, I got a coffee - then a water - then a snack - then got some work done - then left buying $90 worth of books.

I'm sure that the few dollars it cost them to add the second outlet in next to the existing one so that 4 people at a time could take advantage of the one table has come back to them many times over. It made me think about how much money the other Borders saved on electricity from pesky people like me "stealing" their power.

But wait - the story gets even better. Back to the first store. When I was working last night I saw what looked like a management team walking around doing inspections and generally looking to improve the place. I asked if they truly wanted my opinion - and they actually said yes. I told them everything I stated above and they nodded and thanked me for my input.

Honestly I figured it was the usual worthless "we want your opinion as a customer but not really" thing that is so common in today's business world. What amazed me is that tonight I returned to that Borders and in less than 24 hours they had moved a large table next to the outlet!

Simple fix - and as I write this I'm sitting here next to another business owner and we both have a stack of books we are getting ready to buy.

Are you doing simple things that seem smart (like saving pennies on electricity) but keep your customers from spending as much money as they can?

Do you take customer feedback and turn it into action that quickly? I am confident that my purchases this evening will more than pay for not only the electricity that I used but also for the labor it took to get this table moved into location.

I bet you can look around your business and find at least a dozen things you do that irritate customers just a little.

I bet you can solve all these problems for pennies.

I bet that the improved customer satisfaction will show up on your bottom line.

Posted by David Brown on November 19, 2006 03:16 PM|Permalink

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