from c 1997, Washington Business Journal
October 13, 1997
Sales Moves
Bagel, bagel on the wall, Who's the fairest of them all?
Jeffrey Gitomer
I love bagels! Nine years ago when I moved to Charlotte you couldn't find one. Now they're everywhere. New bagel shops on every corner. I went into a gas station yesterday -- free bagels with a fill-up.
Soon, the war will heat up for bagel supremacy in Charlotte. Meantime, the field of competitors is settling in. The winner will be determined by how well their customers talk about them behind their backs -- word of mouth advertising. Here are three cases for you to judge for yourself
Case 1: Teresa and I just finished a long jog. I panted, "Let's stop at that new Einstein Brothers Bagel before we go home. I think it just opened." I walked up to the entrance only to find a sign: "Open next Monday." Rats. Before I could turn away, a man jumped
up from his seat in the store window, ran out to greet me and said, "If you're here for bagels, we don't have any today, but here's a coupon for two free bagels when we open up on Monday."
Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I was expecting, "Sorry, we're closed." I went back Monday. The place was packed. The staff was friendly. The bagels were good -- but no egg bagels, my favorite. I asked, "Do you have any egg bagels?" "No," she said "But we've had lots of requests for them. Come back in two days -- they'll be here." I did. They were.
Wow. I wasn't expecting that, I was expecting, "Sorry we don't have them yet." I bought six bagels -- they gave me a seventh free. Friendly people, good bagels and they gave me another coupon for a free bagel with cream cheese if I came in before the end of the month. Double wow.
Case 2: 7:56 a.m., Saturday. I drive to Manhattan Bagel on my way to a meeting. A crowd of people stood outside the door peering in the window. The sign on the door says 8 a.m.-noon. I tap on the glass. Someone looks up at me and mouths "8 o-clock," in an act of defiance.
Now it's 8 a.m. on the dot, my tapping on the window changes to banging on the window. An angry man barges out the door, obviously annoyed with having to open the store on time. I couldn't help but say, "I apologize for wanting to buy something from your store so your children can eat tonight." Which he took as an insult.
Bagel man swore at me several times. I went inside the store, where the cashier gave me five rude excuses about how many wholesale account orders had to be filled that morning and how the boss is too cheap to hire enough people, and how she offered to quit, and other assorted inane comments.
I got my bagels and exited the store alive. Vowing never to return, I made a mental note that they could stock an additional profit item -- bullet proof vests.
Case 3: After another jog, I stopped at Bruegger's Bagels. I got to the front of the line, ordered an egg bagel. "We don't have egg bagels," she said triumphantly. "How come?" I asked. "Egg bagels have too much cholesterol in them," she said. "We serve health conscious bagels."
Really, I thought. They put enough cream cheese on their bagels to harden your arteries by the time you got to the cash register. Why don't they just tell me they don't feel like making egg bagels or that egg bagels cost too much or that they decided not to make egg bagels. I could live with that. Why don't they just tell me the truth?
So I continued, "Just give me a plain bagel, and toast it, please." "We don't toast bagels," she said triumphantly. "Oh," I said. "Does anyone ever ask for toasted bagels?" "Sure, all the time," she said. "But we don't do it."
Think about that for a second. Here's a store that delivers a hypocritical message about health to their customers and has made a conscious decision to ignore customer requests -- often. Good move. Seems like the kind of attitude that will keep customers coming back. Not.
Bagel report: I like bagels. I like toasted bagels. I like egg bagels. I like friendly people. Those being my desires, the field of bagel stores has narrowed to a precious few. And while the above three stores remain open for business, my big question about the second two is, for how long?
When competition stiffens, the only businesses that survive are the ones that offer the best value, friendly memorable service and customer satisfaction. The same in your business.
Think about that the next time you want your bagel toasted. Think about that the next time you tell your customer no.
Jeffrey Gitomer is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Business Marketing Services and author of "The Sales Bible." Write to Sales Moves, c/o Washington Business Journal, 2000 N. 14th St., Suite 500, Arlington, Va. 22201, or fax to (703) 875-2231.
c 1997, Washington Business Journal |
