|
| |
Fast Food and You
If you're dieting, chances are you don't want to eat in a fast food restaurant. But now they offer healthy alternatives, so you can choose a quick, healthy lunch or dinner. Most of the fast food chains, like McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Wendy's and Burger ...
Home Cooked Fast Food
Many years ago a nifty little device came out called the Crock Pot. You could cut up a bunch of veggies, meat, and spices, dump them in the pot, and it did all the hard work. You came home at the end of the day and Presto you had a nice hearty meal. Add a ...
The Value Of Water Content Food
Do you want to know how to feel good? Do you want to be vibrant for a long time? Take care of your body and it will take care of you. Digestion takes probably more energy than anything else. The average meal takes 3 hours and 30 minutes to digest if ...
|
|
|
| |
Food can motivate! Let me share a couple of examples I have recently observed. I have an 11-month-old puppy that loves to go in the car. He especially likes to go through the drive-thru at McDonalds. Now I am sure that the reason is that it smells so good and if he is a "good boy" he may get something too. The first time we went through the drive-thru, the young lady at the first window said, "here's some "cookies" for your puppy!" Wow! Zeke was thrilled and I was so impressed that she noticed him and recognized he was a puppy AND that she gave him a treat so that I wasn't giving him "people" food. What customer service! I really think there was a smile on his face and I certainly had a better feeling about McDonalds!
My second example comes from, of all things, a department store! I love department stores. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and as far back as I can remember, my favorite thing to do was to go downtown and walk into the big department stores with my mom. You always got dressed up and if you were lucky, you got to eat like a "lady" in the restaurant in the store which was usually on one of the top floors of the building. My fondest memory, which sticks with me today, was the smell of the main floor of the department store. The sweet smell of perfume and make-up was heavenly. There were large crystal chandeliers hanging like clusters of diamonds and the marble floors were buffed to perfection. I think that was when I learned that buying make-up was a shopping experience. To this day, I feel slightly intimidated by the ladies at the cosmetic counter. They always look perfect with their crisp uniforms and flawless make-up. I usually catch a glimpse of myself in one of those large mirrors on the counter and notice lines, and bags, and eyebrows that need plucked, and then they say, "May I help you?" Help? I think I need more than help! Usually when I calm down, I somehow realize that what is in those shiny black compacts and perfectly bottled "potions" will tighten, erase, and beautify even me! Now having said that, why would any cosmetic line choose to offer me FRENCH BREAD as a promotional item and why would food motivate me to come to a department store to buy high priced cosmetics? Maybe it's because it's French bread and this cosmetic line has a French name and combining the two will transport my mind, and purse to Paris! Whatever the reason, women flock to the cosmetic counter to once again, buy promises of beauty and leave with a $2.50 loaf of slightly stale French bread!
Food motivates! Good merchandising techniques motivate as well.
What new techniques are you using to attract your customers? What motivates your customers? Do you even know? Have you tried something different and evaluated their reaction. Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to win the attention of your customers. You also have to be crazy not to. Doggie cookies, French bread, free samples, what is it that you can do different in your business.
Customer service isn't about providing the expected; it's about providing the unexpected! Pass the butter!
Anne M. Obarski is the "Eye" on Performance. She is an author, speaker, trainer, and Executive Director of Merchandise Concepts, a Pittsburgh, PA- based business consulting service. Anne works with companies and employees who want to serve, sell and communicate more effectively. She presents keynotes, workshops and seminars nationwide. Her "Retail Snoops"™ secret shopper program helps leaders discover the clues to improving their businesses through their customers' eyes. Reach Anne at http://www.merchandiseconcepts.com or mailto:anne@merchandiseconcepts.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Alabama sheriff locked up for underfeeding inmates - Detroit Free Press
U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon had court security arrest Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett after dramatic testimony from skinny prisoners about paper-thin bologna and cold grits. The hearing offered a rare look into Alabama’s unusual practice of ...
Kidnapped aid workers released - WTHI
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Two aid workers kidnapped from Ethiopia by Somali gunmen more than three months ago have been released in good health, their organization said. French aid group Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) said in a statement that ...
FACTBOX-Emerging Gaza ceasefire plan - Reuters AlertNet
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Israel, Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have entered talks with Egypt to try to iron out the terms of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Western diplomats predicted a difficult negotiation ahead. Israel is seeking ...
Officials: CDC probe into salmonella outbreak includes Ga., Minn ... - Los Angeles Times
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota are among the states that are part of a national salmonella outbreak that has sent at least a dozen people to the hospital and sickened nearly 400 people, officials said Thursday. Forty-two states have ...
Palestinians find 35 bodies in Gaza battle zone - Denver Post
Palestinians ride a motorcycle past the rubble of a building that was hit in Israeli airstrikes in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into northern Israel early ...
|
