I love a good story.

The incredible building you see before you houses Brushstrokes studio in Berkeley, CA. Yes the entire building is the studio. I was recently afforded the opportunity to talk to her and her staff about the importance of the "buzz" about a place of business. (Thank you Jessica)
I once heard that "the only thing worse than people talking bad about you, is people not talking about you at all." Though I am not sure I buy into that hook, line and sinker. I do think that it is very important to give an extraordinary experience to your patrons. This insures they will tell an extraordinary story about you to anyone who will listen.

Satisfactory isn't enough. When we were in grade school C was "satisfactory" I know that nobody would like their place of business graded as a C. That being said, if someone is just "satisfied" that will be the grade you get. It won't really occur to them to talk about you at all. UGH!
What do we do to change that? Well, I really want the general public to hear good stories about you so let's focus on that. Maybe we'll talk about bad stories later with a crackling campfire and smores.
If you are in your place of business can you find that unique aspect that people talk about? Something that everyone wants to see or show off when they come in. It might even be your bathroom. If you don't have one, get one.-I don't mean the bathroom, though if you don't have one of those I hereby recommend that too.- I mean have something that is unique, interesting, weird or fantastic that people gravitate towards and show their friends. It creates buzz and is interesting to talk about when people leave. (I used to go to a store called "Earthsongs" when I was a kid. It always smelled like Orange Spice tea and had a 7 foot, long-legged frog on a swing hanging from the ceiling. I obviously still remember it to this day.) That type of magnet is irresistible and gets people through your doors.
Give incredible service above and beyond what is considered everyday service. Good enough isn't good enough. Impeccable is your goal! Do the extras. Pay attention to the customer. Invite them into your magical world and treat them as friends. People will remember that type of service.
Make every single thing you do extraordinary, pay attention to the fine details. . Make sure people remember you and your business. The General Public, as an entity, is an incredible marketing machine.
People love to tell a good story. What will the story about you be?

Location, location, location

Can you guess where this sign was strategically placed?

You guessed it, on the back of the door to the Men's restroom of course. The red ink on the quote is especially pertinent. I know it made me think twice.
Signs are great, even helpful but make sure they actually apply to the people to whom you are directing them.

Opportunity lost (part 2)

I received the following letter:

"Mr. Richard Morse:

I apologize for your experience here, at the Lincoln XXXXXXXXX location.

I unfortunately, was not supplied with the date and time of your recent visit to our store, nor the description of the associate / manager that you spoke with during your visit, however, I will investigate to determine who was responsible for the poor customer service you experienced. In addition I will be using this episode as a training opportunity for my entire team as to how to handle a simple customer request and as to what the expectations are going forward in order to exceed our customers expectations, every day, every time. It is my hope that you will find it in your good graces to give us another opportunity to serve you.

Once again, I do apologize for your experience. As you stated in your email customers are important, whether in good economic conditions, or bad, we want everyone that walks into our store to feel welcomed and valued.

If you would like to further discuss this incident or any other concerns please feel free to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXX"

It's a brush off, no fix letter but polite enough. What would have been better?

This situation is really about the story isn't it. In all the places we visit we are either given a story to tell or the place just becomes forgettable. I have a story about the aforementioned establishment. Though it isn't a very good story and mostly it's laced with negative connotation. A business should leave you with an incredible story to tell. Something uplifting and inspiring to share with your friends. If they do that they have won your business. Whether it be great customer service or a wonderful atmosphere. An incredible demonstration or even just being the most friendly people on Earth. All these stories have something in common. A reason to return.

What story are you giving people to tell?

Opportunity lost.

An interesting thing happened to me while trying to redeem a coupon. I should say in advance that the impetus of going to this retailer was the coupon itself. It promised $15.00 off with the purchase of $50.00. I just so happened to need a $50.00 item from this store. Yay me!
So first thing, this was an e-mailed coupon, which I proceeded to print out incorrectly. I printed the front page thinking it was the coupon. Wrong, in reality I should have clicked through to the actual coupon. (fingery air quotes around actual.) I take responsibility for this mistake, my bad.
I show up at the store with the worthless piece of paper I have printed out and am immediately told that this is not the actual coupon and I will have to leave get the coupon and return. I believe the word "seriously!" may have slipped out of my mouth but ultimately I may have been a little impolite. I asked might it be possible to just do an override so that I wouldn't have to drive home and reprint. Nope "a coupon is a coupon." I wonder if that is in the policy manual? As I left I was also told that if I hadn't copped such an attitude that she would have done an override but she wouldn't now. She showed me.
I leave and feeling very clever I go to a nearby hotel which has a PC in the lobby. I figure I will print the coupon there and go right back, no problem. Problem, the printer didn't cooperate and when I went to try again I had "exceeded the amount of times I was allowed to print" said coupon. Perfect!
Two lessons learned here.
One as a consumer: Try to eat lunch before trying to use a coupon that isn't a coupon. You may be more able to use charm and guile rather than be an starved, angry troll.

Two for the retailer: A coupons sole purpose is to bring the consumer into the store. Once you have the consumer there don't send them away with a spiteful barb. Use this opportunity to make a lifelong customer, fix their issue for them. They aren't incredibly likely to return and they will probably write a really extensive detail laiden e-mail to your stores HQ...to be cont'd.