What can we learn about customer experience from ‘Mom and Pop’ stores?
Why do small businesses have that magical touch when dealing with their customers? They don’t have large budgets for things like staff training or tech (in fact are quite constrained by cash flow); but are still able to offer delightful experiences to their customers.
Alibaba recently enlisted some 600,000 traditional mom-and-pop neighborhood stores across China to act as delivery centers in order to remove friction from customer journeys — and a recognition of what it now takes to deliver consistent customer experiences.
Here are a few things that every organisation can learn from them.
1. They build emotional connections!
The first thing that usually happens when you walk into a small store is that you’re met with a huge beaming smile. If you’re a regular there will most likely be an exchange of banter and pleasantries. Similarly on the way out, you’ll be met with a genuine “thank you for your business”. How many organisations actually do this with their customers?
The last time I dared to set foot into a bank branch, I was met with a teller who had the most bored look on their face and the most robotic responses. Talk about someone who was very disgruntled with what they were doing!
Questions for your business: How do your staff greet your customers at both the start and end of the customer interaction? Do you know your regular customers by name and their preferences?
2. They are happy to personalise services for you (and at no extra cost)!
During a recent family visit to a well known restaurant chain in Nairobi, my little ones were after some fish fingers and chips. They didn’t offer this on their menu but had a regular battered fish and chips. So, I asked the waitress if it was possible to cut up the fillet into fingers for the little ones and was met with a quick ‘No’ response. This made no sense to me at all given how simple it is to do this. I asked her if she could ask the chef if they could prepare it. I swear she rolled her eyes at me and headed off…not sure if she did go into the kitchen or instead headed off into a dark corner where she wouldn’t be seen; but came back pretty quickly and indicated it wasn’t possible to do this.
In comparison, we also frequent a local pizza place who are more than happy to customise pizzas for us and at usually no extra charge. Take a guess as to where we usually eat!
As another example; I also visit a more boutiquey cafe on a regular basis. The first thing they do is greet me by name and ask me if I’d like my regular order of a long black. Now and then, they’ll also surprise me by asking me if I’d like to try something new (could be off the menu), that they think I’ll enjoy.
Questions for your business: Do you only offer a ‘vanilla’ product/service/experience to your customers? Have you empowered your employees to go beyond the ‘vanilla’ without need for escalation? Do you really need to charge for simple personalised services?
3. They make it easy and convenient for you!
Mom and pop stores spring up in neighbourhoods and offer convenience. It’s easy to get to them as they are located relatively close to where you live, and they remain open till much later to accommodate people’s own working hours.
I like going to my hair dresser because he knows exactly what I want. It’s quick and efficient. Similarly, my wife has a consistent set of people she will use for her beauty needs and she has not changed them in a very long time. The reason for this is that they know exactly what we want and deliver without any fuss.
Here’s another great example that I read off my LinkedIn feed: On their way home in India, an Uber driver asked their passenger if they would like to watch the India-South Africa cricket match live. When they replied that they didn’t mind, the driver pulled out a much larger screen device, clamped it above his existing phone, attached the device’s audio output to his car speakers and streamed the match live! He went on to explain how he uses video streaming to keep himself and his passengers engaged. The passenger further narrated about how they enjoyed his match analysis too.
Talk about a simple but wow experience!
Questions for your business: How are you making it easy and convenient for your customers to do business with you? Do you have a really, really long IVR response tree or is it quick for a customer to speak to a member of staff? Do you ask customers for information you already have? How quickly can you resolve issues for your customers and how often do you communicate progress to them?
4. They don’t have hidden surprises!
Another food related example: How many times have you been to a restaurant and had a discrepancy with the prices on the menu vs. the prices on the receipt? I also get really irritated when these restaurants think it’s okay to do this and we engage in a heated argument about who’s at fault.
Similarly, have you had an insurance claim turned down because you missed out on a small technicality that you weren’t made aware of but it was hidden somewhere in the small print of your policy document?
With small stores, what you see is what you get. There are no extra hidden charges.
Questions for your business: How transparent are you with your customers? Do you treat your customers fairly? How much of the small print can you remove? Are you open about your fees and pricing structures?
