Unique Pricing Tactic: Customer Service IS a Two-Way Street

Chris Morran of The Consumerist, a blog from the Consumer Reports people, featured the menu posted at a cafe in France (appropriately enough, in Nice!)

Three different prices for a cup of coffee, depending on how politely you order. 

• "Coffee" --- $9.65

• "Coffee, please." --- $5.85

• "Good day! Coffee, please." --- $1.95 

Yes, that's right. Your coffee costs much more if you are abrupt or rude! 

Apparently it began as a bit of fun from the frustrated workers, who had grown weary of being treated rudely by the customers, Morran writes. And now, it's part of the actual posted menu. 

"It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to us when they ordered a coffee," explains the cafe's owner. "I know people say that French service can be rude but it's also true that customers can be rude when they're busy."

The owner says he hasn't yet been compelled to charge anyone the higher price and that the sign has resulted in his regular customers now being overly polite when they order. 

"They started calling me 'your highness' when they saw the sign," he say

A timely idea you can use in your stores? 

What a great way to keep retailing fun! And to gently remind customers that customer service IS a two-way street!

Oh. But of course, "Thank you!" for the idea!!

Every Retailer's Dread: "Too Much Inventory!"

"So, retailers, how much inventory should you have on December 31?" Now, thanks to The Retail Owners Institute's online BUYING PLAN Forecaster, any retailer can find out. Anytime, from anywhere. For free!

That's right. Retailers now can develop their own inventory buying plan whenever they need it. From their laptop, their tablet, even their smartphone! In just minutes. All online, in the cloud. And now, FREE unlimited online access!

"Why is it free?" 

That's a fair question! Two main reasons:

1. Unfortunately, there are lots of in-house spreadsheets used by retailers that are well-intended, but not necessarily accurate. So, we want to make it easy to get correct Open-to-Buy calculations.
2. The ROI's goal in everything it does is to bring the power of better inventory control and improved cash flow (and more peace of mind!) to more retailers. This basic BUYING PLAN Forecaster can help.

The ROI's view: "Retailers, be our guest, 24/7 from anywhere!"

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About The ROI's BUYING PLAN Forecaster. 

• With just 3 easy inputs of numbers you know, you can find out in minutes how much inventory to bring in, and when, to meet your goals for sales, margins and turns. 
• Immediately get monthly buying budgets, targeted Ending Inventory (that's the key number!) amounts for each month, even the projected GMROI for as many plans as you want.

And it's dynamic! Want to see "what would happen if I...?" No problem! Change turns. Or change sales in some of the months. Or adjust margins. See immediately what difference that makes. All on your own!

The Institute's BUYING PLAN Forecaster is one-of-a-kind.

• Online, in the cloud. Nothing to download or install.
• The formulas are all built in.
• Sophisticated, accurate, and fast.
• Easy for retailers to use!

And now, even better, it is available for any retailer, anywhere, to use anytime. For FREE!  

Retailers, don't let your inventory "get out of whack!" 
Why wait? Try it yourself. Just go here on The ROI site.

Now, Lenders Compete(!) to Lend to Retailers

Is there any opportunity for a responsible retailer to get reasonable financing?! 

Our quest to find a positive answer for that question has gone on for years.

That's why we have developed a new service: Banks4Retailers.com.  

Now retailers can do their own comparison shopping - for lenders!

Here is the concept behind this new website:

• Retailer Track Provide the tools for a retailer to put together a responsible, substantive loan proposal.
• Lender Track Find lenders who are able to evaluate a retail business on its merits, not just its industry label. 
• Reviews by Retailers  We are providing a platform for retailers to share their experience with these lenders:
  • Were you treated with respect?
  • Would you refer other retailers to them?

The 5 very different organizations on the Find Lenders page provide access to over 2,500 sources of financing, from traditional banks to "alternative lenders" to investment funds. They offer streamlined matching services between a retailer's financing request and willing lenders. All online, in retail time. 

Is this what they call "disruptive lending"? 

We sure hope so! 

But, like everything else in retailing this is an on-going experiment! 

• We make no guarantees that any retailer can obtain financing. 
• We are not recommending one lender over another, nor does any lender's appearance on the site constitute our endorsement of them.

Our goal is simple: provide a free service to retailers – a no-cost, no obligation service – where lenders compete for your business.

Please go check it out. And let us know what you think. Even better, add your comments on the Review page for Banks4Retailers; share your thoughts with other retailers.

Thanksgiving Day Store Openings...Really?!

The announcements of retailers with plans to open on Thanksgiving Day just keep coming. We have a few thoughts about the disintegration of the sanctity of Thanksgiving Day. But first, some background.  

Every retailer is keenly aware of the slow-to-revive national and international economy. Currently, as we all are probably aware, the results for retailers are decidedly bifurcated.

• The deep-discount, low-cost operators are generally doing okay;
• the high-end luxury retailers are getting considerable publicity as they continue to out-perform the economy.   
• But where and why is the crunch?

The big picture looms up: mid-priced retailers (a very vague description, granted) are stepping all over each other.

There is an abundance of excess product available, a general lack of specialness, and with an all-time high of 23.1 square feet of retail space per capita (highest in the world, by far), the crunch on the mid-range retailers has become an ugly sight.

So, what does that have to do with Thanksgiving Day store openings? Our sense is that the retailers who have announced Thanksgiving Day openings are the most crunched.

They are seeking any potential advantage that they can. We don't blame them for it, but it is a sad and telling sign.

Moreover, they are chasing market share (a bit like chasing a mirage.) "If we aren't open, we will lose volume to our competitors."  But at what cost?

Our message to you won't be a surprise: Keep the perspective! How to do that?

Your retail operation should always be observing your surroundings and competition. But, never get caught up in the media hype or the herd mentality ("Everybody else will be open.")

Instead, keep your focus on your very best customer. Ask yourself, "Would they really care whether or not we are open on Thanksgiving?" (Our guess in most cases: Probably not.)

Meanwhile - sigh - will store openings on Christmas Day be next??

How to "See" Your In-Store Traffic Patterns - Free!

Yep, there's an app for that! 

Here's an FYI for you: we recently discovered a "time lapse" app to use with the camera of a smart phone.

• With your camera phone set to video mode, it automatically snaps the shutter at whatever time interval you set.
• Then, when you watch the video, it has condensed the action that occurred over hours into minutes.
• And best of all, it can be FREE!  Just search for "time lapse" on your app store. 

We can think of lots of ways for retailers to take advantage of this "in-store traffic copter".

• Which way do people turn when they come into our store?  
• Do folks hesitate once inside, not knowing where to go? 
• Which displays attract customers?
• Which ones do they seem to disregard?
• How many shoppers actually get to the back of our store?
• And, this one is fun: how often do we see our sales staff actually moving away from the cash wrap??

Pictures ARE worth a thousand words  

These time lapse sequences can highlight all kinds of opportunities in your store. Plus, they can help yourecognize any trouble spots.  

Then, after you've made some adjustments, do another time lapse study to see whether that helped!  

It's free (well, some apps are free.) It's fun. And it's a great way to involve your staff as well.  Just check on any of the app stores for "time lapse".