Carmel Apple Latte Please.

I am standing in line once again at my local coffee place. The guy in front of me gets to the counter and the barista says, “Your usual?” The guy nods and hands her his coffee debit card and then moved to the end of the counter to wait for his “usual”

While I was waiting in line I was perusing the menu list and noticed several new seasonal offerings. When I got to the front of the line and it was my turn to order the barista asked me if I would like to try the Pumpkin Spice latte or the new Carmel Apple offering. I went for the Carmel Apple. I paid my tab and then moved down to the end of the counter to wait for my new taste sensation to be concocted.

As I slowly sucked down my coffee drink I began to think about both transactions. Mine resulted in a verypleasurable experience with my new got-to-have another one seasonal special versus the guy in front of me that was not offered the special at all. He seemed OK with the whole thing. I think he probably would not have bought a seasonal special in place of his “usual.” Actually, I probably would not have purchased the seasonal special if I was not asked if I wanted one.

So, why was I asked and he was not? Was he slighted? Or was I because the barista did not recognize me from my numerous prior purchases?

Then I realized the real loser here was the coffee house owner. Why? Simple. The seasonal special was $2.00 more that just a cup of coffee. If the business served 400 customers per day and 10% were like me and responded to the suggestive selling the result would be an additional $29,200 per year.

Knowing your customers buying preferences is crucial to growing a profitable business. Knowing who is a regular and what they generally want and having it ready for them even before they ask can be a shinning example of terrific customer service. But, as you can see from my example in this case extraordinary customer service may stifle growth if you are making assumptions for your customer. Can you think of examples like this in your own business? Do you have situations where you are not asking for the order? Do you have regular customers that you continue to fill their orders and do not suggest new products or promotions?

All too often we confuse customer service with the sales process, or emphasis one over the other. To grow a profitable business you need both. Without an active sales process there would not be any customers to provide extraordinary customer service for. And without execution of an extraordinary customer service program there would be fewer and fewer customers to sell to.

Do not miss the opportunity to make additional sales to your existing customer base. This is the quickest and most effective way to build sales. And often your customer will thank you for your attention. Give it a try!

What is the cost of a cup of coffee?

I was standing in line the other day at a local coffee house. I was waiting in a line that was about 8 or 10 people deep. A few feet away were people in a different line. Those in the second line were customers who only wanted a cup of coffee, where those in the line I was in wanted anything else on the menu.


Two things became very clear to me as I was waiting for my morning "fix" of a steaming hot Latte. The first was that the other line was moving much faster than the line I was in. That bit of information is actually not news at all since somehow I always choose the wrong line to stand in. I have an uncanny talent for getting in the slowest line at the movies, checking out at the supermarket, at my bank or any other place where I can stand waiting to give someone my hard earned dollar.

The fact that the other line was moving faster is not the focus of this month's Small Business Talk. The revelation that I had while standing in that slow moving line was that the other line seeming to get better service. I am not saying that the customers in the "regular line," where I was, were not getting good service. My point is the customers in the fast moving "express line" were actually spending less money per transaction than those of us in the regular line, but we had to wait longer. Point being; what kind of a message is being sent by the use of the express line? Could it be that this particular establishment values the small, quick commodity sale over the larger, high value/high profit sale? Is management saying that the $2 coffee customer is more important than the $4 latte or the coffee and muffin or coffee and breakfast sandwich customer? It does not matter what the intended concept was. The result was that a clear message was being sent to those of us in the regular line that we were not special, or at least not as special as the coffee only customer. That violates the number one rule in dealing with the public; that is, all customers are special.

The question for you is, "What mixed messages are you sending in your business? What can you change in your order process, work flow or customer service that would clearly shout that you believe all customers are special?"

So, that was my first revelation that morning.

My second thought was that my mind focuses on too many negative thoughts before I get my much needed caffeine. Or, is it that I need to go back to just ordering coffee in the morning, so I too can use the express line?

If any of this makes any sense to you? Or if you have created solutions to this type of customer service challenge? Then please share it with others.

Please weigh in with your take on this issue and post your comment on my blog. Let's hear from you.

Michael