A little tale about a 'Land Down Under'

Well all the time and money that has been poured into our oldest daughter's education is finally starting to pay off. This past week she asked if we would like to take part in a 'secret shopper' experience at a chain restaurant that shall go nameless. She said there would be a little money in it for us if we played our cards right. All very hush hush you know - on the QT. I can't tell you more right now. After all, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you now would it? Let's just say that they were interested in getting the skinny on a bloke from 'Outback'.

The adventure began with an e-mail from a guy named 'Andy' with a list of questions for before and after the dining experience, as well as detailed directions on how to photo document the visit. Without naming any of the companies involved I will just say that the instructions came from a courier company - we'll call them company X. Very mysterious...

Did I mentioned there was an envelope in the package stuffed with cash? Plot thickens, doesn't it? Now before you get carried away, it doesn't mean we are on the take, but actually they just wanted our 'opinions'. I guess they figured a little walking around money might loosen our tongues.

The first order of business was finding out what we knew about the restaurant in question. First it was all the typical stuff - what comes to mind when we think about the _________ restaurant? Why do you like to go there? What do you think of the food? But then they wanted to know some rather personal stuff. What other restaurants do we frequent?

It only got tougher when we had to go undercover. To make things less conspicuous we had the inlaws come along. It made the photos that we needed to take a little easier. We pretended we were tipsy and asked a passerby to take our photo - but make sure you get the _______ logo in the shot. So far, so good.

But thats where things got a little tougher. They wanted us to check out the place. What made it unique? What actually identified it as an __________ restaurant? It was tougher than I thought. The reality was it looked just like many other chain restaurants with all the flair of a Friday's and atmosphere of a Chili's. Now I have been to a few ____________ restaurants, but this place looked tired and the menu wasn't that much different than you might find at their competitors.

It was dark, lots of wood, noisy with a waiter named Jim, or Jimmy, or Bill or Bobby. The fact was it was kind of a bland experience. The ribs I had came with the same sides as both restaurants 'F' and 'C' and they were OK, but not memorable. I'd have to give this place a 'D'. The rest of the table had a similar experience - what looked great in the pictures wasn't matched by what was on the plate.

All of a sudden things were getting serious. When you really thought about it, this place had really slipped. It was obvious that nothing had been done to the place since they opened. The whole atmosphere was worn out and tired. It needed a facelift. My Father in Law, we'll call him 'Glenn' told us a story about a world class restaurant in Charleston, SC that actually closed for two months every five years to totally upgrade the place. Now that is a serious commitment of money and manpower. Not many places could afford to close for two months.

As I thought about it though, I think there are too many places that can't afford not to. Being in the Green Industry I started to wonder about some of the garden centers I'd visited over the years. Out of the hundreds we work with, only about a handful had actually upgraded their facilities in the last few years. Sure for those that did it took money, but many of these same places started out as pretty humble retailers. Many others just showed the wear and tear of years of neglect. Some times when you are so busy working in your business, you don't have the time to work on your business. You never seem to have the time to stand back and take an honest assessment of your business. For that reason and others, many retailers do use 'mystery shoppers' to gain some perspective on how customers really experience their business.

Now all kidding aside, in a time where competition is tough and the weak are falling by the wayside, it is more important than ever to deliver on the experience each and every time. After all, you never know who might be watching...

Not for the faint of heart...

While surfing the net today for news of the latest bailout – plus the fallout from another precipitous drop (-449 pts) in the stock market – I came across a link for a website called ireport.com with a questionnaire asking “What are you giving up?”

A quick poll was prefaced with the following:

“With a struggling economy and rising gas and food prices, many Americans are cutting back expenses to save money.

Tell us what you're giving up. Have you stopped eating out at restaurants? Cut your trips to the movie theater? Left your car at home on the weekdays?”

So as my wife and I were eating out at a new burger restaurant in town I was going on and on about the ramifications of the election, the economy and the impact on our customers – retail garden centers. In order to keep my blood pressure in check I told her I would not be watching the Red Sox tonight, but I knew all along we would be glued to the news trying to gain an insight into what it all means.

What will be the immediate impact to consumers? Simultaneously we agreed it was “consumer confidence”. Of course that confidence is affected by gas prices, hurricanes, and to top it all off… a presidential election.

Of course the next question was, “What do you do if you’re in retail?”

“Advertise” said Ann. Now is not the time for the faint of heart. The important thing is to get the message right. So, what is the right message?

Home, family and friends and the safety and security of what you know. Now is not the time to disconnect from your customers, but rather to reinforce your relationship. When things are tough people will fall back to what they know – home, family and the warmth and comfort that the fall and holiday seasons represent.

The message needs to be personal, meaningful and represent the real value of making the home warm and inviting. It should be an invitation to bring the family, have some fun decorating the house and share the season with you (the retail you).

Reinforce the fact that you are that local business where you’ve always shopped.

With that said, it is more important than ever to get it right, because consumers are going to look for value when they do eat out and shop.

Which brings us back to that new local restaurant - $30 for burgers and diet coke? Wrong. A wine bar at a build your own burger joint? Wrong. This ‘Counter Burger’ was right next door to a Moe’s Southwest Grill so the fact that CB was waitress service right next to the cafeteria style at Moe’s meant another $5 (in tip). Strike three and your out. One and done.

Retailer beware – When consumers are asked “what are you going to give up?” you better make sure it isn’t you and your business. This is just another reason for you to keep close to your customers.