...Four Lessons from my Dad's Shops...
I started working in the family business from the age of Five - stacking shelves, sweeping up to begin with, but by the age of Eight I was serving customers, moving vans and trucks in the yard and gong to market at 05.00 to buy the produce.
It was my first Business Apprenticeship, that lasted until I was 17, so as it's nearly 2015 - I thought I'd bring you a smile with the lessons and tips I learned from the sharp end of fresh food retailing...
1. Attractive people get the best service - when an attractive woman came into the shop they got noticed by the guys working there, and the same happened when a good looking guy walked in with the girls.
There would be a rush to be the one who served them, the trick was of course not to be seen to be so eager, that was not cool at all.
Ugly, unattractive or scruffy people got noticed too, for the opposite reasons and would be avoided; the trick here was to engineer the work and waiting customers so that you only served the good looking ones.
Lesson - always look your best, be polite and engaging and you will get much better levels of service than if you are ugly, rude or scruffy; if you cant be attractive, at least be tidy and polite. In Sales, you will sell more too...
There would be a rush to be the one who served them, the trick was of course not to be seen to be so eager, that was not cool at all.
Ugly, unattractive or scruffy people got noticed too, for the opposite reasons and would be avoided; the trick here was to engineer the work and waiting customers so that you only served the good looking ones.
Lesson - always look your best, be polite and engaging and you will get much better levels of service than if you are ugly, rude or scruffy; if you cant be attractive, at least be tidy and polite. In Sales, you will sell more too...
One Christmas a young man came into the shop and bought one apple, on orange, one banana, one tomato, a small tin of peas and a small piece of fish.
Doreen who was working on the checkout looked at him and his purchases and said "you are single aren't you..?"
"Yes.." he replied "how did you know...?
"Because you're an ugly @#$£..."
2. People buy on Greed not Price - for example, oranges were sold by quantity whereas apples were sold by weight, don't know why but they just were.
One orange would be priced at 10p, however, if we sold the same orange at a price of 4 for 50p, we sold more...
Note here how greed dazzles they eyes and intellect of the customer. There is a psychology to selling even fruit and vegetables that can be used in all areas of business - people buy what they believe gives them the best deal, not what actually does...
Lesson - bundling is great way of increasing volume and profits. Next time you are in the supermarket, check out the "£/ kg" or "£/litre" comparisons between individual products and those that are bulked together - you may get a surprise; and don't let greed be your only buying strategy.
Lesson - bundling is great way of increasing volume and profits. Next time you are in the supermarket, check out the "£/ kg" or "£/litre" comparisons between individual products and those that are bulked together - you may get a surprise; and don't let greed be your only buying strategy.
Tragically at one of the stores we had to fire Kevin for gross misconduct.
Kevin had been seen by customers and his co workers attempting to insert a large cucumber into both the bacon slicer and the bread mixer; so we really had no choice...
Unfortunately, we also had to fire the bacons slicer and the bread mixer too...
3. People buy with the Eye - Granny smith apples are the best looking apples. They are uniform in weight and size and have a thick peel that can be polished to a shiny and lustrous finish.
As a 6 year old one of my jobs was to stack the fruit for display. If I polished each apple, and stacked them in a perfect pyramid with tissue paper between each layer of the stack, they looked amazing.
These apples could be sold for 50% more than the same apples sold loose from a bin into which they had simply been tipped form the box.
Picture Credit - Wrensoft.com
Lesson - presentation is key. People believe that if something looks good, then it must be good, whatever you are selling, always present it well and package it properly (see below...) it is worth the effort.
These apples could be sold for 50% more than the same apples sold loose from a bin into which they had simply been tipped form the box.
Picture Credit - Wrensoft.com
Lesson - presentation is key. People believe that if something looks good, then it must be good, whatever you are selling, always present it well and package it properly (see below...) it is worth the effort.
One year we had a Christmas party at the Birmingham branch an all staff were in fancy dress; being six I, came as a Dwarf...
Steve arrived late and was not in costume, but he had decided to bring his girlfriend along...
Seeing he was not in costume, Dad challenged him at the door of the shop before allowing him in...
"what have you come as...?" he barked...
Quick as a flash, Steve replied "Ninja Turtle..."
"...and who's this...? Dad enquired...
"It's Michelle..."
You may need to think about this one...
4. Packaging adds value and fools the Eye - selling flowers at some of our shops, we had to find a way of selling them quickly and at good margin. Flowers don't last long in storage and they are easily damaged so stock loss tends to be high.
Danny, who had been thrown out of the Army for stealing a Tank whilst on deployment in Germany - it was only a small Tank apparently, had a bright idea...
Danny, who had been thrown out of the Army for stealing a Tank whilst on deployment in Germany - it was only a small Tank apparently, had a bright idea...
One Rose would sell for £0.95, however, if we packed it in a square plastic tube with a gift card and a red bow on it, we could sell them for £4.95.
The packaging cost around £0.50 so this was great for margin too - Danny also offered to write the cards for an extra £1.00 too...
The packaging cost around £0.50 so this was great for margin too - Danny also offered to write the cards for an extra £1.00 too...
Lesson - it's not what you sell it's how it appears to the buyer. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder as value is in the mind of the customer.
Packaging of your product is key, and so is the packaging of your service - what do you surround your service with that makes it look and feel better to your customers..?
Packaging of your product is key, and so is the packaging of your service - what do you surround your service with that makes it look and feel better to your customers..?
One Saturday, Helen who was a regular, attractive and polite A Grade customer came into the shop...
She looked upset and anxious so Kevin (before he was sacked for his Cucumber episode..) asked if she was OK...
She replied that she had been to the doctor with a worrying condition that she was concerned about...
She told Kevin that the symptoms included having a lettuce leaf protruding out of her underwear...
"That sounds terrible..." Kevin said..
"...and that's just the tip of the iceberg..." replied Helen...
From all the Team at Results Rules OK we wish you a Healthy, Wealthy and most of all Fun 2015...
David Holland MBA is the Founder and CEO of Results Rules OK, a Business Coaching, Training and Publications Company with offices in France, Luxembourg and the UK...
To find out more about working with David as you Business Coach, Executive Coach or Team Trainer - just drop him a note todavidholland@resultsrulesok.comfor an introductory and complimentary discussion that just could change your life, your business and your results...
If you'd like to come to one of our Events to meet David, the Team and some of his Clients, then check out the website HERE - we look forward to seeing you and hearing from you...
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