What Really Earns Loyalty in the Local Business World?

Worms in the rice bin of the bulk section of the local grocery store! Yuck! Reply from the store clerk? A very bored “Oh.” No apology, no offer to get a manager. Not even an, “Eww!” of shared feeling.

I’ve never bought bulk from them again.

The wormy rice grocery store clerk could have mirrored my dismay and gotten a manager over immediately to explain how the merchandise had gotten bugs in it, and have let me seen them removing the bin before I left the store.

Staff not only need to be treated empathetically by employers, but need to be trained to share that culture of empathy when confronted with customer complaints.

Shopping for an exercise bike at the local sporting goods store, I was pleased to find floor models you could try out. Unfortunately, none of the staff knew how to turn the bikes on. They all stood there scratching their heads and saying, “I dunno. Maybe there’s a key or something.”

Needless to say, a transaction never happened.

Staff could have phoned the owner to ask how to operate their bikes, or at least have taken my name and number to have the owner invite me back for a personal demo.

Owner could have assured me he was scheduling a staff-wide training session to ensure I’d have a better experience next time.

In the midst of a family emergency in a rural area, I needed lodging pronto. What I found was a room filled with dead bugs, inch-thick dust, and a fridge festooned with green mold. Owner response? His housekeeper was having “emotional problems” and he guessed he ought to check up on the place from time to time. Ya think?

Had to scramble for another place to stay in the next town, which was the last thing I needed to be doing that day.

This couldn’t be fixed on the spot because the owner had let things slip for too long. He might have offered to help me find another place to stay, given me some local coupons, or done something to express his regret.

Any business owner who isn’t overseeing his own business lacks the necessary commitment to succeed.

My community has a hate-hate relationship with the only local fabric store franchise, attested by a volume of negative reviews. The place is an absolute mess and basic, high-quality fabrics are almost always lacking. The inventory is cheap and disorganized.

I’ll drive for hours to shop elsewhere, or shop online. This chain is my very last resort of desperation, because I know I’ll be disappointed and feel unhappy if I go there.

Read the bad reviews and then poll the customers to find out what local sewing enthusiasts would love to see stocked in the inventory. And keep the store clean at all times!

Playing the monopoly card because you’re the only game in town is not going to win loyalty. Should a more responsive competitor open its doors, the existing chain could see its customers leave in droves.

When the electronics franchise in my area sold me an external hard drive that blew out my computer, I expected… something. Maybe an apology? Maybe a free fix-it service? I got neither.

Instead, I got a condescending speech from a manager explaining that he wasn’t responsible for the products he sold. If I wanted to pay his tech team for diagnosis, they’d get back to me in a week to tell me how much more it would cost to fix my computer. I haven’t trusted the company since.

Instead of rudeness, the manager could have mirrored the horror I was feeling about my computer, offered free overnight diagnosis, and demonstrated that corporate policy stood both behind the products sold and behind me — the customer!

Any business policy that fails to recognize that customers are the lifeblood of existence is exposing a glaring weakness, and a competitor with a genuine plan to win customer loyalty can make that weakness work for them.

Twice a month, I take a 3-hour trip to shop at an independent market that offers a selection of produce and groceries with which the local natural food chain can’t even compete. The food has a clear emphasis on local sourcing, is clearly labeled with its farm or origin, is fresher, and — a major biggie for me — is 100% organic.

Markets nearer to me simply don’t have this superior quality, aren’t 100% organic, and often carelessly mislabeled products.

You’ll notice I didn’t say I shop there because it’s cheap. Quality matters more to me than anything when it comes to the food I purchase, so I’ll go a country mile and to some expense to get the best I can afford. This can be applied to any product lineup when the customer base is looking for the best.

You can go the extra mile, as well, to explain why your products/services are superior to other offerings. Educate customers and then let them experience the difference.

My favorite plant nursery is owned by a family that knows absolutely everything there is to know about gardening. They’ve got an amazing library of horticultural books, too, and often look up unusual plants for me, sharing their knowledge and their delight in all things green.

I value their expertise, and make my major annual purchase of vegetable starts from this nursery each spring, knowing every question I have will receive a helpful answer.

Everyone who works at this business either knows the answers to my questions or knows how to get those answers for me. You may not need a staff of wizards, but the infrastructure needs to be there so that every employee knows who to ask when they don’t know the answer to a product or service question.

Your investment in employee training — in educating the people who represent your business — is priceless.

My family may be in the minority, but we only own one car. And when that car gets worked on, we’ve had oodles of fun sitting for 4 hours on a hard bench in a dirty parking lot in 101 degree weather, waiting to get back on the road.

But one local automotive chain has started offering courtesy cars — you can believe we’re going for that!

It’s the sensitive business that implements policies that make life a little easier for customers at times of inconvenience. Maybe that means offering water in a lobby, shortening check-out lines, or narrowing service window timeframes to limit long waits.

Put yourself in the customer’s shoes in a not-fun situation and ask if there’s anything that would make it a bit easier. Offer that support.

Are there places you hate to shop? That dark cave, or hulking warehouse, or total zoo! You feel lousy and tired being there. You’d rather be anywhere else.

Remember the fabric store, mentioned above? In contrast, there’s a small quilt shop in town that I can go to for some of the things I need, and the soft lighting, soft carpets, and beautiful organization of the merchandise make shopping there a treat and a pleasure. I shop there whenever I possibly can.

Cleanliness, organization, a user-friendly floor plan, and visual appeal are conducive not just to one-time purchases but to return visits to enjoy the welcoming vibes of a place.

Volumes have been written about trapping customers in “mazes” to make them purchase more. Sadly, it works, but do you feel you’ll win more loyalty and better reviews from customers who feel trapped or customers who feel welcomed?

Big brands have their place, but it’s at the locally-owned business that customers are likely to have the most unique shopping experiences. From the first time I visited one of the many farm stands in the area in which I live, I was delighted with their rustic tin shed, befriended by their down-to-earth staff, and touched that they often threw something extra into my shopping bag — an apple, a bunch of thyme, a variety of melon I’d never tried.

The upshot: I shop there once a week, every week of the year.

Big box stores may be here to stay, but Main Street is still fighting. The big box is not going to give you a free lettuce, or lend you an umbrella when it rains, or tell you to pay them next time when their power goes down. It’s not in their corporate policy to do those things.

Your locally-owned business gets to react to spur-of-the moment customer needs, creatively customize shopping experiences, and put a genuine human face on transactions. With a unique approach, you can become a cherished local institution.