Sure, Via is a product that is surely targeted to the larger fast food and vending machine market which is a big; somewhere between 17 and 21billion. Yes that’s with a B. So who wouldn’t want a branded Starbucks cup of coffee out of a vending machine at your mechanics or hospital waiting room over the swill that had been sitting on a burner for two days?
You want to bellyache about how business is off? Call your buddies and compare sob stories? Save your time and instead go out shopping to find and bring the Ashleys of the world to your store.
Point of this blog is you can spent millions on having the prettiest business but if you can’t follow that up consistently with as exceptional an experience as your fixtures, what good are you?
crowne-yellow
The next morning, the bar was reset to yellow liquid in the martini glasses. In retail you are known more for your compromises than your designs, products or store design.
The whole thing could have been averted 90 minutes prior when the one waiter was ovewhelmed, the manger could have come out and said, “We’re over our heads, can I get you some appetizers on the house or something until we get it right?” He could have jumped in and helped. By the time he approached the SVP all reason was lost. Driver personalities never want to look bad; well who does really?
And whose fault is that? A business that doesn’t see how every person directly contributes to the bottom line needs to have their collective head examined. The guy in the warehouse who knows where every single item is, can spot when a pick list is wrong and keep supplies going to customers, instead of writing backorder.
The Times wouldn’t allow me to hand deliver it but I added a personal message and a press kit. I called up a few days later to enquire if they received my gift. The writer told me, “Bob, gifts are strictly forbidden.” I said, “Well you didn’t throw it out did you?” “No,” she said, “we all enjoyed the chocolate frosting. It was really good.” The story ran and we had a large audience.
