Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® blog at Retaildoc.com

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There was a show on A & E last year that is still on the web, We Mean Business.  I should’ve realized the key word was mean.  Since I received contact from a guy who just saw it, I thought I’d share my thoughts about the show.

The gist is that Bill Rancic, winner of The Apprentice and a “tech guru” and “designer” have 48 hours to transform the attitude and the operations of a small independent business.  And they are all about the attitude – their own.

From the moment they sweep into the shop everything is terrible and they have come from the mount to save the poor wayward fools at, in this case Berry Elegance.  The designer has to be the most annoying person ever seen on a business program.

Don’t take my word for it, look at their promos; which were worse!

I’ve done business makeovers for nearly twenty years, including for the Los Angeles Times.  They are never fun or easy but one thing I learned early on was that you don’t belittle people – especially in front of their employees.  Not here, that must be part of the “fun” of having a reality show purporting to show people how to manage their business.

What interests me about this show as well as Bravo’s, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover is that the “experts” come in, denigrate the shop, fill it with new fixtures and (since We Mean Business is sponsored by Dell – lots of new computers) they go on their way because they said that was what was truly needed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big believer in sprucing up a shop. For Berry Elegance, it looks like they copied Godiva’s and it sure did look great!  Many of the ideas had merit including the use of color – if you could get past the condescension.

I think what will further distance viewers is to realize they don’t have the kind of money to pour into their business for new fixtures, signage, plasma screens, registers and computers.  And really, who needs to scan a barcode for a one-off shop that has very limited skus?  We’re talking a shop for chocolate dipped strawberries here.

They could have counseled her that a 5% online discount is worthless on a premium product. Instead of showing who’s eating them – how about trying to sell them with descriptive text?

And if you are going to have a blog Berry Elegance - especially if you are going to be on national television – update it for gosh sakes!  A & E visited them in June, the last post was March 13 – didn’t the “technology guru” think to look at their website at least once?

These reality show makeovers would lead small business owners to conclude the magic bullet is in the physical attributes of the store.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

If you watch the follow-up clip on A & E’s site, you see how Amy, the co-owner of Berry Elegance is in just as much trouble as before but in a much nicer space.  In fact the employees and her co-owner Todd Jones have left Ms. Stipa to run the shop on her own.

Those great embroidered white chef’s aprons given as a parting gift from Bill and the gang? (Spot on Bill by the way!) Nowhere in sight.  She did hire a PR person to get in front of celebrities which got a large order – but at what expense?

The clip shows her ringing up a $6.50 sale.  Selling is a big problem for this owner which was ridiculed but largely unaddressed. My Five Parts To a Successful Sale retail sales training DVDs could help http://retaildoc.com/products/rxwhatyouget.htm .

Change takes time; meaningful follow-ups are what are needed whenever a business makeover is completed.

There are pitfalls to any business whether it is new, old, successful or struggling.  What you have to remember about reality shows is they are designed to make it look easy and to hype the tears.

To help you get real results right now, you can find a few of my ideas how to market your business at http://retaildoc.com/articles/market-yourself-article.htm.

And if you are looking for a host of a reality show based on results and not hype, give me a call; the Retail Doctor makes house calls.

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