I know that I've been talking about customer service a lot lately. So sue me. I'm a customer and I love it when I get good service. Today I'm going to talk about the tight rope business owners walk when courting their customers.
I'm just going to come right out and say it, convenience is important to customers--but you already knew that. Thinking about it logically, if you make it hard for your customers to patronize your business because of weird hours, a crazy location or any number of things, then they will take their business elsewhere. However, in an effort to make things easy for the customer, business owners end up mollycoddling them.
Give your customer some credit. (1)They can handle it if you aren't open every day. Case in point, boutique cafes are usually closed on Mondays. No big deal. If the service is good and the food is amazing, customers will make the extra effort to make time to eat there. Managing "open door" days can help you manage overhead and give your shop a more "exclusive" feel, just make sure you keep to a regular schedule. (2) They like you for you. Meaning, you don't have to reinvent yourself constantly to keep them interested. A little "tuck and tighten" to keep things fresh is always welcome but if you enjoy loyal clientele and make steady money then a radical change is dangerous. You risk alienating your regulars and potentially picking a direction that turns everyone off--including new customers. (3) They want to be on your side. Don't mess this up. I speak this from personal experience. When I patronize a place I want them to succeed--at least initially. If I receive good service and good product (or food if its a restaurant) I want to come back. I want to recommend it to friends. I want to host parties there. I want to be on their team. Some business owners approach every customer as a challenge to be overcome when they should be approached as a friend to be won.
With everyone holding on to their purse strings a little tighter these days, customer service is getting more attention even in big companies, but small companies still have the advantage. They can walk this thin line between customer respect and just being patronizing. Pop out that umbrella, take a deep breath and give it a try.
