Location & The Baby Boomers

Shopping at a local Hallmark store is one of my favourite things to do! 

I have been there twice this week. I know I can always find a gem in one of their shops. I go there for their products, not so much for service. Besides  being obsessed with finding the perfect card, I am always on the look out for a special gift. At Hallmark, I am always delighted with what I will find.

Look what I bought this week! Isn't it adorable? 

But do you know what?

There is a possibility that Hallmark is letting cash walk out the door.

Why? How?

Think about this, the Hallmark stores were probably designed years ago, when we were all thin, young and having fewer kids. The aisles in the stores are very narrow.

Both times I was there this week, there were customers with walkers! I found myself entangled in traffic jams, more than once trying to get a third product I wanted. Twice this week, I bought less than I was planning to. I left the store because it was just too difficult to navigate around all the mobility devices.

Hallmark, your customers are getting older!  They need more room. After I read this HuffingtonPost article highlighting the most recent census report of Statistics Canada, I realized that there are probably more strollers around too.

Hallmark has a great marketing mix. I love their membership privileges. They are making headway into a fantastic loyalty program. The sales associates at Hallmark don't really add anything to the experience. They are mostly 'just' cashiers.

I project that there will be more of their customers using walkers. In the future,  if they want to keep customers in their stores and shopping, they must widen their aisles.

Great Idea for Hallmark

Get rid of your aisles and display your products on movable cluster style stations. Train your staff to be on the look out for traffic jams and move them as the need arises.

Statistics show that boomers are aging.

A happy shopper with either a walker or a stroller will need more room.

How do you plan to accommodate them?

Location is more than a spot on a map, the atmosphere or interior design. Fewer products with increased access and design will improve access and no doubt sales! 

Free Cheese Perogies -- Evaluate My Service Please!

I love Swiss Chalet, I could probably eat there every day of the week. When it comes to Canadian franchises, I must admit, they have customer service mastered, hands down. 

I only have one problem with their service cycle and that's on the evaluation end. 

They could be letting cash out the door.

Every time I eat there, the server points out a section on the receipt, offering me free cheese perogies (or any appetizer), if I go to their website and fill out a survey on their website for a chance to win.

Now, anyone that knows me, knows I love food. Free food then, should be a no brainer motivator, especially for a regular customer like me.

So, then, why aren't we, as a family (there are four of us going each time) filling out the survey online? 

Is because we don't like their food, heck no. We love it! 

We don't fill out the survey for tons of reasons, here's just three of them:

1. We are busy, sometimes we misplace the receipt.
2. We get distracted, by the time we get home, we forget.
3. It is time consuming, requiring concentration and a certain     
    amount of work, to complete the questionnaire at home.

Do people really fill those things out? Someone tell me. I guess there are people that do, but then there are people like me!

While Swiss Chalet, as a corporation recognizes that evaluating customer service is an important part of improving service and evaluating a particular server, for that, my hat's off to them, but they are missing an opportunity to get feedback from their most important customer!

The busy, distracted customer is probably the customer that eats out most often!

I have been going to Swiss Chalet for loyally for years and they are missing the opportunity to find out what might make me eat out more often!


It is well documented in a variety of business cases, that it is much easier to get more business from an existing customer than it is to get a new customer. If Swiss Chalet wants to increase their revenue from the thousands (if not millions) of people that don't fill out those online forms; they are going to have to get creative on the evaluation side! Swiss Chalet, please do something creative, all together different, on the evaluation side, for customers like ME. Give me more than one option to evaluate your service. 


I think it be great if Swiss Chalet encouraged their servers to identify five regular customers, once a month (or quarter) and invited them in for a free meal during off hours for a focus group lead by the franchise owner? 

Besides acknowledging and rewarding regular customers and getting feedback -- it would help build relationships with the owner and other staff! 

Think of the photo opportunities that would bring. 

Know your customer, know what they think. 

It's your customer, your cash, at stake.

Build Rapport -- Use Social Skills

I went out for a walk with my husband last Sunday, June 9, 2013. I found a tiny pretty patio set.  There it was, out in the open after years of searching! 


I couldn't believe my eyes, I was so excited. The cushions even matched my existing accessories!

Seeing that I was with my husband, I pretended I cared about the price and carefully examined the set looking for a price tag. It was no where to be found. I did notice that the set was slightly rusted in the joints, that did turn me off a little bit.

Enthusiastically, I went into the store, asking about it, 

 "Is that set outside for sale?" 

Because of the incremental rust in the joints of the set, I thought maybe it was a display out front, to get the customers to come in! The woman, behind the counter, was busy with merchandise. I am not sure if she was wrapping something, but their were NO customers inside.

"How much is it?" I asked.

"It has a price tag on it." She replied. 

I left the store and that was it. I did not buy the set.

What lessons could a business owner learn?

1. Don't make me feel stupid. 
                     Make me feel important.

I was insulted when the sales clerk told me the price was on the set. Didn't she think I checked? Even if I hadn't, why not come out and help me find it?

2. Greet, Smile, Engage, Take an Interest 

Once a customer has entered into your store, smile, take an interest in them. Make your customer feel welcomed, important. If you ask your customer a few questions, you will have more information, information that will help you make a sale.

3. People first, Merchandising Later

I can't tell you how many times I have entered a store and left because the staff was too busy setting up merchandise or organizing it. While the operations side of any business is important, don't forget why you are doing it. If you see a customer, drop everything and pay attention to them.

4. Answer Questions

The funny thing in this exchange was this, I loved the product, I wanted the product, I had a question and it did not get the answer! Remember, if a customer is asking you a question, it is your job to answer it! Don't give your customer, your job! That's why you were hired, to meet the customers need. My need, to know the price, was not met.

Remember, Your Customer is Your Cash.

In this case, it literally walked out the door.