If Sales is all about the A-B-C, then Service is I-G-A

What normally would take 10 minutes to get over the 40 and head up to Maxi or Fairview was now taking 30 minutes, or more, when it was really ugly. Many of you may have made the same vow that my wife made which was, quite simply, “I will never step foot in either one of those places, ever!”

I tell you what I should have done right then and there; I should have bet her dinner and tickets to a Habs game that she would, and double or nothing that she would become a loyal shopper. And Pharmaprix is not even open yet!

The fact of the matter is, the owners of IGA clearly knew exactly how difficult a time they were giving to travelers while the roads were being reconfigured, and they had a very smart strategy in how to get people to leave their frustrations behind them once they stepped into the store.

Service, service, and more of the best service I have ever seen at any grocery store. And Pharmaprix will benefit greatly from their efforts when they finally open.

At the end of any shopping experience, most of us go home feeling at best “good” about what we accomplished, though normally we simply cross it off of our to-do list.

If you have not gone into the new IGA yet, and my wife will probably kill me for promoting it in the fears that it will now get swamped with new shoppers, you really do have to go. This is what Grocery Shopping was meant to be.

Here is what I am talking about.

Imagine, if you can in these arctic conditions, that it is simply chucking with rain. I mean, there are actual rivers running down the street carrying small children along in their wagons. The last thing you want to do is head out to buy more milk and bread, but what are the kids going to have for breakfast? So you put on your rain jacket, pull on your galoshes and still get soaked heading out the door. Once you get to IGA, you find yourself parking 20 – 30 places deep, and this is a run you are not looking forward to as your car just swam into a parking spot. While the staff may not be able to help keep your feet dry, more often than not within 4 – 5 steps of your car there will be a staff member running out to greet you, giant golf-sized umbrella in hand, to walk you into the store. Wow.

Jump forward to, I don’t know, now. The snow is coming down as one giant snowball after another, simply covering the city in blankets of snow. You cannot believe it, but the weather gods have once again intervened on the night you have your family and friends over for your better half’s 40th birthday. And guess what you left to the last minute? Yep, shopping for the food. Winter boots, hat, parka and muffler are donned, and the push to the car and through the snow, ever so gingerly, begins. Once there, that same staff member that brought out the umbrella is there again, same umbrella, escorting you in. But it does not end there this time. As you head out, cart packed to the rafter will all the party necessities, the parking lot can be a daunting obstacle. Here again, the staff comes to the rescue. Gently nudging you out of the way with a kind word, they take the handle and do the plowing for you, allowing you to navigate the parking lot, sometimes with the aforementioned umbrella in hand (I have seen both). This turns what would have been a time of grunting frustration and occasional slips into nothing more than a careful walk to the car. Wow, part 2.

I could go on and on, but there is one more that I simply have to mention. And this one is key because if there is one thing that we see almost as much as fruit stands while we are grocery shopping, it is crying children. My kids simply cannot stand it. But do not worry; IGA has you covered here, too. And they are four of the most powerful words when it comes to needing your child to calm down: balloons, clown, face-painting. I do not know about you, but I just found my Zen place. My hope and deep wish is that this is one event that IGA does not stop doing, ever. Every Saturday we have gone they have had a clown in the entrance way giving out balloons and the kids can get their faces painted. The TSN turning point is using that as the incentive for your kids to behave, since you of course will only allow them to take advantage of any of this AFTER you have done your shopping. WOW, parts 3, 4 and 5.

So, can you name me another shop that goes to this extent and does not have 90% of their clientele pull up in limos? I know I can’t.

And while these trying times are seeing their sales go down, and everyone is on a “coupon-blitz” to keep people coming in, IGA is servicing beyond all others while keeping relative stability in their way of doing business. And I am willing to bet that same dinner that I never bet with my wife that they are actually seeing growth in the number of visitors, which obviously means more dollars.

The challenge for IGA, of course, lies in the future. They have now set the tone for the experience people get when they make that turn off St. John’s. Nothing less than what they are doing now will keep people from simply falling back on old habits, and blindly going to whatever store happens to be closest.

Given the weather, this week is hardly about a “Cold Call”, I would prefer to find something that can heat things up. So let’s look at this week’s “Fire-Starter”, something that can warm up the cockles of your customer’s hearts. And it stems from one simple question: What one action can we do that will not only be appreciated by our regular clientele, but will turn them into loyal buyers who then go out and spread the word about us? Ask your staff at your next meeting, survey your customers, visit the competitors who are currently doing better than you are. Make sure it adds value, and then measure what it would cost to act on and sustain the service. Then change the way you are seen by those who walk through the door. Oh, and you may want to keep your doors open to avoid a bottleneck as the crowds rush in.

Have a great Sales Week!