Retail Merchants - Outrigger Hotels
We had a great turnout this morning for the monthly Outrigger Hotels Success Rally.

31 Days to Go!
My main message today was that there are only 31 shopping days left until Christmas, and that gifts from Hawaii are unique. I shared a list of things that can be done to get our visitors to do some Christmas shopping while on vacation.

“It Worked”
Right after the rally Kate Turtura from Seattle’s Best Coffee rushed over to tell me that right after the rally she had a customer who was undecided if to get anything and when she mentioned that there are only 31 days left until Christmas, she immediately decided to buy.
Things work when you work them.

Hang Them Up
After several thousand miles I decided it was time to hang up the Nike shoes and get a new pair. I endured 5 stores and two poor salespeople in the process.

-1st Attempt:
I went to the Foot Locker store at Ala Moana where I was instantly greeted (attacked) by an overly enthusiastic salesperson asking me how I am doing today. I said, “Fine, I need a new pair of Nike walking shoes, just like these,” pointing to the ones on my feet. He began showing me all sorts of different shoes while talking with co-workers and taking phone calls on that little mouthpiece they all wear. I interrupted him and asked, “Do you have these shoes or not?” He said, “No we don’t carry those anymore.” I asked him who does and he suggested I look at Champs Sports on the lower level.

-2nd Attempt:
I hiked on down to Champs and found the Nike shoe section where a salesperson approached me with the ol’ “May I help you” line. I told him what I wanted, he pointed to the wall of shoes saying, “These are all we have” and then got into a discussion with his friend who was visiting him in the store. I interrupted him and asked, “Do you have these shoes or not?” He said, “No we don’t carry those.” I asked him who does and he suggested I look at Wal Mart across from the mall.

-3rd Attempt:
By now I am determined to get those shoes so I walk on over to Wal Mart. I have never been in the Wal Mart store, so I thought it would be an adventure. It was; I discovered why I haven’t been there and know why I won’t go back. I hunted down em employee (cannot say “salesperson”) and asked about the Nike shoes. She told me to go across the street to ROSS Dress for Less.

-4th Attempt:
That’s another store I won’t return to. I hunted down the shoe department and had to hold back my laughter on the way back out five minutes later. I’m still not sure if they had 3 or 5 Nike shoes (No I don’t mean pairs) but surely not what I wanted.

-5th Attempt:
I went home and decided to let my fingers do the walking. I called Sports Authority. I was promptly connected with the shoe department where a very helpful salesman checked his inventory and said that he has one pair of the shoes I want, in my size. I asked him to set them aside and that I would be there in the morning to pick them up. He agreed to do that. I went there in the morning and was amazed by the size of the store. I asked the clerk at the front counter where I would find the men’s sport shoes. He replied, and I quote, “They are in the shoe department.” I was interested in the store, so I thanked him and set out to find the shoe department. When I did there was a woman doing stock work. I told her that I have a pair of Nike shoes on hold. She went into the back room, brought out a shoe box and handed it to me. I said, “Okay, let’s try them on.” She said, “Go ahead” and walked off. I paid and walked out without shopping further. 

SUCCESS!
I just took my chances and brought them home. They fit, and my morning walk around Ala Moana Beach Park was 1 minute faster today.
The moral of this story is, “You can succeed as a customer if you are willing to place enough effort.” It shouldn’t be this way. How many lost opportunities do we see here?

Cosmo-Yajima Service Station
If you live on Oahu, I urge you to fill up next at Cosmo on the corner of Keaumoku and King St. I actually look forward to getting gasoline there. They never fail to RUN out to greet me (everyone) as I pull into the driveway. I love watching them “attack” my car, washing the windows, checking the tires and oil as well as anything else I might need. I haven’t tried their hand wash yet, but I will soon. I most likely will never use the self serve aisle, but my guess is that both are exceptional as well. When they finish, I am always thanked for my business with a huge smile. The whole experience takes me back to the days when this was the norm at filling stations.

The Good Ol’ Days
Last Friday evening I saw them in a light I couldn’t even imagine and I must share it with you. It was 6:10 PM and I was running late, on my way to an event in Aina Haina. I looked at my fuel gauge and realized it was going to be a close call, so I pulled into Cosmo. I was surprised that no one ran out to greet me. Within minutes an employee came to my window and said, “Hello, we are actually closed, the pumps have been shut off and the computers are in the process of shutting down.” Sensing my disappointment, he said, “But please wait a minute and let me see what we can do.” How different is that? I got out of my car and looked into the office where about five people were huddled around the computer feverishly trying to reverse the shut down process.

Success!
Once they succeeded, they came running out to my car actually cheering that they were able to service my car. I was totally blown away. I snapped the photo above with my iPhone and was sad to see later that it was blurry. I must have been too excited. I just had to put it on here anyway. I plan to contact the manager or owner and hopefully arrange to do a YouTube interview. I am also hopeful that you will get your gasoline there the next time you need it. I promise you that you will be amazed.

Read It All
Carsten Pedersen runs a multi-million dollar international company. He once told me about something he does as a result of a meeting he had with me in Miami a few years ago. He said that he hands out copies of Retail Selling Made Easy to his employees, and when he asks people if they read it, he always gets a “Yes” reply.

The Real Test
Following our Miami meeting, Carsten made a change. Now, before handing out the book he opens it to a random page about 1/2 way through the book, and writes on one of the pages, “As soon as you read this, come see me and pick up $50.” It’s been shocking to him that he hasn’t paid out the $50 even once, although they have all told him that they read the book.
I asked him if he shows the note to them later, and he said, “No, I keep hoping that someday they will come across it.” I suggested that he start putting a “deadline date” on his note so that he could then call their attention to it at a later date, and hopefully impart the intended lesson.
He liked that idea a lot. He said, “The more lessons we learn today, the fewer mistakes we make in the future, and it is our responsibility as managers to impart as many lessons as we possibly can to our employees.”

So Much to Learn
Mahalo Carsten for all of the lessons you have taught me. I look forward to your every visit to Hawaii. One of these times I’ll even go to the beach with you so that I look more “local” when we go out to dinner.

It’s Sooner Than You Think
There was a day when it was considered sacrilegious to even mention Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Well, like it or not, those days are over. Malls are decorated for Christmas long before the Thanksgiving feast begins.
Retailers that wait until Thanksgiving miss the opportunity to help their customers get a good jump on their shopping “chore”. No, it shouldn’t be seen as a “chore”, but the longer it is put off, the more of a chore it becomes.

Help Your Customers Get a Head Start
Last minute shoppers face these challenges:
-The malls are crowded.
-The weather is bad.
-The merchandise is picked over.
-The prices are inflated.
People on the average have 25 people to shop for. The sooner they get started the more enjoyable it will be. Here are some things that you can do NOW to get the customers to start their Christmas shopping in your store TODAY.

Make a Countdown Sign
Start Now, Say, “There are ONLY 50 Shopping Days left before Christmas.” Update it EVERY DAY. There are many ways to make one; be creative.

Other Things You Can Do…
-Provide a wrapping station with paper, ribbons and cards.
-Start decorating now; small at first, and then go all out after Thanksgiving.
-Provide a printed shopping list to help people remember who they are going to be shopping for.
-Start the Christmas music playing right after Thanksgiving.

If you are in Hawaii remind customers that a gift from Hawaii will be the most unique gift under the tree.
Remember what they say about the early bird.

Competition Abounds
It’s much easier to keep a good customer than it is to find a new one; sometimes.
I switched nail salons about a year ago when the owner put me with an amateur manicurist who drew blood while doing my pedicure. OUCH!

Atmosphere Matters
I took my business to a fancy, much more expensive salon, and after a few procedures found a manicurist that I really liked. I asked for her every time. I also gave my facial business to the same salon.
All was well until two weeks ago. I called ahead and made an appointment for a manicure and pedicure and then planned my day around that time. When I arrived, the receptionist said, “She’s busy with someone right now.” I asked her to see how long it would be. She went into the back and returned saying, “She will be 20 or 30 more minutes.” I told her to cancel my appointment and that I would call and make a new one when time permitted. I was annoyed, but was not mad nor did I look eleswhere. Two weeks later (yesterday) I called the salon and was told that my manicurist was on vacation and won’t be back for another week. She asked if someone else can help me and I said, “No, I’ll call when she returns.”
I looked at my nails and decided to give the salon across the street a try. My wife said, “You know that’s a gamble don’t you?” I agreed, but decided to go anyway.

My Good Fortune
As fate (good luck) would have it, Lily gave me the best pedicure and manicure of my life for $20 less than the fancy salon I had been frequenting the past year. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know where I will go from now on.
To this date I have nothing against my former manicurist, in fact I feel bad about it. I also feel bad because I really like the salon owner a lot. I have mentioned to her on numerous occasions that I would like to help her increase product sales in her salon.  But, through no fault of the owner or my former manicurist, I am not going back; Lily is better, faster and cheaper. That’s a tough combination to beat.
How much did this little faux pas cost the salon? The loss of twice monthly manicures and pedicures for me, the same for my wife, plus monthly facials will amount to about $6,000 a year. And this doesn’t include the referrals that I will now make for Lily.
What could have been done to prevent this, besides setting an accurate appointment time?