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Bag of Picks
By Ron | November 4, 2009
Took my son to The Guitar Center to get some new strings for his electric guitar. His dedication to practice on both his acoustic and electric impresses me. His goal is to play in church for the youth group each Wednesday night and one day maybe on the main stage on Sundays. After looking around at a few of the high end Les Pauls and other accessories, we made our way to the string area where they had some pedals and amps.
There was one guy in front of us working up to a several hundred-dollar purchase. Val,the clerk behind the counter, peaked around the customer and said he would be right with us. I smiled and replied, “Take your time, our purchase is very small.” Quickly he shot back, “Selling a bag of picks today could result in tomorrow’s several thousand dollar purchase, therefore I treat all sales the same.” He went on to say that when my son goes on to play on stage and become famous he would have a part in helping him get there. Way to go Val! That is his true name and if everyone had his attitude, then businesses would not be suffering. While checking out, my son asked about a future purchase he is saving for and Val told him a way to save money on this item. On the way out, my son, who is about to be sixteen, told me that he was coming back here to buy that item even if he could find it online cheaper because this guy cares about customers.
My son may or may not have aspirations to be famous but that does not matter to a dedicated employee of a business who understands their customers. The lesson is clear. Become the consultant, the person people come to for advice and they will not mind paying a few dollars more for your product. Never over sell or take advantage of the customer; the bad taste of that kind of sell lasts longer than the sales commission you will earn. It is no wonder getting a parking place at The Guitar Center is difficult.
Topics: Leadership, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »
February 11th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Ron,
Great lesson on connecting to your customers. I would like to use your blog in a lesson that I am prepareing for work.