The whole Mission Bay thing has really got me thinking. So lets see if I am reading everything correctly.
A few things first, I am in no way single out any person or shop. I am talking industry wide. I am not taking about you, your store or your family.
I managed a Walmart photo lab for 2 years and sold cars part time. Walmart gave me hundreds of hours of retail training including two weeks at head quarters where I bugged every big wig for info. In the air force I read tons of corporate and sales books. The air force is very corporate and use terms like customer and provider. For example, The Army was my customer and the air cover I provided was my product. No joke. If you could throw a Six Sigma line into a conversation you where well liked. I don't know much but I know some.
Ok in the retail market as a whole things are moving a way from specialization. Big store with lots of stuff and very little help is the way things are going. People want low prices and are willing to figure things out on their own.
The modern retail customer is my educated about the product and how to buy it then ever before. Take my car selling. It was quite common for a customer to come in and have print outs from the company website about the model they wanted to look at, offers from other dealers, "facts" from supposed auto industry sources like Blue Book (wait laughing at Blue Book. Ok back at It.). They knew what they wanted and wanted to pay the price they had already figured out. Tough customers, my favorite ones to deal with.
So now we turn to the LBS down the street. Small by modern standards, limited product line (just bikes and stuff. Nothing else you need for your day-to-day life.) Ungodly tight margins and an over worked manager. The employees are bike nuts and only think bikes and beer. Very specialized store. Very narrow focused. Now here comes trouble.
Me. I walk in after reading everything Dan, Tom and John has written. Posted a million times on a thousand boards and think I know what I want. I walk in and use my knowledge to explain what I want. Bike shop salesman has been in the sport forever sold a thousand bikes and has never seen me. So whatever is coming our of my mouth has to be crap. Who the works at a bike shop not Mr. Tibbs.
I come in wanting a bike made out of X, in X color, with X components. Joe Bike thinks I'm wrong and having no real sales training says "Yeah great, but your wrong. You need X, Y, Z." Not using those words but you get my drift.
Now we have a problem. Now we run smack into what Dan called "personalities not meshing". I am stupid customer who won't listen Joe Bike is a $10 an hour know it all who won't listen. The sale is on thin ice.
Why? Very simple. In almost every other retail situation the meshing happens to my side. Your salesman will mesh with me. Your salesman knows I could give a crap less about your personality. Help me get what I want but play it my way. Kiss my ass, guide me in your direction by using positive statements, and make me feel important. In other words SALE ME! Use sells skills to make me fill like I was right the whole time and you get me exactly what I need.
I think there is a disconnect between the modern LBS and the modern customer. Dan had used the terms "give" and "take". You can pull the dictionary out and say he is right but we are in the realm of human emotions here. In every day language "give" means no charge, "take" means no money handed over. At the point of sale I "pay" for the bike and the shop "sells" it. I give currency I receive product. No one is doing anybody in favors. I just think the words show the disconnect.
Another point disconnect is the history of the sport. X shop and X bike builder built the sport. They are the pillars. Well to be straight I don't care when it comes to handing over my money. I could give a flip less about who did what. Know why? Someone else would have done it. There was money to be made. Not much but some. When it comes to my green back I am the one who matters and if I need to be cuddled and talked all pretty too then damnit that’s what I want. All the Ironmans and halls of fame in the world will not change that.
Old sales saying "Rule one: The customer is always right. Rule two: See rule one."
I am not finishing up right now. I want this to be an opened conversation because I am trying to learn. I want into the business and my mind is a sponge.
What are your thoughts?
customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.
A few things first, I am in no way single out any person or shop. I am talking industry wide. I am not taking about you, your store or your family.
I managed a Walmart photo lab for 2 years and sold cars part time. Walmart gave me hundreds of hours of retail training including two weeks at head quarters where I bugged every big wig for info. In the air force I read tons of corporate and sales books. The air force is very corporate and use terms like customer and provider. For example, The Army was my customer and the air cover I provided was my product. No joke. If you could throw a Six Sigma line into a conversation you where well liked. I don't know much but I know some.
Ok in the retail market as a whole things are moving a way from specialization. Big store with lots of stuff and very little help is the way things are going. People want low prices and are willing to figure things out on their own.
The modern retail customer is my educated about the product and how to buy it then ever before. Take my car selling. It was quite common for a customer to come in and have print outs from the company website about the model they wanted to look at, offers from other dealers, "facts" from supposed auto industry sources like Blue Book (wait laughing at Blue Book. Ok back at It.). They knew what they wanted and wanted to pay the price they had already figured out. Tough customers, my favorite ones to deal with.
So now we turn to the LBS down the street. Small by modern standards, limited product line (just bikes and stuff. Nothing else you need for your day-to-day life.) Ungodly tight margins and an over worked manager. The employees are bike nuts and only think bikes and beer. Very specialized store. Very narrow focused. Now here comes trouble.
Me. I walk in after reading everything Dan, Tom and John has written. Posted a million times on a thousand boards and think I know what I want. I walk in and use my knowledge to explain what I want. Bike shop salesman has been in the sport forever sold a thousand bikes and has never seen me. So whatever is coming our of my mouth has to be crap. Who the works at a bike shop not Mr. Tibbs.
I come in wanting a bike made out of X, in X color, with X components. Joe Bike thinks I'm wrong and having no real sales training says "Yeah great, but your wrong. You need X, Y, Z." Not using those words but you get my drift.
Now we have a problem. Now we run smack into what Dan called "personalities not meshing". I am stupid customer who won't listen Joe Bike is a $10 an hour know it all who won't listen. The sale is on thin ice.
Why? Very simple. In almost every other retail situation the meshing happens to my side. Your salesman will mesh with me. Your salesman knows I could give a crap less about your personality. Help me get what I want but play it my way. Kiss my ass, guide me in your direction by using positive statements, and make me feel important. In other words SALE ME! Use sells skills to make me fill like I was right the whole time and you get me exactly what I need.
I think there is a disconnect between the modern LBS and the modern customer. Dan had used the terms "give" and "take". You can pull the dictionary out and say he is right but we are in the realm of human emotions here. In every day language "give" means no charge, "take" means no money handed over. At the point of sale I "pay" for the bike and the shop "sells" it. I give currency I receive product. No one is doing anybody in favors. I just think the words show the disconnect.
Another point disconnect is the history of the sport. X shop and X bike builder built the sport. They are the pillars. Well to be straight I don't care when it comes to handing over my money. I could give a flip less about who did what. Know why? Someone else would have done it. There was money to be made. Not much but some. When it comes to my green back I am the one who matters and if I need to be cuddled and talked all pretty too then damnit that’s what I want. All the Ironmans and halls of fame in the world will not change that.
Old sales saying "Rule one: The customer is always right. Rule two: See rule one."
I am not finishing up right now. I want this to be an opened conversation because I am trying to learn. I want into the business and my mind is a sponge.
What are your thoughts?
customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.