OPINION: Listen to your customers

One of the great pleasures I have found in owning and operating a community based store is talking to the people that visit my business.

Sometimes they tell me about the problems they have just when they go shopping. Here is how we gained a loyal customer by listening and reacting.

A customer was lamenting the fact that the big stores no longer stocked small jars of Bovril and he was forced to buy more than he needed.

We promised to stock the small jars even though no one had ever asked for them before and since doing so, he returns week on week not just for Bovril, but other lines as well. It is a good example of providing what the customer wants and treating them as a special case.

Don’t be afraid to ask people what they want you to stock, it is amazing the goodwill you get by listening to their wants and needs and then following through on provision of those items.