The SmartiShop Blog
Apples & Oranges Can Co-Exist
Whether a manufacturer, retailer or service provider, most great companies will employ customer satisfaction surveys to measure how effectively they are meeting or (hopefully) surpassing their customer’s expectations. Frequently these companies will also have a mystery shop program in place to help measure and drive improvement in operations and customer experience. Often times, when companies have both types of programs in place, they are developed, executed and consumed in separate spheres within an organization, with little or no thought as to how these programs could be used in conjunction for maximum benefit. Rather than treating these research methodologies like apples and oranges, companies can achieve maximum value by using them together.
Customer retention: Who’s Got The Goods?
Obtaining new business is an important part of building and sustaining a business, but retaining customers is just as important, if not moreso. Many companies are guilty of spending lots of time and effort on getting those new customers in the door, but they often forget to maintain, thank, and take care of the customers that enable them to stay in business.
The Giants, Patriots, or Pizza Delivery – who will deliver?
On Sunday, February 5th, the New York Giants and New England Patriots will face off in the Super Bowl and fans across the country are hoping they deliver. Many of those same fans will also be counting on their favorite pizza chain to deliver a hot fresh pizza in time for the game. Papa Johns, the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL, set a single-day sales record last year on Super Bowl Sunday! Domino’s predicts they will deliver over 1 million pizzas this year and Pizza Hut is forecasting more than 2 million. How many of those pizzas will make it to their destination on time and most importantly, prepared correctly?
The Last Mile
New York Times bestselling author Ramit Sethi sums up his article about “the last mile” by referencing the peak-end rule: “…we judge out past experiences almost entirely on how they were at their peak (pleasant or unpleasant) and how they ended. Virtually all other information appears to be discarded, including net pleasantness or unpleasantness and how long the experience lasted.”
The Greatest Fast Food Experience Ever
I LOVE Chipotle. Fresh food, always tastes great, local ingredients, friendly people, controlled chaos behind the counter. I eat there 2-4 times/week, and have literally never had anything close to a bad experience. Many have just been "to expectations". It's tough to serve that many people, in a "fast food" restaurant, and deliver a consistently great experience, right? However, today's was, truly, an Experience. My best ever at a "fast food" restaurant. Why the quotation marks? Read on.
