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Customer Experience

Along with providing a friendly face and happy environment for your customer, ensure that the basics like Newspapers, Milk, Bread etc are always in the same part of the store.

People like to know what to expect when they visit you, it gives them comfort and studies show this drives sales. I call this the McDonalds effect, no matter where you go in the world, McDonalds is the same, it sells the same food, it is always clean, they always have a clean useable toilet and it is good value for money. It is a key point of their success, sameness.

Why do you think millions of tourists choose McDonalds over other establishments, it’s not the price or the food, it is the comfort factor of knowing what to expect.

You can mimic McDonald’s success by providing your customers an experience they can expect every time they visit you. Some of the things that help do this are:

• Always be cheerful
  

• Wear uniforms
  

• Keep the store clean and uncluttered
  

• Keep the basics in the same part of the store
  

• Keep the outside of your store clean and tidy
  

• Give the customer the same experience each time
  

Customers will always choose you over a competitor if they feel comfortable and appreciated.

Where possible refer to people by their first name, it shows you pay attention and that they are important to you. I would certainly prefer to walk into a shop with the greeting “Good Morning Peter” as opposed to just “Good Morning”.

C-Store Success