I just finished the book is Built to Serve written by Dan J. Sanders. Sanders is the current CEO of United Supermarkets, a midsized regional supermarket that serves West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.
Built to Serve is based upon the fact of building an organization where there is a higher power above profit and traffic.
Do you ever tell Ms. Jones no? Is it a better service to say no than to say yes and fail? What can you do when you can’t do anything? Can you call your competitors to find what she wants? Can you rack your brain and search your racks to find an alternative? Or are you willing to sacrifice your staff and stretch your resources to “try” to leap through Ms. Jones hoops?
Do you think she’s going to be more concerned with indulging herself, or with making smart choices? Can you serve her a smart salad bar instead of a smorgasbord of sugary treats? Do you have to change your product selection to do this, or just change the way you talk about it?
What if you could beat that Ms. Jones to the punch? What if you could let her know that you are giving her your best deal without having to go through the questions? Enter stage right the wonderful world of promotional advertising on shipments.
