Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from Convenience Store Decisions magazine.
Here's an entirely plausible scenario: At around 8 a.m. on a weekday, customers are lined six deep in front of the only open register at your suburban convenience store. The line has screeched to a halt because a deliveryman, running late, has flanked the clerk at the register and asked her to sign off on a load of windshield wiper fluid he delivered.
One of two things can happen:
- The clerk's conventional experience will tell her she has to sign the driver's papers so the guy can get back on the road to finish his route. The customers in line, meanwhile, shuffle their feet and stew.
- The clerk will tell the deliveryman to hold his horses while she finishes tending to the customers in line. End of story.
In the real world, the first scenario is more common than some retailers may like to admit. In the ideal world, scenario No. 2 would prevail, but it'll take some behavior modification to get there.
Call it "disruptive" modification, but disruptive in the best of ways.
Bill Bishop, chairman, Willard Bishop, explained: "You have to think of the customers' needs and look for ways to disrupt what you do, so you do a more expansive job of serving those needs."
The NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council has released a new report, Fast Forward: Emerging Opportunities in Convenience Retail, that will be pivotal in helping convenience store operators and employees shift their conventional practices to more unconventional, customer-centric approaches.
"Conventional thinking lulls you into thinking you're doing it right," said Mr. Bishop, who helped spearhead the study, "but customers think otherwise."
The report recognizes that convenience retail fundamentals are built on safety, cleanliness and hospitality, but it truly excels in its examination of shoppers' top-level needs: simplicity/ease of shopping, and time enrichment.
Regarding simplicity and ease of shopping, for instance, retailers are encouraged to scrutinize their product offerings not from the standpoint of the product, but from the customer's perspective.
Mr. Bishop explained: "It's about making systematic changes in the way a store is set up, organized and staffed, so that it's more intuitive."
Discussion Question: What do you think of the particular challenges for c-stores in becoming more customer-centric versus other retail channels? What are some simple steps c-stores could take to improve customer service?