Dream Shopping
I’ve just created my dream shopping experience. It is the only thing I can think of that would persuade me to enter a super-store of 100,000 sq. ft. or more, let alone vote for
a new one to be built in my community. It’s really very simple and would create lots of lovely jobs for the unemployed.
At the entrance to the store would be a little motorized buggy and a hand scanner. A greeter would be available to welcome me with a smile, a hug and either coffee, piece of
fresh fruit or soft drink. I would swipe my personal identity card to prove that I was me and then climb aboard. As I cruised the aisles, selecting whatever looked good enough
to eat or satisfy my other personal requirements, I would flash my scanner but not actually have to pack or carry anything myself. When I had had enough and reached the exit,
I would scan my scanner, swap it for my credit card to pay for what I had selected, park my buggy and go home.
Within an hour (or maybe two — I don’t want to be unreasonable) of arriving, a delivery van would turn up with everything I had purchased. There would be no problems about substitutes
or out of stocks because I could only scan what I saw in front of me. Sounds good; sounds like fun.
The only improvement I can think of is that my greeter accompanies me on my rounds so that if I don’t see what I want, he or she can help me find it. Greeters would be experts
in both cooking and nutrition so could advise me on what is best to buy and how to prepare it, preferably at a reasonable price unless I’m specifically planning an extravagant
celebration of some sort. If I want a particular cut of meat, he or she will find a butcher to take my instructions. Oh yes, and the bakery department would have a menu from which
I could select so that my bread was baked to order. And just for good measure, the greeter would hop off at strategically placed kiosks to replenish my coffee or soft drink or
grab a snack of another sort (Krispy Kreme, anyone?). These kiosks would be manned by real, live, people to ensure freshness of product, no vending machines, thanks very much.
Moderator’s Comment: What would you add/takeaway from Bernice Hurst’s dream shopping experience to create your own?
Bernice says she’s “open to suggestions. Innovation, service and differentiation are the key to building customer loyalty, not coupons or cards.” All she
asks of her dream store is for it to “Get me a greeter and find ways to make me enjoy my shopping.” – George
Anderson – Moderator