file this one under, “i’m really not making this up. . .”
I went into Dunkin’ Donuts the other day and ordered a # 6 — an egg and cheese sandwich with a large coffee for a special combo price of $3.99. But I didn’t want that much coffee (I knew I’d drink whatever was in the cup and this was, after all, my 5th cup of the morning, (I know too much coffee but let me proceed), so I nicely asked the young man to just give me a small coffee instead of the large cup. He said ok, but when he rang it up, it came to $5.85!!
Now, I’m no mathematician, but even in New Jersey, that sounds like a lot of sales tax on a $3.99 order. Turns out the small coffee wasn’t part of the combo package so the computer rang them up separately. After a discussion and explaining to the young man what happened, I said “Let’s retry this again. . . Go ahead and ring it up as a large cup at the special prices, just give me a small coffee instead of the large coffee!” Sounds simple, ya think!
“No can do”, the young man behind the counter — very friendly and seemingly quite sharp. Now here is where it gets strange, he told me that he had to give me a large coffee to give me the $3.99 price. He said this was “their” rule! Now, he seemed like a very nice young man and I did not want him to listen to my business rant on “who are they”? So, I agreed to the large size cup, but now here’s where I get creative and a bond is formed and 2018 meets 1967 – thoughts merge.
As he was filling the large cup, I whispered to him over the counter, “Psst. . . just fill the large cup halfway, and I gave him the “ol’ New Jersey Wink” !”
He paused and thought for a moment, then got a big smile on his face, gave me a knowing nod, (you know “that nod”, young people give when they just beat the system) and that’s just what he did a 1/2 fill in a large cup. Then he did something that almost floored me, he flashed the ’60s solidarity fist, almost to scream out “We did it, we just beat the man”, the only thing missing were the words “right on”.
A mischievous plan hatched. A whispered plea, a knowing wink – a silent language passed between generations. He slyly filled the large cup halfway, a silent victory fist pump exchanged. In that brief moment, we were rebels united against the “system,” a small act of defiance fueled by coffee and shared understanding. I am thinking this young kid was raised by parents who told him about the ’60s, but until that moment he never had a chance to protest the “system”.
I got a small coffee disguised inside a large cup. The kid handed me the cup and seemed quite pleased we (he and I became radicals for that single moment), WE found a way to bond, shake up the system, and move the “establishment”, WE for that moment were united to change the world.
What’s it all mean?
The 60′s are over,
rebellion against the establishment has taken a new tone and new form!
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Protests in the 60’s, Selfies Were Cuts and Bruises
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Todays Protests and of Course Selfies for Social Media
Besides my view on Dunkin Donuts’ business practices, and 60’s protests,
the business thought here is, customer experiences, flexibility, and training.
Make certain your business (and ALL employees) remain flexible to accommodate your customers’ needs and possible wants. Competition is on “every corner” looking for your customers’ dollars, so a wonderful customer experience is a prerequisite to service and a building block to retention. And by ALL means, make certain you properly train your staff, not only to perform their daily tasks, but more importantly, that they use common sense in handling customer interaction. It is ESSENTIAL for any business, regardless of size, to be proactive in all areas of servicing the customer. IF YOU DON’T TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS, SOMEONE ELSE WILL! Company marketers continually learn and spend pockets of money on search optimization to gain customers, why not learn and spend money on CUSTOMER OPTIMIZATION in keeping them once you find them!
Author’s Note: Anyone who grew up in the ’60s will understand my “protest” reference, and to others who have heard my sales training sessions and my unique formative years in the sixties; you will understand even more! I viewed three types of people in the 60’s – those that made IT happen, those that watched IT happened, and those that walked around all day asking “what’s happening”. I find those same “types” of people exist in most organizations today. My sales training programs and empowerment sessions make participants become part of the make it happens, crowd. (I know a shameless plug for business, even from a product of the ’60s).
Thanks, for letting me get this off my chest.
– Bill Simmel