Coke v. Pepsi...Yeah, Definitely Coke!

I work at Panera Bread part-time just to make money to fill the gas tank. So today I worked during the lunch shift when the Pepsi delivery man came to drop off our 2-liters for catering orders. I was busy by the registers when one of my managers cam up to me and said, "Stephanie, we had a catastrophe in the back." I'm thinking oh goodness, what do I have to clean up?! She then told me the Pepsi guy came and was bringing in the pop on a dolly when he got caught in a narrow space. Naturally, two bottles fell and burst on the floor. She said, "It got on..." and then I chimed in and said, "Not my new winter coat!!!!" She's like, "Yes!"

As I'm walking to the back to asses the damage, I'm thinking not about the newness of the coat, but what am I going to wear in the freezing temperature outside and the 40 mph wind gusts today? I'm envisioning my coat sopping wet dripping with that sticky syrup. I get to my coat and thankfully it just got wet on the bottom. It was a ton better than I thought, but it still had pop on it in which I will have to get dry cleaned.

As I am trying to dress my coat's Pepsi wounds, this Pepsi guy is just walking back and forth. He just said the pop just sorta fell down and my coat smells like Pepsi now. Not even an apology was heard from him. He was nonchalant about the situation. I really wasn't upset. It's just a coat that can be easily cleaned. An apology would be nice though...

My general manager then was asking this incompetent delivery man if she will be reimbursed for the two bottles of pop that he broke and for my dry cleaning bill. He, not really bothered by the situation, said he didn't think so. And that was it. Boy was she storming around. She called the Pepsi supervisor and they said nothing would be reimbursed too. She said that even one of her associates' coat was soaked due to this guy's clumsiness. The supervisor didn't care either and didn't apologize too. My manager was even more upset. She then told me that our store would reimburse me for my dry cleaning bill.

I always have preferred Coke over Pepsi. This just seals the deal. What poor customer service given by one of the world's top beverage producers! They were very insensitive to their customer's concerns...a BIG "no no" in the business world.

Unethical Customers?

1990's- Cadence Design Systems is located in the Silicon Valley of California and produces software. Gradually, a group of employees left Cadence to form a new company called Avant!. Avant! is a direct competitor of Cadence. Avant! was somehow able to produce the same software Cadence sells in far less time it took Cadence. This automatically put a red flag up for Cadence's CEO. After some investigation, Cadence's CEO learned that the former employees who formed Avant! stole Cadence's software and started Avant! based on that stolen software. Everyone, employees and customers, eventually found out about the stolen software. But what did they do? When Cadence's CEO wanted to file a civil lawsuit, they told him to lay off, and it's not a big deal. Avant! was still making sales even though the customers knew the software was stolen. All employees involved in the intellectual property theft were prosecuted and fined.

Most people would look at the former Cadence employees and condemn them for their criminal activities...as they should be. Stealing is never right. But what about the customers? They KNEW the software was stolen, and yet they continued to purchase from Avant!. They just totally brushed off the whole criminal case and gave their patronage to a corrupt company. The employees were prosecuted, but the customers buying essentially stolen goods got no repercussions for their actions.

Now, take a look at Walmart. They are looked down upon by some for their business practices: buying goods from overseas made by employees paid next to nothing to produce them; using its bargaining power to negotiate prices for products far less that their worth. Yet people still purchase from Walmart. What is the difference between purchasing from Avant! and purchasing from Walmart? With the recession now, people need to stick to budgets rather than ethics, so they continue to shop at Walmart which has cheaper prices. The dollar has more weight than ethics.

In theory, customers of both Avant! and Walmart would be considered unethical...but society now does not call them out on it. Are these customers unethical, or is this just the way of life now? What is your opinion?

Seller Tips: Analyze the Situation

In my Entrepreneurship class, we do this analysis exercise at least twice a week for various products and businesses. It finally clicked: This can be applied to my Etsy shop!

Analyzing your situation is key to running a successful business. Doing this exercise will get you stop and deeply think about your business. Write all your thoughts down. You may even discover something new about your business!

1. Description of your product- What exactly do you sell? What makes your product different than what’s already on the market? Do you use different materials? Do you have a different technique? Be as specific and detailed as possible—Get down to the nitty-gritty if you will.

2. Who is your market?- Who purchases your products? “I sell to everyone!” Well, not exactly. Be realistic. Think about demographics: gender, age, geographic location, income. Knowing who your target market is will make you more efficient in the type of products you offer and how you promote—saving time and money!

3. Who is your completion?- Who else sells the same things as you? List company names and Etsy shops. Keep in mind your competition is not only other Etsy shops, but also mainstream businesses off Etsy as well. (For example, one of the products I sell is greeting cards. I compete with other card shops on Etsy AND big name companies like Hallmark and American Greetings—no pressure by the way!) Once you know who your competition is, take a look at their business-products, prices, marketing. Anticipate their next move so you can be ahead of them!

4. How will you dominate the market?- How will you get the word out there about your products? Ads on websites-blog-interesting photographs-posting flyers around town-craft shows-packaging the products in an eye catching way? This should be answered in light of your market.

This may be a little deep for some Etsy shops, but it is just to get you thinking about your business. I believe it is beneficial! Hope you learn something new about your business!

Seller Tips: Arousing an Eager Desire

In my business communications class, we are reading How to win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I was weary when I first heard the title...yikes, winning friends? Apparently this book is the world's best seller behind the Bible of course. As I was reading the assigned chapters, I was struck by what Carnegie was saying and amazed that it can apply to all facets of life...including business.

Chapter 3 can apply to those who have a business. Henry Ford, one of the greatest, most successful business men the world has ever known, said this:

"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own."

So many times we as humans focus on our wants and what would make us happy. In our shops, of course we want to have sales everyday. But how often do we take a step back and think about the customers we are serving? What would they want to see in the shop? What product would blow their mind away? Customers know you want sales. Customers want the seller to focus on them and fulfill their desires. They ask, "What's in it for me?"

"Customers like to feel that they are buying--not being sold."

Think always in terms of the customer's point of view , and make the customer desire your product in a way that does not manipulate them.

"The world is full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve other has an enormous advantage. He has little competition."

As the time comes to start preparing for the busy Christmas buying season, I am guilty of seeing dollar signs. Let's make an effort to see things from our customers point of view, and at the same time try to arouse their desires for our great products--not try to only fulfill our desires!

(Quotes in green are from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People)