The Customer is NEVER king, or queen!

I was in a local independent coffee shop this morning. I started talking to the manager of the place.

"I never think of the customer first," she said. "That's always counter-productive in this day and age. They never know what they want or need."

"So, who do you think of first?" I asked.

"My staff, of course. This is a service industry. Without happy, nice, friendly, contented staff, where would we be? They are here to help, advise and most importantly, be quick."

"But what about the customer?" I persisted.

"Oh, he or she comes last in the food chain. This is the 21st century! They know nothing and, if they're honest, they'll agree with me. Anyway, we proved it."

This piqued my interest further, so, I asked for more.

She said: "We did an online survey asking customers to rank our products. We wanted to know which ones people liked the most. Strangely, the results were completely different from what our own sales data suggested. People were telling us what they liked was different from what they bought. They thought our chocolate muffins were the best products on the counter BUT they said they would never buy them for obvious reasons. We realised then that asking customers about our products was a complete waste of time, if you're thinking like a conventional marketing person. True, the data was useful. We now know that our small and relatively cheap Portuguese tarts are the most popular items on the counter. Great. But so what? Do we now pack the counter with tarts and reduce the muffins? And what about new stuff like our extra large almond croissants? So, we then asked customers what they would like to have in their ideal coffee shop. Most just told us that what we were currently doing was great and to carry on doing it. They had no idea. Wonderful! And useless. As for innovation and new stuff - no idea at all. So, it's up to us to create and then cross our fingers - and rely on enthusiastic and helpful staff to sell the new idea. Oh, and before you ask, we did did try 'test-running' new lines, but again, a mixed response, because people rarely bought new things, because they were exactly that. New. And your average customer is a creature of habit. He or she doesn't normally like experimenting. Customers are very suspicious of the new! Far better to go with what he he she knows."

She then walked up to a customer and told him that he'd eaten enough chocolate muffins this week and not to order anymore till next Monday, finishing by telling him that he'd thank her in the future. He laughed and agreed!

I was intrigued by this brand of selling. It's certainly not what you are taught or read in text books.

I looked at the staff - they were all chatting, laughing and exchanging banter with the people in the queue who were smiling and enjoying the whole experience. There was no pressure, no stress and, as a result, the staff were working hard, efficiently and ... quickly. Everyone happy. One member of staff then went round the coffee shop with a tray of free chocolate biscuits, just because 'she felt like being generous'.

Whatever you may think of these sales tactics, they appeared to work. The place was rammed with a queue stretching out the door. And I should add that there's a massive Costa just opposite this place, so customers do have a choice.

I also noted that at the counter they haveTONY'S CHOCOLONELY biscuits, sourced from countries which use 'slave-free' cocoa plantations in West Africa. Not only is the name of the biscuit distinctly odd (and rememberable) and a marketing person's worst nightmare, but the accompanying 'manifesto' aims at the customer's morality rather than the taste of the bikkie - the principle message being: 'The choice is yours. Are you in?'

I sat drinking my cappuccino thinking that this place had hit all the right nails on the head perfectly. Not only was it treating its staff brilliantly, but it was also helping in its very small way with other more serious issues.

"Marketing is 90% common sense," the manager added, as I left, later. "Most companies now over-think things and can't see the wood for the trees, because there's vastly too much marketing data and analysis about. We should remember that most of us are not Amazon or Coca-Cola and don't need masses of data to exist. We are a small company where ALL our staff deal with the public directly. So, what we do is ask them what they think will sell. They invariably know the answers because they are in the sales front line and know exactly what should be done. Forget the customer - they will accept anything if it's got chocolate on and is offered in a non-selly and happy way."