Village Squire, 1973-09, Page 19Bus iness
The lessons
of poor management
It's been a good year far business in
general, although there have been a
number of problems just to keep things
interesting.
The past month, for instance, has
seen many merchants trying to find ways
to beat the rail strike. Many weren't
successful. Especially hard hit were
clothing merchants in the midst of the
switch fro n summer merchandise to
winter merchandise. They were left
with empty shelves during the critical
period.
But while some companies were busy
coping with problems imposed on them
by others, some were creating their own
proble ns.
Take for instance a large home supply
business here in the county. One custo-
mer explained that the company had
lost nearly $1000 of his business in the
past year because of two things: lack of
promotion and poor service.
The customer explained that he was
renovating a home and installing car-
peting. The project began last fall
and the customer went looking far
carpeting. Unfortunately for the coun-
pany involved the potential customer
was the kind who liked to know what
was available and at what price before
entering a store. The company wasn't
advertising at the time. Another com-
pany that was, got the sale.
By this summer when the project was
nearing completion, it was time for
another shopping trip for carpeting for
another room. By this time the com-
pany had done some advertising and the
customer knew he could get the carpet-
ing there for the price he felt he could
afford. The particular type and colour
was not in stock, however but the com-
pany promised to order it and have it
in a week. The week went by and the
promise became "this week". That
week went by with more quick promises
but after three weeks of waiting, the
customer could wait no longer and can-
celled the order and bought elsewhere.
All told, the loss in sales from one
customer was close to $1000.
Obviously, it is important to let pa—
ten tia1 customers know what services
you offer and at what price, but just
as obviously, all the advertising in
the world isn't going to help if you
give poor service. It's a lesson every
business has to learn if it hopes to win,
and keep, customers.
LIKE TO
UITE?
Here's a chance for you
to gain experience in
writing for a well-known
publication.
We will accept manu-
scripts from area free-
lance writers dealing
with events on people
in the region. For more
information, Call:
`lS�eeai.e,
Vices i,n
523-9646 Blyth
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71 ALBERT ST. CLINTON 482-2505
—J
19