Friday, August 1, 2008

Evolution

Back in "the day" it seemed there was a gas station on every corner. They either evolved into all-purpose stores, competing with groceries and fast food standalones or they went out of business. There aren't as many as before and the ones in existence take a quarter of a block of space. Wow.

But, many of the former gas station spaces ended up having the costly process of tank removable being performed by the only type of business which could figure out they had money to burn, albeit yours and mine - banks. So now many of the corners have banks.

Replacing other defunct operations and taking up huge blocks of space, preferring the ever-popular corner location, is the drug store. This is the latest wave of businesses replicating when we're not looking. We see the birth of a Walgreen's and know a CVS will grow across the corner soon.

The squeeze is on again, for corner space. The marketing researchers who track the competition are active. It's not uncommon to see a decent structure be ripped down to make way for a look alike.

Every town used to be different, have its own character, vitality. We lost that when franchises entered our business vocabularies. Then we heard remarks similar to "Every town looks the same..." which couldn't be argued against. Now we live in a country where section A in town looks just like section B or C.

I miss the old way, where a person walked to the corner for bread and milk, or the mechanic on duty checked your oil and wiped your car windows and let you watch while he changed a tire, or you knew you could deposit a few dollars in your "Christmas" account and the bank people knew your name and smiled as you completed your transaction.

Sure, all of them knew that they were aiding you in becoming a better and perhaps lifetime customer. But I also believe before they had those thoughts they were genuinely pleased and personally interested in each person who appeared before them. They dealt one-with-one, not one-to-one. It was different. And, in this case, different was better.

Pay attention to your customers. Smiles are free. Even over the phone your clients will see your smile when you offer it.
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

...Every town used to be different, have its own character...
I had much the same feeling on my first trip to Canada. Went up to Winnipeg for a weekend get-a-way only to find Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds etc. Was just like being in Anyville, USA.

In the olden days, when you stopped at a gas station, you could also get help adjusting the carburetor, setting the points, changing a tire or installing a new fan belt. You remained in the car, the filling station attendant checked your oil and the tires while smoking a Lucky Srike.
Fill'er up ma'am?
"Yes please Mr. Goodwrench. You have an extra smoke?"

You're a quart low ma'am ."
"Yes I know, my husband told me that last night."

On the other hand, when is the last time you added a quart of oil between 5,000 mile oil changes?

Or had to go down the street after getting gas at the station just to get a Snickers?

I get the feeling if you were king, I'd be going to the market for milk riding on a mule. And the milk would be in a glass jar. And the clerk would put it on my tab. And the milk would have about 1/2 inch of cream on top. And I'd not be wearing shoes. And Mrs. Clark who taught grades 1 through 8 was at the store and asked if I'd done my homework? And........

August 3, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Kate said...

Just take Ralph with a grain of salt. He's persistent in his reading of the blog because he's related to me which automatically makes any contribution questionable. Smile, Cuz.

August 3, 2008 at 6:29 PM

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