Returning from New York to San Diego recently, I sat in the Jet Blue terminal, waiting for my flight home. Advertised throughout the terminal were free Internet wireless zones. I thought: How cool is this? Free Internet. I can check my e mails, do a little web browsing, get caught up before the flight.

Unfortunately, the connection was so miserable that everyone trying to use it simply gave up. And the seating was so uncomfortable, our rear ends could only sustain the pain for about 10 minutes before we had to change seats. What a waste of a great opportunity for JetBlue: a really inexpensive chance to add value to their brand and create a memorable experience was so easily upset by faulty equipment and cheap seats.

If I were Airport King, I would mandate that all airports provide free web service with cushy seating. They can make their money advertising on the site, and the resultant improved customer experience would greatly alleviate customer service issues when planes are late, kids are crying and food is just barely edible.

My point? Too many retailers get complacent about the little things that make customers come back for more. In your clothing store, it might be the floor-to-ceiling wardrobe mirrors (have you cleaned them lately?). In your bead shop, maybe it’s the free samples you give to anyone who walks in the door (are they hot new designs or just old inventory?).

Do what JetBlue staff should have done: Keep an eye on the customers and take immediate steps to correct any dissatisfaction. Otherwise, your bottom line could suffer a terminal decline.

You don’t see too many David vs. Goliath stories these days with a happy ending for David–especially when Home Depot is Goliath.

But I just read a great article in the Los Angles Times about a hardware store owner who did just that. Everyone in retail who’s worried about big-box competition should read it for inspiration (free account registration may be required).

What a story: 101-year-old mom-and-pop hardware store is threatened when Home Depot moves in nearby. It’s a rude awakening for the owner, a real estate guy who helped craft the deal that brought the Depot to town.

But he took stock of the situation and now focuses on carrying items local customers can’t get at HD, insists on attentive customer service and doesn’t worry about price matching on large orders. The store itself was made more appealing to female customers, and inventory and checkout computerized.

The result? Sales are back in the black and a loyal customer base helps the store thrive despite the encroaching Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Articles like this give me great hope that small retailers will be around for a long time. Once again, studying the competition, giving your customers what they really want and adding the personal touch seem to be the keys to success. Remember that the next time your Goliath decides to move in down the street.

Sometimes I look forward to sitting in my dentist’s chair more than visiting a client’s retail store. Why? It’s the music.

If you’ve ever found yourself nervously eyeing the exit while your kids linger in Abercrombie & Fitch, you know what I mean. The pounding, blaring in-store music is designed to keep the teens shopping–and does so brilliantly. A&F is clearly an example of a retailer who knows its core customer.

My dentist knows his customers, too. That’s why the high-quality speakers in his office emanate the soothing sounds of soft rock, pleasant pop and a huge helping of jazz. I’m at ease as soon as I walk in. The background music helps me feel more comfortable while he’s working on my teeth, and it makes all his patients more at ease, regardless of age.

Industry studies show that the right music keeps customers in stores longer and keeps them in spending mode. You know your customers better than anyone. If a boom box with cassette tapes does the trick, great. But it’s getting easier and more affordable to go digital. Services like Trusonic and DMX will tell you what they think is the best music for your demographic, or will let you choose the type of music that suits your business. They will also show you how to insert your own commercials promoting in-store specials or upcoming sales.

Not sure what kind of tunes your customers like? Ask them. Give them a quick music survey form to complete and drop in a box. (Be sure to get their email addresses so you can notify them of sales and specials.) Then hold a random drawing for a merchandise giveaway. Involve them in the process and listen to your sales grow.

I stopped by a local surf shop the other day and chatted with the owner about his experiences with shoplifters. Glenn Paculba has owned Star Surfing Company in Pacific Beach, California, for more than 20 years. He had just remodeled the shop and moved the counter from about 10 feet in to right next to the front door. A customer asked if he had done it to help thwart shoplifters. Not really, Glenn told me.

“In my experience, most shoplifters could care less where the checkout counter is,” he said. “They hide the merchandise they lift, then typically just walk past the checkout clerk and out of the store.”

Glenn told me he recently noticed two non-surf types browsing his store. They came in together, split up and moved through the shop. Glenn said he simply walked up to each one, asked if they needed any help, then touched each of them on the shoulder.

Both men soon left empty-handed. Glenn told me that once he touches them, they know “the jig is up.” They’re being watched. Sounded like a great “hands on” tip to me.

I stopped by a local surf shop the other day and chatted with the owner about his experiences with shoplifters. Glenn Paculba has owned Star Surfing Company in Pacific Beach, California, for more than 20 years. He had just remodeled the shop and moved the counter from about 10 feet in to right next to the front door. A customer asked if he had done it to help thwart shoplifters. Not really, Glenn told me.

“In my experience, most shoplifters could care less where the checkout counter is,” he said. “They hide the merchandise they lift, then typically just walk past the checkout clerk and out of the store.”

Glenn told me he recently noticed two non-surf types browsing his store. They came in together, split up and moved through the shop. Glenn said he simply walked up to each one, asked if they needed any help, then touched each of them on the shoulder.

Both men soon left empty-handed. Glenn told me that once he touches them, they know “the jig is up.” They’re being watched. Sounded like a great “hands on” tip to me.

Floor coverings in a store provide both an attractive surface for your customers and employees to stand on and serve as a backdrop for your merchandise. Selecting floor covering materials for a store is nothing like the same process for a home. In a store, the traffic is greater, the maintenance higher and the visual aspect more critical. Cost, color, and materials become important from an objective business point of view, rather than a purely personal aesthetic.

Flooring can be designed into a shop to create an illusion of greater space or to define and accentuate particular areas. For instance:

• Using rubber, vinyl or ceramic tiles at the entryway and continuing the tiles through the store as a guide or
• Using different carpet styles or colors to differentiate sections of a store such as men’s, women’s, kids’, etc.

The flooring change stimulates customer interest and enhances product identification. The end result can mean heavier and more controlled traffic with a resulting increase in sales volume.

The “wear characteristics” of carpeting have to be a major factor in its purchase. However, carpet performance and longevity are tied to a combination of traffic patterns and fiber composition. Most commercial grades of carpet are now made from Nylon, Olefin, or a combination of the two and the difference in fiber creates a major difference in wear and in price.

Resilient floor coverings are very popular in the retail industry because of their durability, stain resistance and ease of maintenance. Resilient floors include wood, ceramic and vinyl tiles, marble and granite, and of course, rubber radial tiles. For most retail applications we specify a resilient floor covering at the entry to save wear on the carpet.

Floor Graphics are also ideal for drawing attention to a product in a creative way. How about a life-sized basketball player advertising sportswear? Or “French Fries” scattered on the ground, showing the way to the counter of a fast food restaurant? Further these graphics have proved their usefulness as floor markings in bus stations, shopping centers and sports stadiums, at exhibitions, in airports and in post offices.

In test stores where a floor graphic was used to enhance a brand the turnover in the test shops scored 23% higher than in six similar stores without Floor Graphics. Even after the markings were removed, turnover remained 9% higher. On the basis of 800 face-to-face interviews, the brand recognition proved to have risen by 114%, and Floor Graphics generated three times as many positive reactions as other forms of in-store advertising..

Choosing the proper floor covering for your store takes both time and a careful analysis of your particular needs. It also requires a careful appraisal of both your long and short term requirements. TRIO sells over 50 lines and 2500 styles of commercial carpeting and resilient floor coverings. Give us a call if you need a specification or a bid.