If you've been watching this blog for awhile, you're aware of my reports about a pair of brothers who own and run a local convenience store.
Just a few days ago, I noticed piles of shelving stacked outside and new flooring being laid inside. What looked like a long-awaited upgrade, was actually something else entirely. I'd been talking to them about crypto lately and answering questions about the subject from time to time.
A Store Is Born
This post however is about the brick and mortar store itself. Located in an optimal location, the unit thrived as part of a chain due to its placement near the central business district. On a high-traffic artery, it attracted busy professionals who had lunch on the premises, while stopping by to do a little shopping at the end of their workday.
In short, the place was booming.
Then, after the owner ran into some personal trouble, he sold and the brothers took over the operation. And that's when the downturn began...
Being from a foreign country and not understanding the local culture may have doomed them from the start. As we all know, to many people perception is reality, right? Having been used to running things one way in their home country, they made the mistake of bringing these habits over with them.
Because this store was located in an area frequented by more upscale employees, the original owner had wisely invested in proper maintenance of the building and grounds. The sidewalks were swept each shift, power washed each week and the shrubbery was trimmed and replaced whenever needed. The inside was kept up as well and the shelving and seating area was immaculate, with a well-appointed coffee and donuts area to help the workers start their day.
The ne'er-do-wells were rousted from the property before they could setup shop outside (and inside) and deter paying customers. However, when the brothers arrived, they considered all of this to be unnecessary spending and slashed it all.
For a time, they got away with it...
Ignoring the warnings from the locals, business seemed to continue as before. But it was actually the beginning of a long, slow decline which would change their lives forever. But in those heady early years, all advice to stay the course was rebuffed, and that lead to what I witnessed just a few short days ago.
Customers Depart
Those of you aware of shoppers psychology know that a customer who has a good experience at a business will tell one or two friends. But if they have a bad one, they'll tell 15 or 20. That's exactly what began happening here. The outside grounds were no longer kept up with discarded takeaway containers strewn about the property.
They stopped the landscaping service and the hedges were allowed to grow wild along with the weeds. They stopped screening the employees, so a certain element took root inside and started a side business selling drugs out of the place. This attracted all manner of unsavory characters including drug addicts who set up a gauntlet at the front door harassing the regular customers.
You can see where this is going, right?
Work began to spread amongst the upscale workers in the surrounding office buildings and they began to avoid the place like the plague. Walking in there myself, I was shocked at how the place had declined so quickly. It was as if they'd become accustomed to the filth and rot setting in. Believe me, I tried talking to them, but they weren't about to invest in maintaining the standards to keep their customers.
Had the slowdown in business occurred suddenly, it might have shocked them into action. But what actually occurred was that customers came in less often while still checking in months later hoping the brothers would get their act together.
Wawa And Sheetz Clean Their Clock
You see, many shoppers didn't want to give up on the place as it was right downtown, with the nearest Wawa or Sheetz being out in the suburbs. So they seemingly had a lock on these affluent professionals that they let slip right out of their hands. But since it happened at a glacial pace, the realization didn't hit them until it was too late.
As their income shrank, the AC and cooler temps were adjusted to save money as well as the heat in the winter. This turned away even more customers who now no longer bothered to enjoy their break in the store. Paychecks were now late and they had to close for third shift as the business was no longer there.
But the sad thing was they still had a monopoly in their location. Business wasn't dropping off due to competition, but because of the way they were running/ruining the place. It didn't have to happen, but it did.
Just last year, they had to let go of their last long-time employee who wasn't related to them because they could no longer afford to pay him. Family members were working almost for free now, but they continued to resist all suggestions to improve the operation.
Minding Your Business
Thus we see the renovation I walked into last week. Turns out they've been forced by their own mismanagement and stubbornness to unload the business to a new owner. The younger brother told me he hopes they will let them work there as employees, but I think he needs to start clean with a complete revamp of the place and a renewed focus on serving his remaining shoppers.
Will the new management learn from the prior mistakes? Only time will tell. If nothing else, this is an object lesson on the vital importance of listening to what your customers are telling you. Are you minding your business?
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The shoppers’ psychology thing is a new concept to me. It makes sense though if you think about it.
They really managed managed to do just the exact wrong combo of things to kill a business. Poor sanitation, drugs, and managed AC, definitely equals unhappy customers, and apparently unhappy employees too because of delayed paychecks. How does a business run with no one happy?🤔 It’s no rocket science how things turned out how they did.
That thing with shoppers psychology is real and I saw it up close when I first started working in a retail store. My boss explained that everything from the way the store was laid out to the quailty of the staff interaction, contributed to the experience. Good service and good experiences are remembered much less than bad ones. Upset customers, and they will tell all of their friends and family, and that's what happened here.
I think what hurt them was the slow-motion loss of shoppers. If they'd lost 4/5'ths of the shoppers base in the first six months, it would have been so noticeable that they would have been forced to make changes quickly. But because the losses were speread out in a slow drip over years, they became almost inured to it.
What really surprised me was that they ignored the warnings and advice of the many locals (including me) who took the time out of their day over years, to speak up and say something because they cared about the store. We'll see if the new management is more attentive.
They had it coming and I’m sure they were just holding out on the maintenance whiles they search for a buyer to unload the dying business on.
At least someone still bought it. That was lucky if you ask me, because I wouldn’t buy a dump that seems to sinking. I guess this is where the difference between the ordinary person and an investor is drawn. The ability to realize potential and turn it into numbers.
That's it. That location is killer and has tons of potential which is why it was always packed with customers before they ran it and why they bought it in the first place. It's right downtown surrounded by government and office buildings with a clientele that filled the place during the workday and afterwards.
If I'd had the money, I'd have bought it myself. They blew it.