Culture and Energy

Going to my favourite sandwich franchise today, I witnessed real magic. This was not the slight of hand magic trick that illusionists do. This magic is stuff concocted by marketing wizards. But even marketing wizards cannot dream up what an 18 year old cashier was able to do at this location.

Let me explain. A new dessert is plastered all over the dining room. This is nothing special. Many restaurants promote a monthly special or a new product this way. They try to instigate trial to raise average cheque or to increase frequency of visit. This is the usual marketing practice and this is where these promotions fail. They don't have an active ability to encourage staff to sell the product. And most good products die on the idea table because of the inability to sell on the floor.

I have been at other franchised units in this chain and nothing compares to the experience I received today. It was remarkable. No. It was shareable. And that's all any good business should be striving for - share ability!

So, when I got to the cash to order my sandwich, there was a plain white piece of paper taped to the cash register. The page explained that the chain had a national sales contest amongst stores to sell the most desserts. This location was currently second in the country. The winner will get Henrik Zetterberg, who is a well known NHL hockey player, to visit the store.

The page wasn't remarkable. Although the story was interesting, it wasn't enough to get me excited. I don't live in this town. I don't like the team Zetterberg plays for and I don't give two shits about the player either.

So a young girl comes to the cash to take my order and here's the interaction between us.

"Would you like a Snowball with your sandwich?"
"No thank you".
"We're currently in second place in the country. If we finish in first in the country by selling enough Snowballs, we're gonna get Henrick Zetterberg in our store."
"Yeah, I see that, but no thanks"
"Did you know they are only $____ (I can't remember the exact price)?"
"Yeah, but I really don't want sugar".
"You can give it to someone else if you'd like, but it's gluten free and each one only has 73 calories. You deserve a treat".
"You're making it tough on me, but I'm still gonna decline."
"Ok, it's going to be amazing to have a real NHL'er in our store. Do you know how many young kids this could affect."

She still had a smile on her face the whole time. She wasn't pushy. She was energetic. She was supporting a community cause - getting an NHL'er in her store. Everyone in front of me ordered one. I have no doubt this store is going to win the contest because of the young people working there.  Then I watched the rest of the team interact with each other and with customers as they smiled, laughed and joked around.

This location has become my favourite store in this chain. The management team has embraced a national promotion and created an energy that increases employee interaction with customers, average cheque, community spirit, and ultimately customer delight.

Congratulations Pita Pit Oromocto. You impressed me and that's not easy to do!