How a butcher's well-run system made personal service possible and encouraged me to buy more
How a butcher's well-run system made personal service possible and encouraged me to buy more
What kind of store makes its customers wait outside? That was the question in my head the first time I went to a local butcher I hadn't used before. We had to take a number, which already felt a little odd, and then we had to wait outside until our number was called. I'd only gone because the meat at our local grocery store, a major chain, just wasn't what it had been, and I'd heard good things about this place and wanted to check it out. While we waited, I honestly wondered why any business would keep its customers on the other side of the door.
Then our number was called. Once we stepped inside, the reason made sense, because they only let people in when a staff member was free and ready to help. That person greeted us right away and stayed with us, and even with probably 10 other people in the store, we had someone dedicated to us the whole time. The whole visit was built around a curated, one-on-one experience, and they couldn't have offered it if they let everyone in at once. I left having bought a lot more than I came in for, and I was happy about it.
If clients reach your business faster than you can properly look after them, you've probably felt the pull to let everyone in and hope you can keep up, because turning anyone away, even for a few minutes, feels risky. That visit taught me a few things I think any business owner can use.
Make people feel looked after and they'll want to stay
When I feel welcome, get help finding what I came for, and enjoy being somewhere, I'm happy to stay longer and spend more, and I don't mind doing it. Your clients may well be the same, and it's easy to underestimate how much that feeling shapes what someone decides to buy.
Our person at the butcher asked what we were looking for and helped us choose it. While they wrapped our order, they suggested we look around at a few other things, and we ended up grabbing this and that. I've never had that kind of help at a butcher or any other food store, and from the moment we stepped inside, I felt taken care of.
The wait outside that seemed so strange is the system that made all of this possible, because nobody came in until someone was ready for them. In your business, that might mean being deliberate about how many new clients or files you take on at once, so the person in front of you gets real attention. It also means using the natural pauses, like while paperwork is being prepared, to show people something else that could help them.
Upscale doesn't have to cost more
The butcher had a beautiful veranda over the front entrance, big enough for 50 people, with picnic tables set up. The parking lot and picnic area were insanely clean. When our meat was wrapped, the person came around the counter, handed us a basket with everything packaged in it, and thanked us for shopping there.
None of that is expensive. Keeping a lot clean and walking around a counter are habits. Yet together they made the place feel upscale, and I spent more than I intended while feeling like I got far more value than I paid for.
Look for the equivalent in your own work. Calling back when you said you would, sending a tidy summary instead of a pile of attachments, or walking a client through the last step yourself. These cost you very little, and they change how your price feels to the person paying it.
A good experience from start to finish gets shared
Even checkout was a pleasure. The person there was exceedingly nice and thankful. From the parking lot to the door on the way out, the whole thing was a great experience, and here I am writing about it.
I think of this as protecting the core and expanding outward. The butcher's core is good meat, and they protect it. Then they build outward from there: the welcome, the help, the handoff, the thank you. Each step gives a customer one more reason to tell someone.
So walk through your business the way a new client would, from the first call to the final thank you. Notice where they wait without knowing why, where nobody is guiding them, and where the ending just fizzles. Every one of those spots is a chance to make people want to stay longer, buy more, and bring their friends next time.
How a butcher's well-run system made personal service possible and encouraged me to buy more
What kind of store makes its customers wait outside? That was the question in my head the first time I went to a local butcher I hadn't used before. We had to take a number, which already felt a little odd, and then we had to wait outside until our number was called. I'd only gone because the meat at our local grocery store, a major chain, just wasn't what it had been, and I'd heard good things about this place and wanted to check it out. While we waited, I honestly wondered why any business would keep its customers on the other side of the door.
Then our number was called. Once we stepped inside, the reason made sense, because they only let people in when a staff member was free and ready to help. That person greeted us right away and stayed with us, and even with probably 10 other people in the store, we had someone dedicated to us the whole time. The whole visit was built around a curated, one-on-one experience, and they couldn't have offered it if they let everyone in at once. I left having bought a lot more than I came in for, and I was happy about it.
If clients reach your business faster than you can properly look after them, you've probably felt the pull to let everyone in and hope you can keep up, because turning anyone away, even for a few minutes, feels risky. That visit taught me a few things I think any business owner can use.
Make people feel looked after and they'll want to stay
When I feel welcome, get help finding what I came for, and enjoy being somewhere, I'm happy to stay longer and spend more, and I don't mind doing it. Your clients may well be the same, and it's easy to underestimate how much that feeling shapes what someone decides to buy.
Our person at the butcher asked what we were looking for and helped us choose it. While they wrapped our order, they suggested we look around at a few other things, and we ended up grabbing this and that. I've never had that kind of help at a butcher or any other food store, and from the moment we stepped inside, I felt taken care of.
The wait outside that seemed so strange is the system that made all of this possible, because nobody came in until someone was ready for them. In your business, that might mean being deliberate about how many new clients or files you take on at once, so the person in front of you gets real attention. It also means using the natural pauses, like while paperwork is being prepared, to show people something else that could help them.
Upscale doesn't have to cost more
The butcher had a beautiful veranda over the front entrance, big enough for 50 people, with picnic tables set up. The parking lot and picnic area were insanely clean. When our meat was wrapped, the person came around the counter, handed us a basket with everything packaged in it, and thanked us for shopping there.
None of that is expensive. Keeping a lot clean and walking around a counter are habits. Yet together they made the place feel upscale, and I spent more than I intended while feeling like I got far more value than I paid for.
Look for the equivalent in your own work. Calling back when you said you would, sending a tidy summary instead of a pile of attachments, or walking a client through the last step yourself. These cost you very little, and they change how your price feels to the person paying it.
A good experience from start to finish gets shared
Even checkout was a pleasure. The person there was exceedingly nice and thankful. From the parking lot to the door on the way out, the whole thing was a great experience, and here I am writing about it.
I think of this as protecting the core and expanding outward. The butcher's core is good meat, and they protect it. Then they build outward from there: the welcome, the help, the handoff, the thank you. Each step gives a customer one more reason to tell someone.
So walk through your business the way a new client would, from the first call to the final thank you. Notice where they wait without knowing why, where nobody is guiding them, and where the ending just fizzles. Every one of those spots is a chance to make people want to stay longer, buy more, and bring their friends next time.
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