Every Friday I go to the grocery store. It is one of the few shopping things I love to do since I love to cook. I have been shopping at the H.E.B every single week since they have opened a new store by my house. (and yes, it is the ONLY grocery store I will go to.)
About a year ago an Aldi opened across the street from H.E.B and I kept saying that I needed to go and check it out. I even have a close college friend that is the director of purchasing and encouraged me to visit. Aldi is supposed to have great prices on their groceries with an interesting concept, you have to pay a quarter to get your cart and then get your quarter back when you put the cart back in the stall. They only take cash or debit cards to get rid of processing fees, customers bring their own bags for groceries and they don’t really carry name brands.
So last Friday, as I made my weekly trip to H.E.B., I passed by Aldi and wondered why I hadn’t been there yet. They’ve been open for over a year; and it is the same distance from my house as my usual store.
This really got me to thinking, WHY do I go to H.E.B. every week? It was so easy to answer, I go to H.E.B. because I can ALWAYS expect the same level of service, friendly people and the best quality products. I know that some of their items are more expensive than other stores but I can ALWAYS count on the fact that their quality of service and products are the BEST.
Many of the cashiers know me and know my boys. They even remember that we are moving and that my husband has been gone so they ask how everything has been going. They literally see hundreds of people a week but know (and seem to care) who I am, and to me that is HUGE! One day I forgot my $5 gallon of Organic milk in my cart so I called the store. Then all I had to do was return with my receipt and get a new one, no questions asked!
So my question for you is, what keeps your guests coming back to you? Are they loyal to you or are they going across the street to your competition? I think what it boils down to for me is great guest service. I will drive further and pay more if I know the guest service is great. So do you know if you are leaving those lasting impressions with your guests and providing the best service possible? Do you want to? We would love to hear about how you keep people coming back for more, share with us on Facebook!
