I’m going to go out on a limb and say 95% of the people reading this blog do their own grocery shopping.  I’m also certain this percentage will decrease  in the future as more of you go on line and have your groceries delivered to your front door.  For now, however, I’m going with the assumption that you do your own grocery shopping at a brick and mortar location and your decision on where to shop is based on its proximity to your home.

Product selection, cleanliness of the store, friendliness of the employees & check out efficiency are also part of the equation but for the most part it goes back to location, location, location.  For the basics, the average grocery consumer is not going too far out of their way; it’s a different story for specialty items.

Chances are, if you purchase produce, you are familiar with this little device which is part and parcel to the produce purchasing experience:

How many times do you go grocery shopping and these plastic bag dispensers are placed in hard to find locations?  Or they are too few and far between?  Or only half of them are stocked? Or they have plastic bags but they are out of twisties? Or vice-a-versa? What may seem trivial to most, it’s one of those little things that drives me crazy.

Where I live, there are two familiar name brand grocery stores. One is more convenient than the other. Both are similar when it comes to product selection, quality, cleanliness, friendliness and check out efficiency. The more convenient location rarely has the proper supply of plastic bags and twisties, the other one is always fully stocked!  Nine out of ten times I will  drive past the former to shop at the latter.

Here’s my point (A).  It’s like the old airline story.  When a passenger pulls down the tray table, and it has a coffee stain on it, said passenger wonders if the mechanic pays the same attention to detail when maintaining the plane’s engines.  There may be absolutely zero correlation but why even allow that seed to get planted? The little things aren’t so little when you put it into context!

Point (B) – How hard or expensive could it possibly be to wipe down those tray tables or keep those plastic bag dispensers fully stocked and readily available for customers?

Whether it’s a dirty apron in a restaurant, a disheveled restroom at a convenience store or an empty plastic bag dispenser at your local grocer, it can leave the customer with a negative, lasting impression. Everything sends a message to your customers.  Don’t let the little things undermine your efforts to build your brand.