I was shopping the other day for some bedding-out plants.  It’s that time of year when we find ways to beautify our yards and take full advantage of the short growing season in our area.  Bedding-out plants have been started in the greenhouse earlier so you have a chance for “instant” life in the garden otherwise many things would not grow fast enough from seed to mature during our short season! (Have trust, this is about leadership.)

My plan was to visit two places.  Both places are large box stores and only carry these plants seasonally.  I chose these two places because of the types of plants they typically bring in.

There is one significant difference between the plant sections within the two stores I visited and it’s quite remarkable.

Store A is managed and run by a large corporate organization, I have no idea who the venders are, and I am sure there are many.  With luck, some of the vendors are local suppliers.

Store B is located at a large corporate organization but, in contrast, it’s run by a smaller green house renting the space from the large corporate organization.  They hire local people who have passion and knowledge about plants. It’s a great partnership because payment and location are seamless to the customers, and it’s still supporting a green house owned by a smaller business.

I’m sure you can see where this is going.

Visiting Store A was a huge disappointment.  The workers were young teens or students assigned to the task and working part time jobs.  They knew nothing at all about plants or gardening.  They’d most recently received some deliveries, all standing in racks on wheels at the opening of the garden section, and those plants were almost dead, bone-dry, and drooping!  The Manger was actually attempting to train the employees during one of the busiest plant-shopping weekends of the Canadian year, mid-day. Prices were not readily available.  With 4 staff in “training” customers were left to wait for the scanned pricing at the till. The teller kept telling people (who were waiting for their transactions to finish completing) that “It always printed the receipt best if she walked away from the till”. It was hectic, frustrating and there was no one who could help me more than myself.

Visiting Store B was a complete contrast to the first store.  The one single staff member there was running around like crazy making certain each and every individual had exactly what they needed.  She was watering plants, knew the plants by name, was giving personalized service, was helping customers pick “better looking” selections.  She dug hard to find the healthiest plants (and all of the plants looked great) for each and every sale.  She ran the till, folded cardboard into boxes to hold the plants, would direct you to a choice with a more reasonable price and all the while laughed and joked and informed.  She was amazing.  I think I would hire her in a second if I had the chance!

Store A has all the money, the power and the clout to create an atmosphere that delivers great customer service, but for some reason that store did not do it’s homework.  I can understand when you as a leader are at the mercy of corporate time-lines and setup.  I am guessing the garden section was neither setup nor received it’s merchandise in time to properly train staff in preparation for the May long weekend – a weekend that unofficially heralds spring with more plant and garden sales than any other time of the year in Canada.  Somehow something fell short which caused the leader of this store to be forced into doing training amidst hectic shoppers – perhaps corporate time management and preparation were not in place in time, perhaps the leader has poor management skills themselves.  Who knows, that’s all just guess-work on my part.  What is very clear is this:

The obvious priority for Store A was bottom-line dollars/sales and not the customer.

Store B, in contrast, was obviously wildly aware of the importance of sales over the May long weekend.  They were both set-up and prepared for the customer.  The plants were well-cared for indicating they had done all the right preparation with the right timing to reduce inventory loss and they had made concerted efforts to put the RIGHT people into place.  All of this was accomplished without the strong corporate backing and clout that Store A holds.  Store B provided me with an experience.

The obvious priority for Store B was customer service.

As a customer I like to be treated as though the dollars I spend are worth something to the business.  How does that happen?  By providing me with the sales person’s interest, concern, helpfulness, courtesy, and great service.  Will I shop with Store B more frequently?  Darn certain I will.

Here is the hidden gem, or dare I say brilliance of the Corporation (Store B) who partnered with a smaller green house and it makes me smile.  They offer an expected service to the customer but are well-aware garden centers are not their forte in retail delivery.  They create a seamless approach allowing the customer to use the credit and reward cards of the main store. They know without a doubt the expected service is better run by a group who know how to make it work best for both the corporation and the customer.  THAT folks is Great leadership!

An Aside:  Happy Birthday to Kathie Madden of Kathie Madden Events in Vancouver – hope it is a fabulous day!

Strategic Sense is a Leadership Development, Plans of Action and Facilitation organization who’s mission is to change the world for the better for leaders and their employees everywhere.  We believe each individual comes with their own unique talents and skills that can be enhanced and utilized to help them become the very best leaders only they can be.  Are you recently out of work and don’t know how to begin looking? Contact us to help with the new path forward.

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