I don’t call a lot of businesses out when I see poor customer service, but my experience with Curt’s Lock and Key of Fargo is a good example of one business that missed out on gaining a new customer.

I needed to make a copy of a house key and stopped into Curt’s Lock and Key in Fargo as it came recommended by the person who lost my spare keys (Justin). I had never been to Curt’s store before, so I had no expectations.

I walked in right behind another couple looking to get some keys made. I stood patiently behind them waiting my turn. There were two employees behind the counter, one helping the customers in front of me, the other buried in a book of sorts probably lock related. There was one more guy moving around in the back room going about his business and another one standing 4 feet from me in the showroom talking with a customer (probably a regular).

The man in the showroom seemed to be the manager or possibly the owner. I have no idea what his position actually is, but judging by the lack of dirt on his clothes compared to the others, he must be important.

After about 5 minutes of listening to and watching these two men talk, I assumed business is so good they must not need my business. So I left.

I know they aren’t going to miss their monthly budget because they didn’t make me a set of spare keys, but what they did do is fail miserably in the customer service department. I can imagine 15 different ways they could have had a loyal customer for life who would pass along word of their excellent service to family, friends and blog readers. But not one of those things happened.

There was no “Hi, I’ll be right right with you” or “Is there anything I can help you with?”

It was clear that B.S.ing with a customer was more important than someone standing there needing service.

I would think proper customer service would be standard and even more important than ever when money is tight. With customer service, I tell people to treat everyone like they are Bill Gates. You never know who could be around to pass along any shortcomings.

I doubt this post has any effect on Curt’s business or client base, but I sure hope if the employees read this they will consider changing how they respond to customers.

Cheers.

Update 2/6/11: It’s that time of year again when Girl Scout Cookies go on sale. This year I witnessed something very cool.

My local office shop has a text message club for patrons to know what is going on for events and deals. On a Friday I get a text from them telling me that they will be having a Girl Scout table on Sunday at their location for people to come and buy cookies. Of course I immediately forward the text to everyone to share the great news! My girlfriend and I quickly scheduled in time to go get and coffee and some cookies.

We show up on one of the coldest days in Fargo and there lies the prize. A table full of Girl Scout cookies. We do our civic duty and purchase a couple boxes of ThinMints and proceed to get our coffee. After sitting down I continue to promote the adventure over Twitter and Facebook. Gotta Love Social Media.

I admire the effort and ingenuity of the coffee shop and the Girl Scouts to piggyback sales from those looking for coffee and others looking for cookies. Talk about a Win-Win for both involved. Great idea. I wanted to make sure others were exposed to it.

A final note: Each box cost $4 this time around.

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Original Post: All marketers strive to have a product recognized by everyone and their mother like Coke Cola or McDonald’s. I heard once that Ronald McDonald is more recognizable to young children than Jesus. I guess that speaks volumes to where more people go on a weekly basis. Anyways, the other day my girlfriend told me that she saw a sign for Girl Scout Cookies in front of a house advertising that people could go there to buy their annual stockpile of Girl Scout Cookies.

The reason you have to stockpile the cookies is because they are available for a limited time once a year. Once you run out (in about 1 week) you have to wait 50 more weeks to get more. This helps to maintain the exorbitant price they sell these cookies for. I know they sell them to help raise money to do fun things like camping and helping elderly cross the street, but seriously do you need to charge $6 for a few mint wafers? Never mind all of that.

Did you catch the part that they have a sign in front of their house?

I remember helping to raise money as a kid. I had to travel the neighborhood asking my (mostly) polite neighbors if they would buy my overpriced goods to raise money for a good cause. Most the time they declined but nevertheless I was usually in the top fundraiser group at school. I didn’t cheat by having my family buy all my wares to win the competition, but I did go out and pound the pavement. Wow have times changed.

Now these lazy kids get to put a sign in their front yard and probably sell all their cookies because kids like me helped build the brand a long time ago. How long do you think people will keep lining up in front of a house with a sign in the yard to buy cookies before the brand suffers? Sooner or later people won’t care as much about the cookies as they once did because all of the kids quit patrolling the neighborhood trying to sell them. Eventually, the out of sight, out of mind will take hold.

I am not knocking the Girl Scouts for having such a powerful brand as to be able to put a sign in their yard and sell cookies. But I question how sustainable that model of promotion is. I don’t think it would take long before those kids have to go out door to door again to sell their supplies.

I have made a conscious decision to support any entrepreneurial kid that comes my way (including lemonade stands). But if they expect me to go out of my way to buy overpriced anything without effort on their part, they are sadly mistaken. If they came to my house and said I could buy all the cookies I want by going to the house with the sign in the yard, I would probably go and do so.

I guess the biggest lesson here is to understand how much brand equity you and your product have and then how much of that equity you are willing to spend. Brand equity is a continual balance that must always be replenished at some point and is a very important thing to monitor.

Has anyone else seen these Girl Scout Cookie signs around? How does that make you feel about the brand image they are trying to project?

I hope that everyone is enjoying the eggnog with loved ones next to a warm fire and some good food. This year Lindsay and I continued our tradition of having Chinese Buffet for Christmas lunch. We started going 3 years ago when both of us used to work on Christmas. This year is a little different.

I quit my last job a year ago this week. Hard to believe where life has taken me since. Quitting my job was the guttiest thing I have ever done, leaving behind a secure dismal paycheck to pursue a life of business and Internet Marketing. It was the best choice I have ever made. Deciding to strike out on my own definitely came with its ups and downs, but over all has been extremely worth it.

Looking back over the last year makes me very thankful that I get to spend time relaxing with my girlfriend Lindsay and for all the support that family and friends have given over the years. I hope that wherever you are, you are with the ones you love and cherishing every moment. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. God Bless you and may this year be more fruitful than the last.

-Josh Whitford

P.S. This year I am changing the focus of my newsletter to better help and encourage others to pursue a better life through marketing.