Lesson in Economics..... There are two Krausers convenience stores within 2 blocks of my house. Well call them Store A and Store B..... Store A has been open for at least the last 15 years, since I lived in this area and Store B has opened within the last 2 years. I am more familiar with Store A, thereby shopped there more frequently, until recently. About a year ago I made a cup of coffee and brought it to the counter to pay when I noticed that Id forgotten my wallet. I asked the clerk (owners son) if I could pay him on my return trip. I had been coming to the store for 13 plus years and knew everybody by name so I figured it wouldnt be a problem. I was running short on time so I couldnt go back home, get the money, come back, prepare another cup of coffee, and get to work at the appointed time. The clerk became very agitated by the notion that I asked, said, No, that is not possible. Shocked and embarrassed, I left the cup of coffee at the counter and drove to work. From that moment on I went to Store B for all of my convenience store needs. However, there were a few items at Store A that were lower than Store B so I would go there for them. Two months ago a Dunkin Donuts opened up 3 storefronts down from Store B so in order to stay competitive, Store B lowered the price of all size coffees to 99 cents, going forward....... good move. I was impressed and found no need to shop elsewhere. A month ago it was announced that a Seven Eleven was opening across the street from Store A and their strategy was a little more entailed. First, they purchased the small vacant, adjacent storefront and increased their interior space by approximately 200 sq/ft. Next they repaved their parking lot. Lastly, they brightened the interior with new lighting (getting rid of the crummy corner store look)..... okay. Well, the 7/11 opens and advertises any coffee or fountain beverage would be free for the next week to celebrate their grand opening. This is when Store A made their fatal mistake. Instead of competing and maybe starting a matching special or limited discount, they have incrementally raised their prices (to clarify, the prices on certain items have risen every day since the 7/11 opened) on almost all of their products (including the few I was going there to purchase). Im sure this was to ultimately offset the cost of all of the capital improvements made within the last month. But what they fail to realize is that the forces of capitalism were already pulling at their business model in ways they cant see and what needed to happen was good favor shown to the customer base... Needless to say, If they now charge the same prices as the 7/11 Id prefer to go to the 7/11(consistency of price and quality of product) and will head two blocks in the other direction to Store B for any other need...... Which, by the way, is on my way to work..... Lesson: Not even brand/store loyalty, interior upgrade, and somewhat brighter lights are enough to blind consumers to the fact that they were/are the last ones in the chain of customer retention. Store A, long ago, lost touch with the reality...... The Customer Comes First.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 22:14:12 +0000
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