Why didn’t he tell me the shoes needed new soles when I got the heels done?
Its a big pain in the butt to bring your shoes with you in a bag, take them to the cobblers, store your ticket and return a few days later to collect them.
When I took them to him the soles looked ok so I just asked him to do the heels.
Just a week later a hole appears on the sole of my just repaired shoes and we go through the whole routine again..very annoying!
Surely he spotted that the soles were weak and needed to be done? Why didn’t he tell me?
In a world where we are all encouraged to up-sell is he crazy, losing easy business I wonder?
Has this wise cobbler learnt from years of experience that he is better off just doing what the customer has asked for instead of suggesting extra things that may be needed and leaving the customer with the possible view that they are always being ‘sold‘ something and maybe not returning?
I would have liked to have avoided the unnecessary nuisance of returning a second time but I did wonder how I would have felt if he was suggesting some extra work that wasn’t that obvious to me.
– If the customer trusts you they will accept your recommendation
– If the customer hasn’t built up trust with you they may feel like they are being pressurised into spending more money unnecessarily and you may lose the sale
– Until your customer trusts you do your best to point out the hole.
If the hole isn’t that obvious you might be better doing a great job on the heel and they will be back ..
What do you think?
Tags: Cork, Dublin, Fuzion Marketing & PR, Greg Canty
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
July 29, 2014 at 12:43 am |
Good post, Greg! It’s a delicate balance between doing the hard sell and giving customers the benefit of your expertise. Maybe you’re right about building up trust first – I’d add credibility.
Personally, when I’ve received a genuine recommendation in the past I’ve usually appreciated it. As I recall I already had faith in the person at that stage. In the case of small purchases like getting an accessory for an appliance that might only take a 5-minute conversation with the person.
July 29, 2014 at 11:08 am |
thanks Fergal for the insight – hope you are well
July 29, 2014 at 11:11 am
Flying Greg, flying!