Customer Watch: Combating the Doldrums
I got sidetracked this week on a project, and the pithy analysis I proposed to post here will need to wait until next week. Instead, let me share with you a bit of wisdom passed along to me today.
Conversing with my doctor this morning during a routine appointment, we were mulling over the state of the economy. So many friends who are entrepreneurs – talented designers, retailers, consultants – are seeing their businesses decline. Many long-standing businesses have been forced to close. Homes have lost substantial value. Properties are going into foreclosure. New home sales are at their lowest point in 16 years. People are afraid to leave toxic jobs for fear of not finding new ones. Gasoline prices go up and up.
Less serious but genuinely annoying, airlines are cutting benefits right and left. I can only wonder how I will manage to pack everything I need for an upcoming conference without resorting to checking a second suitcase (for which I’ll be charged $25 each way) in order to avoid baggage overweight charge for one heavy bag of $100 each way. Or should I visit the UPS Store? My advice: Buy stock in shipping companies. (No, that’s not the tip of the day.)
The litany of woes goes on. According to the news this morning, Sam’s Club and Costco have begun rationing rice. Rice!
In this environment, counsels my doctor, it’s healthy to allow oneself some small perks. His prescription: Buy a mid-priced piece of jewelry. Not something so expensive that it will undermine one’s ability to make ends meet, nor something so cheap that it doesn’t bring on a smile. We all need a bit of a treat when times are bad. This gives a boost to our psychological well-being. And it’s a vote of confidence for a brighter future to come.
In these horrible economic times, isn’t that a marketing message that can hit home with customers dealing with these economic doldrums? Thanks, Dr. A. Thinking about that little sparkly “perk” I’ve got my eye on, I feel better already.
Hedda Schupak commented:
Ah, retail therapy!! I can get with that program! And you are sooo
right about the airlines! Last year I got socked with overweight
luggage charges GOING to the JCK Show in Las Vegas, and you know
the bags don't get lighter coming home! Fact is, if you're on the
road for 10 days and seeing the same people the whole time, you
need a lot of clothes. So my "cheap" ticket ended up being $100
more, comparable to a "not so cheap" ticket. I'd rather have paid
the extra $100 at the outset and not contend with the hassle and
feeling ripped off at every turn. So I recently decided I was going
to outsmart USAirways, and packed three medium-size suitcases
instead of one big and one small. USAirways, at least at that
moment, isn't charging for a second bag to be checked, so I checked
two and carried on one. It worked great! Except for one minor
detail: I don't have three arms to wheel three suitcases. So I
spent a lot of time hunting down Smarte Cartes, and I have to
re-think the carryon to a shoulder bag, but otherwise, so far, no
extra luggage charge! And at $25 per bag, extra baggage is still
cheaper than $50 per bag for overweight luggage. Of course, you
know that's not going to last very long because some math whiz at
the airline will figure out we've been beating them at their own
game. Unfortunately, until the public responds by slamming its
wallets shut, the airlines will continue to nickel-and-dime us.
