This is the fable about how a $2.79 bottle of cranberry juice caused Winn-Dixie to lose a customer.
It's August in Florida...the unbearable time of year. A person gets really, really thirsty in this weather. Cold beverages are a must. As I write this, today's temperature is going to hit 97 degrees, heat index 105 degrees. UV 11 out of 12.
My favorite drink for about the last month: seltzer water with a splash of cranberry juice, with a nice lime wedge. Refreshing, not sweet. Definitely does the trick. Then--oh, no!--I ran out of cranberry juice. I was driving past the Winn-Dixie supermarket when I remembered, so decided to make a quick stop. I don't usually shop there. It's just not convenient. Plus, it sits at the back of one of those little shopping centers where stores are always going out of business, only to be replaced by the latest Sell-Your-Gold or Phones-to-Go shops. It always strikes me as being a little sad. I prefer to go to a happier place for my groceries. So, I choose Publix, which sits near a Jiffy Lube and a KFC.
But I digress. I pop in and out of Winn-Dixie, with cranberry juice, two limes, and two 2-liter bottles of seltzer water in my sturdy Trader Joe's bags. I drive home, only to discover that the cranberry juice did not make the trip. I check the car...nope. Definitely not there. Sigh. I really need that juice to make my drink.
Back I go. Here's where W-D loses me forever.
1. I go up to the Service Counter and tell the nice young Service Counter Man my story. Now, I feel as if I look like an honest, mature woman. Apparently, he does not see me that way. "Hey, Jim-Bob!" he yells to Stock Boy. "Did you return a bottle of cranberry juice to the shelf?" Jim-Bob's face is completely blank. The Service Counter Man looks at me with suspicion. Really? I want to say...as if I'd be out in this heat, making a career out of claiming to leave behind bottles of cranberry juice? As if I claimed to have "left behind" my five-pound Porterhouse steak?
2. "Can I see your receipt, Ma'am?" Luckily, I had remembered to pull it out of my sturdy Trader Joe's bag. I hand it to him and he scrutinizes it carefully. (Did I mention that we're talking about $2.79 here?) Hmmm...it appears that I did, indeed, pay for a bottle of cranberry juice. Now what?
3. At that moment, the teen-age Check-Out Girl walks by. Chomping her gum. Service Counter Man stops her. "Did this woman buy cranberry juice?" I swear, I am not making this up. "Yes, she left without it." says Check-Out Girl, with an accusing voice. Clearly, this whole mess is entirely my fault. Never mind that I had to remind her to give me the $20 I had requested when using my debit card.
4. Service Counter Man thrusts the receipt back at me and says one word. "Okay." Wow, looks like I can actually get the cranberry juice I paid for! I stand there for a second and then ask, "So...I should go get it?" For a crazy moment, I thought he might ask Stock Boy to get it. He rolls his eyes. I go get my juice.
It's kind of amazing to me, in this competitive world, that a store could be so lacking in wanting to make a customer happy. Read The Apple Experience, Fish!, or Be Our Guest to find a sampling of companies that know customer loyalty is dependent on service. I'm not looking for a Nordstrom level of service when I buy grocries...although I have experienced it, and it's pretty swell.
One more time: $2.79
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