My grandfather, old H A Wright, was an Englishman to his boot straps and one of what Napoleon called a “nation of shopkeepers”.
He loved his grocery store in Bayswater, Western Australia and, as a kid, one of my first memories was of him going through his store opening ritual. He would unlock the door of the store, take off his suit coat to reveal his carefully buttoned waistcoat and tie, roll up his sleeves and tie his long white apron around his waist.
Now, ready to face the challenges of the day, he would arm himself with his favourite piece of weaponry and walk outside to the pavement in front of the store.
The weapon? A broom. The task? Sweep the street in front of the store. The reason? Twofold! Cleanliness and relationship building.
As he swept the street in the front of the store to keep it spotless (you never get a second chance at a first impression) he had a cheerful “hello” for everyone walking past to their business or the railway station or taking their kids to school.
They were either his customers with whom he renewed the relationship or strangers with whom he could establish a relationship. A simple personal touch that built him a great business. People loved the fact that he greeted them and, because they liked what they got, they gave him their business.
Did it work? Well he swept the street… personally… every day of his working life until the day he retired and his son, Bert, took over… and kept on sweeping the street. And this was even though the store had gone from man behind the counter grocery store to self serve supermarket.
I was reminded of this great relationship building and staying in touch with your customer tactic when I was out bike riding the other day and saw the man photographed doing what grandpa did… sweeping the street in front of his store.
I couldn’t resist asking him, “Why are you doing that?”
“It helps me stay in touch with my customers,” he responded.
So I had to ask, “Does it work?”
I’ve done it every day for thirty-three years,” came the reply, “What do you reckon?”
Immediately thoughts of grandpa and his secret came flooding back and I grinned. I knew the answer.
So here’s my question. What is your daily relationship building activity? What keeps you in contact with your customers and contacts? How do you “sweep the street in front of your store?”
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