As a young man about the age of seven, my mother summoned me into the kitchen and instructed me to get my red wagon. She then gave me a dollar and told me to go the corner market and get four bottles of milk – the milkman didn’t come today and we had company coming for dinner. Wow I thought, “My first solo trip to the store – the first time I had a dollar in my pocket.”
Living in a small town and knowing that the market was only a block away, I felt confident I could accomplish my task. Armed with a dollar in my pocket and my red wagon handle in my hand, I ventured out. Upon entering, I nervously asked the first grocery person I saw, “where’s the milk?” He replied “Aisle 4” and pointed. I found my way to the milk area and stood there for a long time.
Making my way home with a tear in my eye … nervously, I had to tell my mother I didn’t accomplish my chore; I explained, “there were so many kinds of milk and I was afraid of spending the dollar on the wrong kind.”
Thinking back after all these years – this memory still aggravates me. Why didn’t the grocery dude take me to the milk aisle? I was seven years old, for heaven’s sake! If he had taken a few seconds to walk me there, he would have seen the look of concern on my face. All he had to do was ask me a simple discovery question, “What kind of milk do you need?” I probably would have told him the kind from a cow … jeeper’s creepers – if I knew that, I wouldn’t have asked the milk question in the first place!
To ensure my success, a simple recommendation of the most popular kind was all I would have needed to ensure a happy day. The belief of escorting guests when possible is often called “intimacy.” Removing the fear of the unknown – ensuring a positive result.
Remember our customers rarely ask where or how, if they already know the answer!
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