I am not talking about retail stealing, I’m referring to giving the customer less.
Last night my family and I went to Panera Bread for a quick dinner. I ordered the half soup & half sandwich. When our order was ready I looked at my food and noticed my half sandwich looked really small. In fact I measured it. It was only two inches long by one inch wide. The side of bread they gave me was longer. I brought the plate back to the counter and inquired about it. The person behind the counter said it was the correct size. He informed me that they did cut back on portion size. He further said their food costs were high and they were controlling it. Gee thanks, I am so glad I was able to help Panera’s bottom line and food cost by accepting a smaller plate of food. I will give him this, he was brutally honest!
All of us in event & entertainment marketing need to be aware of what our customers think of our product. When we make changes that affects our customers, they will notice. Charging the same price or raising your price and then giving less will be noticed.
I believe it is more important then ever to offer our customers at least the same or even a better experience. Even though our business today is run by only a few large companies our customers still have a choice. They have the choice to not spend their discretionary dollars with you.
What do you think your customers think when you:
- Raise your parking price to $40 and then cram cars in so tight that everyone is getting door dings?
- Cut back on staffing and then customers wait in lines for everything?
- Raise your ticket price and the act gives less then a 90 minute performance?
- Charge $7.00 for popcorn that is stale because you made it two days before?
Anything that affects your customers experience should never be compromised unless you are okay with fewer customers.
