The Little Greenhouse
Kara Kelso
One Sunday afternoon, my
dad and I were having a nice chat and we got on the subject of
the greenhouse next door. This is just a little flower shop in
a small town, but it's been there for probably close to 80 years.
Years ago, long before I was born, it belonged to my grandfather
(my dad's dad). My dad and his sisters were pretty much raised
in this greenhouse and all of them worked there at some point
in time.
My dad and I have talked about the greenhouse
many times before, but something he said really caught my attention.
Some 30 or 40 years ago, Kmart came into this small town. They
had lower prices, of course, but never put that little greenhouse
out of business. Not even when Wal-Mart came to town did that
greenhouse go belly up. In fact, Wal-Mart managed to put Kmart
out of business about 15 years back.
So why is the greenhouse
still there even though the prices may be a little higher? Because
of the service! It's locally owned, and the owners themselves
run it and hand select who they want working there. The greenhouse
makes deliveries, and people who know the owners know they can
call them at home or have things specially ordered. The greenhouse
owners pride themselves on getting to know their customers. They
don't put out expensive ads, or make things automated. They work
the business every day, and treat their customers like friends,
not like sales.
Just as an auto-responder
or ad doesn't care about the people it's targeting, an employee
at Kmart or Wal-Mart most of the time doesn't care too much whether
a person buys a product or not. The employee gets paid either
way. Treat customers as friends, not as sales, and they'll keep
coming back. I know all of us already know this, but sometimes
we just need a little reminder that we are doing the right thing.
Kara Kelso, busy mother
of two, is the owner of Mom's Market, which is dedicated to
supporting moms in business. Subscribe to Mom's Market Ezine
and get your site listed for free. Visit: http://www.momsmarketonline.com
. Kara also is the owner of Natural Home (http://www.naturalhomeonline.com),
which offers natural alternatives to everyday products.
