Last night at 8:15 my wife went to a store called ULTA Beauty. I waited in the vehicle. The store closed at 9pm. As I’m waiting I see a guy cleaning the awning that hangs over the entire front side of the store, which includes the entrance. My first thought was this is great, they’re taking pride in keeping the store-front clean. However, it took about 2 seconds longer to realize that my wife was going to need an umbrella to get out of the store without getting wet. Not only were they getting customers wet, they were creating a hazard right in front of the store with soapy water covering the walkway to the entrance.
Here’s the point… Keeping the store clean was a great idea and something that should be done. The store-front looked nice so this business obviously takes pride in keeping things looking good. However, their customers would have been much better served by having the cleaning crew come by after 9pm, when they close. We always say when it comes to cross-selling and promoting your products to “offer the right product, to the right customer, at the right time”. Timing matters.
As you go about the day, think about your timing. Are you ignoring the incoming call because of the paperwork you’re completing? Are you chatting with a coworker while you should be giving the customer in front of you your full attention? Are you surfing facebook during some down time when you could be doing that important paperwork? You can do good things today by working on tasks that are important and need to be completed, but if you do them at the wrong time the cost will be greater than the gain. So pay attention to your timing, it can make all the difference.
