ERforME Blog

How many customers must we lose before we recognize we aren’t listening?

February 15, 2010 at 8:00 pm 1 comment

I wanted something comfortable that I could use for walking and hiking. It sounded easy enough and I had exactly 1 hour to find a pair of pants that would work. My friend recommended North Face, so I headed to the mall. I walked in and the sales clerk was right there to help. I explained my needs. The look on her face said it all. I knew she knew that I couldn’t possibly fit in any of their pants. I’m a size 12. Apparently, that’s just too large.  

The poor girl tried to find a few pants for me to try on, explaining that “these are made on the small side.” Well, no, they are just cut to fit women that have no curves! I guess there is a portion of women that hike and climb mountains so regularly that they have no body fat, and thus have no curves. I think that portion of the female population over the age of 25 is 5% max. So, I left without buying a thing. I was ready to buy, I intended to buy, I wanted to buy, but I left their store. How many women customers does North Face lose every day because they have no clue about the shape of a woman? Maybe they need to check out our business consultation services. I know our ideas could make them more money!

Entry filed under: Business Ideas, Entrepreneurs Challenges, Marketing. Tags: business consulting, customer service, sales, small business consultation.