The digital camera we’ve always used has been a bit of a pain. It’s getting old, the pics aren’t as high res as we’d like, etc, etc. So I thought I would buy a decent new one.
Waiting for a Minolta
My preference is a digital SLR (Canon EOS), but after speaking with the guy who owns a camera store in our building, I decided to just buy a cheapie and wait to have a look at a new super-duper Minolta SLR that is being released in October or November.
After a bit of research I decided on a Canon PowerShot A75
So off I go to a few stores and compare prices. I ended up buying it from a store (I’ll call the store “Harvey Norman”……because that’s its name) for $450 Australia. Quite a nice little camera and I’ve been thrilled with the quality of the pics it takes. That was Friday afternoon at about 4 p.m.
Today I was reading the morning paper with my breakfast when I open up to a page where the same Canon PowerShot A75 was advertised on special for $399.
In the exact same store that I purchased mine just 20 hours earlier! D’oh!
Brings to mind a few questions
1. Should the salesperson have told me to wait and buy the camera the next day?
2. Should the store advertise that they are just about to have a sale on digital cameras?
3. Should I go in and ask for the discount?
4. Should I be angry with the store?
My thinking is this:
1. Yes, if she wanted to take a punt on building a long term and profitable relationship with me. That was a tad short-sighted on her behalf. If she had told me that the sale was coming up (or better still just given me $50 off on the spot) I would be a customer and an advocate for life. I would always go in knowing they had my best interests at heart and would give me the best deal possible……..even if they weren’t.
2. Maybe. Would be nice to give customers the information so they can feel like they are getting the best deal. Having said that, I’m sure many people would not buy because a sale was coming up tomorrow and they might wait. In that time of waiting they might lose interest. But then again (!), having a sale coming up might positively influence people to make a decision to definitely buy rather than be “just looking”.
3. Nope. I made the decision to buy and I have to live with it. On our eczema cream web site, whenever we have a sale we have about 20 customers who order after the sale has finished and who ask if they can have the discount even though they missed the sale.
We give it to these people every time. We’re trying to build a relationship based on loyalty and trust. And it works.
4. Nope. 2 reasons why. a) If that makes me angry then I’d lead a pretty stressed life! Stuff happens. Move on. b) It’s typical and no biggie.
The perfect scenario
The perfect thing to do here would be this (and we do this with our eczema sales):
- Look at who purchased the product that is on sale in the 24 hours before the sale.
- Contact those people and refund them the money they would have saved if they had of waited 24 hours. (The store could give the refund or a $50 credit/gift voucher on the store – valued at $50 for the customer, but only costs the store $30.)
Imagine the loyalty, positive word of mouth and just plain great feeling the store would create. Those customers would never buy anywhere else!
Cheers
Dear Brendon
I have been reading your web site for a few weeks now and wanted to write to say thank you for writing it. The information you give so freely has really helped me in my business and I continue to find great use in what you say.
Thank you from a grateful fan.