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FRIDAY POLL: LOCAL BUSINESSES SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT

  • Rod Schwartz
    • 1143 posts
    June 3, 2021 10:27 PM PDT

    This month's Friday Poll question was prompted by the readerboard sign pictured below. That "Three Days Only" message hasn't changed in months! It sits prominently alongside one of the main thoroughfares in a small town, where hundreds of motorists drive past it regularly, so it ought to be a wonderful marketing tool. When this message first appeared, it conveyed a sense of urgency: big three-day sale, better buy now! But after 3-4 months, one begins to wonder...

    1. Has the store been so busy that nobody's had time to change the message? (Judging by the empty parking spaces in front of the store, nah.)

    2. Are they hoping to snag a few people passing through town who see the sign for the first time? (Who cares what the locals might think, right?)

    3. Are they just plain lazy or out of messaging ideas?

    My impression: they simply don't care about the message they're sending to the community. Which, frankly, is less than inspiring to me as a prospective customer. What does it say to you?

    So...this month's Friday Poll Question:  

    How have you seen local businesses shooting themselves in the foot?

    Please share your observations by replying below.


    This post was edited by Rod Schwartz at June 3, 2021 11:18 PM PDT
  • Diane Scarpelli
    • 172 posts
    June 4, 2021 2:31 PM PDT

    One thing restaurants have done thru Covid that hurt them....  while the majority quickly adjusted to take-out only, they tended to offer their full menu as is and everything on a restaurant menu does NOT lend itself to take out.

    Fries and tacos get soggy, eggs get rubbery, nachos get... nasty, etc.  Pizza and Chinese are the perfect take-out and those categories did well thru-out. I was talking to a local bar/pub client about that and she admitted that someone had ordered nachos for take-out and by the time they arrived for pick-up she realized she had to re-make it. She decided to have a regular menu and a separate take-out menu. People remember the bad experience and a lot of people I know said they had ordered something they LOVE when they dine-in, found it pretty disgusting when they got it for take-out and would not eat that item from that restaurant again. This was true with chain and local restaurants.

    Some menu items are only good right out of the kitchen.