I am uncertain who runs the M&S store at the service station near Benson in Oxfordshire but last night Ahmed upsold me two cans of Red Bull that I really didn't want.
It was raining hard and I was quite tired when I pulled in to fill up the tank. 64 and a bit litres of diesel later I was delighted that the total on the pump was less than £100. As I looked at this I saw a sign that said buy two cans of promoted beverages and get 5p a litre off your fuel.
Inside the shop, after a comfort break, I bought a bag of crisps and stood behind another customer at the till. I noticed by the door a second piece of point of sale with the offer on it. After she completed her purchase, I handed the crisps to Ahmed, the teller, and put my credit card next to the payment terminal.
Are you interested in the soft drink offer, Ahmed asked, with a smile. I looked at him and as I did so his eyes flicked to the display of Red Bull behind me. As he was smiling I thought about it for a second and felt obliged to ask him how much the cans cost. He said something like £2.36. I shook my head, thinking that was a lot, and said I couldn't work out if it was a good deal or not.
It's a good deal for you as you've bought so much fuel, he fired straight back at me with another smile. Why not scan a couple of cans and then I'll tell you what the price is, he said. And then you can make up your mind.
I turned to pick up two cans, apologising to the customer in the queue behind me. He scanned the cans and the price was over £100 and then fell below £100 as the deal kicked in.
OK, I said, pushing my card into the terminal. Are you planning to set up your own business, I asked him. That was a good upsell.He smiled.
Back in the car, as the windscreen wipers battled to contain the rain, I thought about the two cans of Red Bull rolling around on the passenger seat. I tried to do the maths and thought it cost me around £1.50. I didn't want to drink either of them. But I still smiled and thought great customer service.
It was raining hard and I was quite tired when I pulled in to fill up the tank. 64 and a bit litres of diesel later I was delighted that the total on the pump was less than £100. As I looked at this I saw a sign that said buy two cans of promoted beverages and get 5p a litre off your fuel.
Inside the shop, after a comfort break, I bought a bag of crisps and stood behind another customer at the till. I noticed by the door a second piece of point of sale with the offer on it. After she completed her purchase, I handed the crisps to Ahmed, the teller, and put my credit card next to the payment terminal.
Are you interested in the soft drink offer, Ahmed asked, with a smile. I looked at him and as I did so his eyes flicked to the display of Red Bull behind me. As he was smiling I thought about it for a second and felt obliged to ask him how much the cans cost. He said something like £2.36. I shook my head, thinking that was a lot, and said I couldn't work out if it was a good deal or not.
It's a good deal for you as you've bought so much fuel, he fired straight back at me with another smile. Why not scan a couple of cans and then I'll tell you what the price is, he said. And then you can make up your mind.
I turned to pick up two cans, apologising to the customer in the queue behind me. He scanned the cans and the price was over £100 and then fell below £100 as the deal kicked in.
OK, I said, pushing my card into the terminal. Are you planning to set up your own business, I asked him. That was a good upsell.He smiled.
Back in the car, as the windscreen wipers battled to contain the rain, I thought about the two cans of Red Bull rolling around on the passenger seat. I tried to do the maths and thought it cost me around £1.50. I didn't want to drink either of them. But I still smiled and thought great customer service.
Wow, that was definitely impressive! I think the best thing about what happened was that you didn’t really feel all that silly for having bought two cans of Red Bull that you were probably not going to be drinking yourself. I think the clerk was just the right amount of sales – pushy without being annoying – and that’s what won you over. I think if you had declined the second offer, he may not have had a problem with that either. That would have showed that he treated you not just as another source of income, but as an actual human being with your own preferences, which may or may not have matched up with what he was trying to sell.
ReplyDelete- Jeremiah Hicks
Hi Jeremiah, Thank you for the great feedback. Nick
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