Reopening also means gaining public trust

 

Everyday life four months ago was extremely different than July 2020. While we are not ordered to stay at home, it is suggested. Gatherings are still limited. Events like birthdays, weddings, and funerals are small private gatherings. Store shelves are, for the most part, stocked but there are still some items in which the shelf remains empty. 

 

Businesses small and large have had to adapt and overcome. Before everything shut down businesses quickly set up cleaning stations, Plexiglas shields, and tape on the floor. The temporary adjustments were hurried responses to keep employees and customers safe and stay open. Then everything stopped.

 

During closures, most businesses had time to adjust to coming restrictions regarding reopening. Temporary became permanent. “Behind the scenes” part of getting the economy going again were the efforts to create and install shields at customer interface points. Painter’s tape on the floors became printed stickers. Permanent signs explaining restrictions and warnings were manufactured. Face shields. And of course masks. The leaving home check of keys, wallet, phone has added mask. Which is also now apart of the employee uniform.

Masks

When COVID-19 began gaining momentum and entered into the pandemic phase the public and businesses went slowly. No one wanted to believe that restrictions and precautions were permanent. As the economy reopened it was realized that to stay open, and in some cases avoid fines business had to change. Temporary fixes had to become permanent. We now see permanent installations of shields, directional arrows to navigate, markings identifying where to stand, and in/out only doors. And of course masks.

 

Of all the changes we have seen from the pandemic the mask has been the most ubiquitous. Face coverings are our everyday life. They have sparked controversy. Started arguments about the improper or lack of wearing. They are now a point of fashion to be complimented. Masks are popping up in the impulse buy area at the checkout register and even vending machines. Masks have also become our non-verbal permission to enter and an invitation to leave. No mask – No service signs are posted in many storefronts. Businesses don’t want to turn people away, but they also don’t want to face the ever present risk of being shut down either.

Public trust

When stay at home orders were lifted and businesses began to reopen customers were leery about returning. Although we couldn’t wait to get out of our homes, we had to feel safe. The COVID virus was and still is a threatening menace. A big part of gaining a customer's trust is making them feel safe in your establishment.  To get ahead of competitors businesses had to try to be the first to explain the steps taken to keep customers safe. Not only what was being done to sanitize, but how, and how often. This has to be more than just words. Science has proven that we process visual data better than text or the spoken word. In fact, 90% of what we process is visual.  Customers have to SEE the action of cleaning and sanitizing in order to validate what is being advertised.  

 

Being in the grocery store and seeing an employee cleaning the carts or walking around, during business hours, cleaning door handles and contact surfaces goes a long way in convincing customers that the business is serious about their well being. On a recent went to a UPS store for their notary and overnight services this was evident. Of course, they had queue markers on the floor and Plexiglas at the registers, which would be expected. What was impressive was seeing an employee wiping down a public computer station with disinfectant after each use by a customer. Seeing the employee clean the keyboard and work area after a single use reinforces that business’ commitment in the eyes of the customer.

 

Demonstrating sound sanitation practices to the public will get them back and keep them coming back. With instant reviews being posted on multiple platforms, businesses not practicing safe procedures will spread quickly. At this point in time that is a quick way to lose customers and get shut down. Again.

 

Another good move to show how serious the company is taking health is transparency and decisive action. We’ve already seen businesses reopen only to be shut down again after a government agency finds a violation or an infected employee. Better to take the action yourself. Small businesses, especially bars and restaurants, have set this example. Setting up their own testing policies and discovering possibly infected employees, they have immediately shut down, publicized what happened, and the actions they are taking to rectify the issue. It hurts to close your doors but keeping the public trust is more important now than ever.

 

In addition to changes in sanitation and ensuring there are safe practices in place, there are other changes as well. How we conduct business has changed and will probably have long-term effects. Offices cleared, sending employees to work from home. After a few weeks, with no solution to the virus in sight, corporations announced that they would not be returning employees, adopting permanent work from home policies. Businesses have learned to adapt to stay in business. What we thought couldn’t be done or never thought of trying is successful.  

 

We are looking for a return to “normal” when we are living what our normal now is. 

Millennials are changing everything

The year 2019 will see Millennials overtake baby boomers as the largest generation. They already make up the majority of the U.S. workforce and are considered the world’s most powerful consumers. They are also the most technologically engaged. If your business has been overlooking them as potential employees or customers, you may be making a big mistake.

Hiring

My July 2018 post, A generation changes hiring explains how business has had to adjust their hiring process to attract this pool of candidates. Millennials are not shy about talking to bosses or jumping jobs. They’ll move until they find the right fit and expect salary increases and better working environments. 

Declines or poor planning

As far as consumers, they are driving the marketplace and causing change. A variety of recent studies regarding business and products have claimed that Milliennials are to blame for their decreased sales. A few examples are fabric softener, bar soap, canned tuna, casual dining, and department stores.

Proctor & Gamble believes that Millennials are unaware of what is the intent of fabric softener. Market research company Mintel found that 18 to 24 years believe that bar soap is full of germs. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2018 that canned tuna sales have declined due to this generation’s decision that the cans are too difficult to open. There was also a report that breakfast cereal sales are declining due to claims of the product being too messy. This may also explain the lack of interest in casual dining restaurants, which have claimed that Millennials are not interested in sitting down for longer periods of time to dine. They’d rather eat on the go. Department stores may have trouble blaming a generation more than a technology phenomenon. While it’s true that Millennials are less interested in brick and mortar stores, e-commerce is probably more to blame. Consumer goods companies that have not adjusted are filing Chapter 11.

All of these products or services have seen sales decline. They’ve had to resort to price reductions, closings, or even bankruptcy to adjust. Are they looking for something to blame for declines or excusing poor planning? Some of the reports and research were based on interviews while others were based on declining sales and attributed to Millennials. Of course, claims run rampant on the Internet further fueling Millennials as scapegoats.

Reviews

They read them and they give them.  Online reviews and apps like Yelp cannot be ignored. Millennials make informed decisions about large purchases and where they are going to eat. How many stars and positive reviews your business has can drive business as well as detract. If you’re noticing a decline of business from a certain demographic, check your reviews. 

Make sure your business has listings set up on Google, Yelp, and any other app that may service your industry. Encourage reviews and be interactive, for the good and the bad. If there are bad reviews try to respond in a way that shows empathy and what is being done to correct the problem.

Home delivery

Even fast food restaurants are getting into the home delivery game. Partnering with services like Grub Hub and Door Dash major franchises are providing home delivery. More than likely another way commerce is changing to accommodate a generation of buyers. To keep up or ahead, delivery or some sort of convenience offered to customers may be another consideration in your business model.

It is yet to be seen if the largest generation will become the next greatest generation, but, currently, they are a powerful economic force. Recognizing this and adapting could literally mean the future of your business. 

Visit the blog archives for more articles on how Millennials have affected the marketplace. http://mazzellainvestigations.blogspot.com/search/label/millennials

Why am I doing all the work?

NOTE: This post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with relevant information.

McDonald’s recently announced that it would be expanding automated ordering kiosks to 1,000 stores per quarter for the next eight quarters. Pundits rued the announcement as McDonald’s response to labor costs due to higher minimum wage requirements, thus eliminating the need for cashiers. Of course, McDonald’s did not report or even intimate that cashier’s would be replaced or their workforce reduced. The kiosks are meant to supplement the cashiers and enhance the customer experience. Admittedly, McDonald’s CEO noted that. “kiosks allow customers to dwell on the available options and choices, which in turn promotes additional sales.”

While no company would admit to eliminating jobs, one has to wonder the longer-term effect over time. Layoffs may not occur but will companies installing point of sale automation continue to hire at the same rate as before automation?

Over the years we’ve become accustomed to pumping our own gas, bagging our groceries, and other self-checkout situations. As technology improves mobile ordering and service delivery becomes more frequent. Fast food restaurants have integrated phone apps and pay systems to allow for mobile ordering and pickup. Most of these businesses don’t appear to have fewer employees, but, again, what will the industry experience after automation has been in place for several years? Gas stations use to have several employees dedicated to pumping gas. Now there is one operating the terminal that controls the pumps. Grocery stores have ten plus checkout lanes installed sometimes only having a couple staffed.

Automation may or may not affect the workforce but it is affecting the customer experience and wallet. While self-checkouts and automation may make the customer experience smoother, faster, and more convenient it is not lowering prices. Begging the question-Why am I, the customer, doing the work of the service provider for the same price? Recent experiences brought this to light.

Having telephone issues, issues meaning no dial tone, which translates into a true triple play of also no Internet or TV, the problem was reported. Rather than fight the system and try to talk to a person I decided to play along with the online troubleshooting. After a half hour on the floor performing several technical tasks to determine the nature of the problem, the online assistant determined that there was something wrong with the incoming line and repairs were needed. Wise decision. I do admit that following the system and performing the checks wasn’t that difficult. After the troubleshooting, I was even guided through the repair appointment process. Although given that all of our communications were out, the process could not have been completed without a Smartphone.

Not so long ago, a repair technician would have come out and completed the whole process. Which in this case they still had to do. The point being, I did the repair troubleshooting. Did I get a stipend or bill discount for performing the tech work?

The second instance was noticed while checking in for a flight. You can already check in and print boarding passes from the comfort of home or directly to your phone. Then if you have bags to check, you report to the airline agent who checks your paperwork, weighs your bag, prints and attaches your luggage claim tags and takes your bags. This flight introduced us to a new system for our convenience. Once at the airport we were shuttled to a kiosk where we checked our bags, printed our luggage claim tags, attached the tags, and then handed them to an agent, who put them on the conveyor, which was the only step performed by the airline. Didn’t see any payment for that day's work either.

As technology improves more and more services are being pushed onto the consumer. Companies reassign personnel because the customer is now performing those jobs, but prices stay the same. Companies explain this by saying that they are able to keep their prices low by adding the new “self-serve” features. Keep prices low? How about lowER?

Yes, it is more convenient and sometimes quicker to just do things for yourself.  Eventually, there will be no human interaction at all. Just scan your phone and off you go. Oh yeah…that’s happening now.