Quality in Retail

Quality means doing the right thing when no one else is looking.  Henry Ford

Ford has been in the press lately as a prime example of an American success story.  The turnaround story of the year, done without a huge bailout from the American taxpayer.  Which during the past year, that alone is a huge vote of confidence in management and a story worth carrying on the news.  How many other businesses were unable or not willing to try to do the difficult things needed to pull their business out of the pit and back to success?  The quote from Henry Ford not only demonstrates Ford’s mission statement in the early years but the Puritan work ethic from the early years in American industrial revolution.  When our actions are placed in the light where they are able to be seen by not only our customers but our friends and family, our actions may not need formal quality control, six sigma, or any other fancy management buzz philosophy to produce a quality product.  If we use the philosophy set forth by Ford, Christianity or what mom and dad taught us, we are guaranteed that we will do our best.  Our efforts will be backed up by everyone we work with.  Everyone will be working for the same goal.  A product or service that we are all proud of and that represents our best efforts, intentions and skills.  During a recent trip to Florida to look at C store operators in the Tampa market, I was disappointed in the lack of customer focused merchandising and services.  Instead of focusing on providing value to the customer, most operators were trying to cram shoddy products and merchandise or poorly prepared food service down the customers wallet.  I never saw so many crowded counters or burnt hot dogs in my life.  It was quite the throwback to mom and pop store operations.  What I don’t understand is why these businesses survive or why their customers tolerate such poor service.  Our customers are so precious and our profits so hard to come by that I cannot understand why so many operators give them away.  Even more damning is the fact that operators with poor standards give all convenience store operators bad reputations.  Not only does an operator with a commitment to quality have to strive to maintain operations to their demanding standards but they have to overcome the customers perception that all convenience stores are dirty, stocked with expensive product and staffed by rude employees.  Nice.  Just where we would like to shop and what business we want to be associated with.