11-13-14 Fred Lundahl offers another pearl of wisdom from a successful Langley merchant

One of the biggest boosters of the businesses in Langley is Fred Lundahl.  He and his wife, Sharon, own the incredible store, Music for the Eyes.  It is the first place I take visitors when they come to Whidbey Island.

Aside from the astonishing array of oriental rugs and thousands of other one-of-a-kind items, Music for the Eyes boasts the services of Fred Lundahl.  When he is in the store, he makes a point of reaching out to strangers and asking if there’s anything about Langley or Whidbey they’d like to know.  Often, he describes other businesses they’ll want to see, as well as many of the lovely places to visit on the island.

He has a motto he believes everyone in business needs to remember (and it’s a great motto for all of us who encounter people we don’t know): “Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise”

11-6-14 Good suggestions from a wise, successful Langley merchant

Making eye contact, smiling and saying “Hello” when a customer (and everyone is a potential customer) comes into your business are the most important ways to make a good first impression.  If you’ve read my blogs, you’ve heard this many times before.

Cynthia Tilkin, who has had her successful business,  In the Country,  in Downtown Langley for 25 years, agrees that a friendly welcome is important but cautions business people about overwhelming a new person coming into the store. She advises "Never ask a customer a question that could be answered with a 'No.'" The classic example is asking, “May I help you?” 

Instead, Cynthia says simply invite the person to enjoy visiting your store and let you know if anything else is needed.

A customer should feel a friendly atmosphere in a business, but be permitted to relax and get to know the place without any pressure.  Fiorella Coleman, who has worked for Cynthia for 22 of the 25 years the store has been in business, shares Cynthia’s advice.  She describes In the Country as “1,500 square feet of a giant closet with a wide array of clothing and accessories where people are invited to walk around and have fun.”

That sounds very inviting to me.

10-30-14 Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley is another great example of the power of collaboration

I’ve written before about my great admiration for anyone who has the courage to create their own business. And, I’ve done several blogs about the value of collaboration.

I just did a story for Whidbey Local about the Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley and it is a great illustration of these two themes. Becoming a professional artist is challenging enough. Simply figuring how and where to sell artwork can take a lot of time and energy. Becoming part of a cooperative gallery provides space for displaying the work, ideas and support from others who are sharing the space, and a much smaller investment in marketing.

There are currently 32 artists who are members of the gallery, and each has a responsibility for being on the sales floor a few hours a week and doing whatever else is needed to maintain Whidbey Art Gallery as a place people want to visit. The gallery is an inviting space, with each artist’s work attractively displayed, and there is a broad range of artistic mediums and prices to appeal to a broad audience. The gallery has a website and a Facebook page.

Check out the story and see the value of collaboration at work:

10-23-14 Humans still communicate mostly non-verbally

Recently, I walked into a business and the person behind the counter focused on the computer and the transaction, but didn’t look at me. My immediate response was to tell myself not to do business here again.

Even in today’s internet world, most small business owners/managers frequently meet customers face to face.  Depending on what source you check out, you’ll find that human communication is 70 – 90% non-verbal.  Yep, even with today’s texting and networking, most true human communication is done without words. 

How often have you received or sent an email or text message only to learn later that the communication was misinterpreted or misunderstood? 

We obviously can’t make personal contact with every possible person who may do business with us, but when we meet someone coming into our business, it’s vitally important to make eye contact, have a smile and  let that person know you appreciate their business.  Interestingly, you will also find that when you smile you activate mirror neurons that makes the other person feel better.

Here’s an excellent article I discovered about this: http://humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com.htm

10-16-14 Tell the owner or manager if anything is wrong with your experience with a business

Have you ever had a friend tell you about poor service they experienced at a restaurant or a retail store and learned that they were telling you something they never said to the owner of the business?

Mistakes occur in any business situation.  The challenge is to learn about these mistakes and then to do something to acknowledge the error to your customer and apologize.

If you’re a customer and you’re not satisfied, ask to talk to an owner or manager and let that person know about the problem.  If it’s a business that really cares about customer service, your comments will be appreciated and responded to.

If you’re the business owner and you hear of a problem, or you are aware that something has gone wrong (for example, if you have a restaurant and the service hasn’t been efficient), if possible, talk directly to the customer, acknowledge the problem, and offer something as an apology.  You can also make it clear to your employees how important it is for them to say something when there’s a problem and to give your employees the authority to do something to rectify the mistake.

Good customer service means no one ever leaves your business dissatisfied.