I'm curious, how much would you sacrifice on a shopping trip to remain a loyal customer? Will you buy an inferior product because it came from your favorite store? How much extra money are you willing to pay to get it there? Does your favorite have a service that makes it worth spending more money? I go to a more expensive ma and pop pharmacy because they recognize me when I all in. They're always nice. And if I ever move back to the town, the pharmacy will deliver!
In the small town I live in and around here there's no such thing as customer loyalty. Most of the stores here stock different items so whether you like it or not, if you don't get what you are looking for in one store, you must get from the other and they'll sell it to you at whatever price they please. If we had more choices around here, maybe I'd get my stuff only from the stores with the lowest prices. One thing I've found out is that the more you shop somewhere, the customer service keeps getting better in time.
In small towns and neighborhoods I think this is more important, but in cities less so. I always used to go to my local pub and restaurant in my neighborhood and it was nice and comfortable, even if it was more expensive or I had to wait a bit longer. These days loyalty is harder to gain and to maintain. It takes more for me to be loyal and all it takes is one bad incident and that loyalty is lost.
That is so true!! And it's really bad. If 1 out of every 15 visits is a negative experience, the odds of you being satisfied are really good! But that one time that someone had a bad day or they're short staffed or whatever could cost them a good customer for life. My tolerance for bad experiences is pretty high. But sometimes someone takes the bad service way too far and I can never go back. It really isn't fair that I do it, but I never think about it for what it is.
I'm not that big on store loyalty, so as long as the store is convenient and near me, then I will purchase from it. The most important thing for me is location, next would be prices and quality.
Most of the stores I became loyal to was the closest to where I lived at the time. But once you are recognized on sight and the talk to you like a friend, its hard to go angel where else.
I guess you developed a pretty strong bond with those salesmen or service crew that you interact with. The most benefit I had with being familiar to their eyes was that I was not charged free gravy when I should have been, and I got 3 free gravy containers at that, since I bought 2 fried chickens. We never chatted long chats. And take note, we both don't know each other's names.
Yeah. As long as the store offers me convenience and the customer service staffs are really great and nice, then I would still keep coming back and purchasing products/items from them.
I would not sacrifice anything if I can help it. I don't like to sacrifice things in life, when I don't have to, or just when I feel like I may be under some pressure to do so. If I can avoid sacrificing anything in life, then I will, and especially in a consumer setting.
