Saturday Edition

dispatches from the new world of work

100 Ways to Succeed/Make Money #1:

THE CLEAN & NEAT TEAM! (TEAM TIDY?)

I've been preaching the "Experience Thing" for a few years. ("Not just a 'Product' or a 'Service,' but an 'Awesome Experience.'") I believe my act. But ...

I was in a giant retail mall last Saturday. Visited a renowned retailer's space. "Experience Marketing"? No one does it better. But ...

THE PLACE WAS A MESS.

Got me thinking. I "go off on" various tacks, like the Experience bit. But let's not forget the Boring Basics along the way! Such as: Clean-Neat Rules! (Or, at least, Messy-Sloppy-Dirty is a Top 5 Turnoff.)

I'm not a "neat freak." To the contrary, I'm a slob. But that's home. Not my profession. I select hotels in large measure based on whether or not they have 1-hour, 24-hours-per-day pressing services. I get paid (very) well for what I do. I don't get paid to show up for a speech looking like I slept in my clothes!

The retail space in question was crowded with customers and visitors. (Good for them.) But it'd gotten very messy in the course of the day. Goods scattered, or at least untidy stacks of goods. Trash on the floor. Boxes stacked unattractively near the checkout desk. Etc. (Etc.) To me the space ... SCREAMED ... "We Don't Give a S___." (I started to use "We don't care." Or: "We don't give a hoot." But that's not it. It is: "WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT.")

There's a lot to Great Retailing, or great whatever. But right near the head of the line is: "WE CARE!" And near the head of the "We care" line is "Looks like a million dollars."

Hence ... THERE IS NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER FOR SLOPPINESS, UNTIDINESS, LESS THAN S-PA-R-K-L-I-N-G RESTROOMS, ETC., ETC.

Money-maker Message #1: KEEP IT CLEAN! Kudos to ... TEAM TIDY. Brickbats to ... the Dirty Dozen.

Tom Peters posted this on 09/20/04.