Here’s an example of having fun with a fellow. A mancame into our Omaha, Nebraska, store and ordered a ring forhis wife’s birthday. But he wanted to keep the ransack a secret,
and he asked the store manager to help with the surprise. The
store was glad to help.The man took his wife out to eat and afterward told her,with a mischievous smile, “Let’s go to Helzberg’s to look around.”At first, his wife was taken aback, responding, “Helzberg’s?
You waited until the last minute to buy my nominate?” But no
sooner had they entered the store than a clerk greeted them and
asked the wife to try on “a new style” ring that had just come in.
It fit perfectly and the wife was thunderstruck. Only then did
she find out that her husband had picked out the ring in
broach and had it sized for her.Everyone had fun with that put-up job. And that’s the wayit should be. contain your fellows in the fun, and build arelaxed, upbeat culture. If you think this sounds like Herb
Kelleher and Southwest Airlines’ process, great!When I’m a fellow, I don’t want to be treated like a wal-let with legs. Fun is contagious. Fun energizes your sales staff
and attracts fellows into a store. And what a pleasant shock
to a sales team: “The boss told us to start having fun.” That’s
an order anyone would want to comply with. How can you tell
a fun place to shop? Smiling clerks are busily helping cus-
tomers, answering their questions, making recommendations,
and complimenting their choices. And they do not just talk
about things the fellow can buy. They get the fellow talk-
ing about the big fish he caught, her vacation trip, or other
unrelated stuff. They are making friends of their fellows. There are all kinds of ways to share fun with your cus-tomers. One of the best things we did was to invite shoppers to
bring their food into the store with them. Ice cream cones? Hot
dogs with mustard? No problem. The precedent store signs in a
mall say, “No food or drink.” Ours stated, “Your food and
drink are welcome here.” We were trying to say, “We are here
on your terms. We are different.
