by Charlie Crowell exclusively for ImpactHollow.com
There’s a store in Norwalk, Connecticut called Stew Leonard’s Dairy Store. It’s a place all marketers and business owners should know about… and visit.
The store has been in operation since 1969 and has been in a perpetual state of growth ever since. Dozens of additions have been made to “Stew’s” over the years. It’s a creative, noteworthy place, sometimes being called the Disneyland of dairy stores. The Guinness Book of World Records has Stew Leonard’s listed as the world’s busiest store, selling more goods per square foot than any other retailer anywhere.
The dairy store has been written up in countless books and magazines as a shinning example of how a seemingly humble little enterprise can grow into something so significant that business leaders from around the world fly in to learn from it.
The place is like a farm themed festival. There are animated characters, costumed farm animals, a petting zoo, music, an ice cream shop, a massive bakery, and more, all built around a milk processing plant.
The first time I visited this famous landmark there were so many overfilled shopping carriages exiting the building I thought it looked phony – as if they were filming a commercial. Surely, it was all being staged.
It wasn’t. It was business as usual for Stew Leonard’s.
The second thing I noticed was a giant piece of granite with Stew Leonard’s simple business philosophy etched on the front.
OUR POLICY
RULE 1
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT
RULE 2
IF THE CUSTOMER IS EVER WRONG REREAD RULE 1
It goes without being said that this was a stroke of genius. The rock basically tells customers up front that they are incredibly important and can expect to be treated well when they step inside. It also serves as a constant reminder to employees that this is the way Stew Leonard’s conducts business.
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When Stew Leonard’s opened their second location in Danbury, Connecticut, they duplicated the stone monument there; only this second version is not nearly as large.
For a time, the Norwalk location even sold miniature souvenir replicas of the stone. Talk about creativity!
All this leads to the very interesting question – Is the customer really always right?
Of course not. Often, customers can be incredibly wrong, but that’s beside the point. The real message here is you need to treat your customers as if they are right… period.
Each of Stew Leonard’s customers is worth thousands of dollars each year. Multiply that by a lifetime of loyalty and you begin to see just how important customers really can be. To argue with them over anything is simply foolhardy… and costly.
Tags: customer service, customer service policy, Guinness Book of World Records, Norwalk CT, rock, Stew Leonard's
[...] while back I wrote a piece about Stew Leonard’s, the world’s busiest dairy store. This is sort of a follow up to it. To say [...]
Hey. Superb occupation. I would not count on this for a Wednesday. This is a great history. Gives thanks!