You know what really grinds my gears? No, it doesn’t grind my gears, but it does seem to bother me to a slight extent. I’m hungry and I don’t have much time, so I do what most Americans would do; I go to the drive-thru at the local fast food joint. On this day, there is no one in front of me, and so I pull up to the window almost immediately. Upon doing so, in no less than 5 seconds, I am greeted with a cheerful, “Hello, and welcome to Ernie’s. Would you like to try our new Super Duper Combo? How may I take your order?”
In that instant, I feel the pressure… the pressure to hurry up and order something…anything! Yes, I know there’s a little menu board just before the main drive-thru menu board, but no one uses that. It only shows what the specials are, and I’m the type of person who really doesn’t know what he wants right away. It takes some time to decide just what I’m in the mood for. I don’t have the menu memorized, nor do I know what the prices are this week. Even though I feel the pressure to hurry up and order, I reply back every single time, “I need a moment to decide what I’d like.” The response is always something along the lines of “OK, let me know when you’re ready to order.” This takes some of the pressure off of me, yet it still exists to some degree.
My mind goes into overdrive, “Do I want a hamburger or a cheeseburger? Do I want fries with that? Do I want something to drink? How about something besides soda?” The pressure mounts. I cave in. “Uh, I’d like a double whammy burger with a small whammy fry and a medium Coke.” The answer comes out over the speaker, “Is that all?” “Yes,” I reply. The order is read back to me as well as the total. I pull up to the window (some places have two windows; one for the money, and the other for the food,) pay, and get my order. The process is complete and I pull forward to stop and check my order. It looks OK, and so I continue on my merry way. Yet, something still bothers me.
You know what it is? Remember that little bit about “Would you like to try our Super Duper Combo?” That’s called “suggestive selling,” and it’s something that I’ve never cared for. For me it’s a time-waster, and very annoying. It turns a simple ordering or buying process into a multi-step ordeal. Yes, I’ve given a dollar to help feed the hungry on more than one occasion, and no, I will not sign up for a Super Rewards card no matter how much you try to sell me on the fact that it’s easy and won’t take long. You don’t know how much or how little time that I have in the day. No offense to you personally, but your company needs to stop begging for my business so much. It’s a total turn-off for me, and will only tempt me to go to the competition all the more.
The moral of the story is this: If I want something, I will let you know. Until then, let me take a few moments of your precious time to decide just exactly what I want. The end result? You’ll have a happier customer, who will more than likely be coming back to do business with you again in the near future. And that is how you can take my order.