Stealing customers: by John

OK, this is John. I'm in Dallas for the evening . While SKYPing with Russell he tells me about a call he got from Dog-a-holics. It seems that a number of their customers have signed on to our Zane and Zaras FANN page. Their knickers were in a twist because they thought we were trying to steal their customers. OK, let me get this straight: we, a retail store, were just accused of trying to steal another retail store's customers. Really? In America? A store was actually trying to corrupt another stores customer. Well, this just has, "Come to the Dark Side Luke," written all over it. Now that I have that little rant off my chest...Russell and I struggle everyday where to place our advertising dollars. We look at magazines, newspapers, direct mail, etc, etc. We seem to get the biggest bang for our buck by using the internet. We tweet, we Skype, we use various ad words, we blog and, yes, we use Facebook. Facebook and it's FANN pages is pretty new for us and seems to be a great way to reach out to our current and potential customers. So now that I've laid our cards on the table let's look at the accusation of us trying to steal customers. Am I going to rope off sidewalk space in front of Dog-a-holics and hock my wares? Nah, probably not. Personally I think that might be bad form let alone bad karma. Do I want their customers to take a walk through Zane and Zara's? Yes, I do. I want Dog-a-holics' customers to come into Zane and Zara's. I want them to come often and regularly. I want them to say hello, chat a while and offer comments.  I want them and all others to spend money. Do I want them to stop going to Dog-a-holics? To tell the truth, that's not my issue. We opened our doors because we thought we could offer a unique shopping experience for the dog and/or cat lover. We advertise in every way possible in order to bring EVERYONE into our store. I would get on the roof naked (Not something you really want to see, mind you.) and shout until I was hoarse if I would bring people into our store. If you are another retailer who feels threatened by these actions I'm sorry but, I'm not going to change. I like the people who come into Zane and Zara's. I want more people to come in and give us a "once over." I can't wait to open that next store and let people see how we've incorporated things that they've asked for. And then I want to open another store and another and another. (Total world domination comes later.) I think the thing that really gets to me is that when someone has come into Zane and Zara's looking for something we don't carry I have never hesitated to send them to Dog-a-holics or Wigglyville or 4-Legs. Before we opened our doors those were some of our favorite stores. I have no problem sending a customer over because I know they will have a good experience. Hell, I've even sent people over to Petco and/or PetSmart. We can't carry everything and I simply like to help people. So, that's it: Dog-a-holics I advertise. I want your customers to come into Zane and Zara's. I know that's not what you want to hear but it is the truth. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Honestly, was that too dramatic?

John Ira Smith

Zane + Zara's