What do you do when employees from other pet stores come in to ask questions and take photos?
- We welcome them just like any other customer. We show them what we have to offer and provide superior service. Many times they actually end up as a regular customer. — Mary Gales Hardin, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, Fleming Island, FL
- It depends. What’s their attitude? Are they respectful? Are they up front? How close is the other shop? Questions are one thing, pictures are another. We would likely not permit competitors to take pictures. We have been willing to answer questions and offer suggestions to visiting store owners. If the store was out of state, we have allowed some pics. I really think there is no pat answer. There are too many variables to consider. — Lorin Grow, Furry Face, Redlands, CA
- They can copy your products, but they can never copy what makes you, YOU! I’m confident our high level of customer service will always set us apart! — Pattie Zeller, Animal Connection, Charlottesville, VA
- If they ask and/or are respectful, I am happy to help where I can! If they are being sneaky, rude or getting in the way, they gotta go. Me personally, if I’m looking at prices in other stores and such, it’s not so I can undercut, but so that we can all be similarly priced where possible, or so I can send customers to them if I can’t reasonably carry an item. — Tasha Hermanson, Woofta Pet Shop, Dickinson, ND
- Let them. Proprietary questions are courteously deflected. Pictures are not discouraged because the secret sauce in our success is not in the products, displays or prices. It’s in the folks that work with us and the environment that they create. It’s in our collective commitment to serve our customers by creating a unique community that celebrates and enhances the relationship they have with their pets. Personally, I’m flattered when someone thinks enough of our operation to take pictures! Smile! — Frank Frattini, The Hungry Puppy, Farmingdale, NJ
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