String Beats a Sticker

Chris Beytes

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” So said Dr. Luke, and whether or not you prescribe to his Editor’s viewpoints*, you can’t deny that there’s good sense in what he says.

Think about your own employees. Whom would you trust with your shiny new company truck—the employee who always returns the old one clean and gassed up or the employee who always returns it full of crumbs and running on fumes? Or who gets picked for assistant manager—the employee who makes a point to pick up stray trash or the one who leaves half-empty soda cans on the benches?

But what about you and your business? In your customers’ eyes, is your company faithful in the little things? You know, returning phone calls, delivering what you promised when you promised it … I could go on and on, but it’s these seemingly little things that, done consistently and done well, can inspire them to give you more business. Conversely, routinely make small goofs and why should they trust you with the big order?

In my experience, few businesses do the little things exceptionally well. Which is why I—and I think all customers—respond so favorably to small details done right. We figure that if a company puts that much energy into something seemingly insignificant, they most certainly must be proud of their big products and services. Conversely, if a company doesn’t pay attention to the simple things, what else is going wrong? Dirty bathrooms at a restaurant? Try not to picture the kitchen.

In my recent travels, I’ve discovered two examples of small details done right. At Termini Brothers Bakery in Philadelphia. I was waiting in a long line to get a cup of La Colombe coffee and a pastry, and I had plenty of time to observe that each pastry order was being carefully boxed, and each box was being carefully tied with a string. Which I greatly admired! A box secured with string speaks volumes: history, tradition, quality, taking time to do things right … there’s a lot of emotion in a few feet of baker’s twine.


While an instant fan of the string, I still had to ask a smart-aleck question of one of the bakers: “Why tie the boxes? You’d save a minute per order if you used a sticker or piece of tape instead.”

He looked at me like I had two heads. “It’s tradition,” he replied with a shrug, adding that it was one of first skills they taught new employees.

And certainly, not a single person waiting in line grumbled about the string. The big thing—the quality of the baked goods—ensured that.

My second example is from the factory store of WeatherTech, the American-made, laser-fit car floor mat specialists. My wife and I popped in to buy a set of for our new truck. Now, trust me, we didn’t expect this to be a rollicking day out. I mean, it’s a boring floor mat store, right?

Um, wrong!

Talk about the Apple store of automobile shoe-borne dirt protection technology! This place was amazing.
Bright and open, with a soaring ceiling, colorful automotive art, several customized cars and trucks modeling WeatherTech’s wares, and a row of vintage Ducati motorcycles, well, just because.

And in one corner a coffee bar, complete with gleaming chrome espresso machine. And scones! And all complimentary, for while you shop or wait for your order to be filled. I was grinning from ear to ear. Now THIS is retail detail, I thought as I sipped coffee, munched a scone and snapped pictures.

And they weren’t exactly little details, either—have
you priced espresso machines? But the payoff is that WeatherTech’s customers are so relaxed and comfortable while they wait, that they know without a doubt that the floor mats are going to be at least as good as the experience. And they are.

They could have saved money and instead supplied a generic coffee pot and a tray of grocery store cookies. But then they’d just be your average car dealership waiting room.

A string beats a sticker every time.

*Luke 16:10, from the New Living Translation