Oct 6, 2022
Kingston, Ontario – “What? They’re closed? I don’t believe it!”
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What a great weekend! Firstly, the weather cooperated – with temperatures in the high teens (Celsius), sun and little wind.
We were here in Kingston, attending the 40th anniversary of the graduating students of my alma mater – Queen’s University. Plus – a visit with my daughter, who is a 3rd year Geology student and member of the
varsity women’s rugby team.
Of course, I was a little nervous since I only recognized the names of 3 classmates of those who planned to attend, not including my two good friends who graduated from different
disciplines. Naturally, I need not have worried. The events were well planned, and the people had such amazing backgrounds and life stories to share that the end came much too fast.
While my wife is not an
alumnus, she was anxious to acquire some university swag.
The weekend before, we had attended a rugby game at a rival school, to watch our daughter play. There is a huge parent support
group – and many were in attendance. All decked out in the school’s colours, with hats, sweaters, toques, scarves etc.
We had none of this and looked very out of
place.
Her mission, therefore, was to purchase articles to show she was a big supporter too.
So, after an excellent breakfast in the quaint downtown of this small city, we strolled along the waterfront, to the campus. End goal – the “bookstore” where all such official items are sold at inflated prices.
Imagine her surprise and indignation when we discovered that said store, was closed on the weekend and only opened M-F, 9-5.
The ironic thing is, even if we had gone the afternoon of the day before, it would have been closed anyway – due to a new, national holiday.
Now, as you folks know by now, I live in a tourist town, in the mountains of Canada. When do you suppose the most traffic and visitors come?
The weekend – right?
And this past weekend, hundreds of returning alumni, many with spouses, were descending upon the region, full of nostalgia from their
undergrad years.
Do you think some of them would have plunked down some hard cash for remembrance items of the “glory” days of their youth?
Absolutely!
If even only 50 of us had visited – with an average spend
of only $200 – that would have netted the store an additional $10,000.
Then, had the store also asked for and received each purchaser’s contact info, - name and email at a minimum – they
could have turned that initial sale into thousands more every year.
Why was it closed?
Well, Canadian universities, while appearing to be private institutions like most south of the border are, in reality, wards of the State. Most of their funding comes from the government, (and their charters) which is why the tuition rates for Canadian students are much lower than in the
US.
Good? Bad? Hard to say.
But one thing is evident. The “bookstore” would be making a lot more money.
Question
for you. Are you operating your company with policies and procedures that make it more difficult for your customers and clients to do business with you? What could you do to make it easier?
Until next week,
Stay healthy and focus on profit!
- Hugh
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert
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