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Is there magic in what you do?

The story of "Lucky Dale"

Speaking at a conference recently I was reintroduced to someone who had attended a session I gave in their state some twenty years ago. We exchanged our recollections of that experience and the industry they were a part of – chimney sweeps.

As we visited, I remembered an individual who had stood out because of his unique experiences with customers. I spoke of his tradition of sharing a business card with a cartoonish drawing of a chimney sweep. Having this card, the holder became a “junior sweep”. Because the traditional story of a sweep brings you good luck, he left each customer with a small black plastic chimney sweep that is to be a sign of good luck.
And, if there is a child present, he kneels before the chimney and places his hand up in it to give it one last inspection. Imagine the surprise on the child’s face when this sweep hands them a small piece of red cloth that was “stuck in the chimney”.

There was a woman that called for his service one day, only to find that Lucky Dale had retired, and his son had taken over the duties. The woman implored Lucky Dale to make the call with his son. The experience with Lucky Dale and his son went exactly as just described for the woman’s daughter.

The woman thanked Lucky Dale for the visit, and reaching on the mantle, she produced a card, plastic chimney sweep, and piece of red cloth that was her remembrance of her experience with Lucky Dale when she was a child. She had asked Lucky Dale to make the visit because she wanted her daughter to have the same experience.

There have been sweeps I have met who are very professional and highly qualified in performing their job. There is nothing of a negative nature that can be said about their work. But when a person like Lucky Dale comes along, they move the bar by which all in the industry are compared.

It comes down to the manager or owner of the business making decisions. Are they happy with the way customers see their business? Are they a business that could be described as a “fast follower” because they observe what other businesses do and they duplicate what they see?

And then there are the “bruised and battered” leaders who read a story like the one of Lucky Dale we have just shared and look for ways to make the experience with their business become something different.

There will always be businesses owned by people like Lucky Dale who have customers that can remember the experience they first had some thirty-five years ago. And then there will be businesses that find the need to do “item and price” advertising in any traditional or social media each week, so they can ask the customer to not forget that same business whose ad they saw just one week ago. The same is true for those that have the same old rewards program of, “buy 10 bags of pet food and get the 11th free”. Move on; there is nothing special with this business.

The magic is being memorable; with it being more than a slogan. And with it permeates everything and everyone within your business.

Traditional advertising is for the rest of the businesses, where constant reinforcement is required to have a customer think of you. And unfortunately, sometimes what attracts a customer to your business is your having a price that is lower than everyone else’s.

Lucky Dale’s business makes your home safe, but as a homeowner you aren’t going to hug your chimney; have a picture of it; or make a point to tell your friends about it.

With the pet industry there should always be the potential for a magical and memorable experience. Ask any pet owner and they will light up to tell you about that pet; if they do not have their pet with them, they surely have pictures on their phone.

Walking in the door of a pet store, the customer can have much more of an experience than when their chimney is swept. And yet, this chimney sweep has found a way to make something very special out of a transaction.

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This article is copyrighted by Tom Shay and Profits Plus Solutions, who can be reached at: PO Box 128, Dardanelle, AR. 72834. Phone 727-823-7205. It may be printed for an individual to read, but not duplicated or distributed without expressed written consent of the copyright owner.