[6] The Double-Edged Sword

The "ripple effect" is a double-edged sword ... and it cuts both ways.

Unfortunately, when it cuts the wrong way, many retail merchants don't see it happening until it's too late.

Let's continue with our hypothetical story:

One day, you run into Brad Smith in the grocery store. As you recall the comment your waitress had made recently, it occurs to you that you haven't seen any of the Smiths - or their friends - in your hypothetical restaurant in more than a month.

So you stop and ask Brad where he's been, thinking to yourself that maybe the Smiths could have been on vacation or something ... and you are stunned by the answer you receive.

Brad seems a little uncomfortable at first, then explains that his son Chuck injured his leg playing football, and has been on getting around on crutches for the last six weeks or so. He said they felt Chuck would have trouble getting up the steps to your front door.

He tells you the family has been eating at a barrier-free restaurant just down the street that Chuck's sister had located on the internet, and promises that they will come back to your place as soon as Chuck's leg injury heals. (The doctors said that Chuck should be off his crutches in another 3 or 4 months.)

Brad says he's sorry, and hopes you understand.

"But my restaurant is also barrier-free," you exclaim to Brad. Didn't he know that you had just spent thousands of dollars on remodeling to make it more accessible and convenient, only last summer?

And didn't he know that your store now has a disabled access ramp too? (The ramp just isn't at the entrance the Smith family usually used.)

Brad nervously tells you he didn't know about all that, and promises that his family will be in for dinner again "real soon."

Then he shakes your hand, tells you how great it was to see you, and walks away quickly.

As you watch Brad walk away, you suspect you've lost his business permanently, and that you might not see the Smith family - or their friends - in your store for a long time ... if ever.

You wonder if maybe you could have kept those customers if your advertising had mentioned something about the recent remodeling of your restaurant and it's improved accessibility.

Aren't you glad this is only a "hypothetical" story?

Nothing like that could be happening with your customers, could it?