With Compliments
Thursday 12 July 2007 by Dr Maytel
As much as I have berated my local supermarket in the past, especially for the way they treat their fruits and vegetables I keep going back.
I'm somewhat of a VIP at my local supermarket. Unlike most Thai's or farangs (europeans) who have maids go to the fresh markets each morning, I don't have a maid and do all my shopping once a week a la Australiasian style. Meaning when I spend, I spend up big. Not that it is that much by western standards. I spend around 3000 baht per week for food for Hock and I. That's roughly USD$90 per week for two people and given that I generally eat most of my meals at home, by western standards it's pretty cheap.
But by Thai standards it's a lot. So now when I go there I'm treated a bit like a star. The owner often rushes over and unloads my cart for me....the security guard at the door calls me Madam and yesterday in a whole new first, the staff there told me that I am beautiful.
So you can see why I keep going back.
i've decided that this is indeed a good marketing strategy that should be employed by western supermarkets. Instead of saying, say..."would you like to try a piece of salami" or "apples only 1.99 per kilo" supermarkets should start handing out compliements to all their shoppers. Imagine what a world of difference it would make to bedraggled and harrassed housewives or any stressed out western shopper for that matter if everywhere time they went shopping the staff said things like
"wow, I love your hair"
or "have you been working out?"
"wow, you're so beautiful"
I'm somewhat of a VIP at my local supermarket. Unlike most Thai's or farangs (europeans) who have maids go to the fresh markets each morning, I don't have a maid and do all my shopping once a week a la Australiasian style. Meaning when I spend, I spend up big. Not that it is that much by western standards. I spend around 3000 baht per week for food for Hock and I. That's roughly USD$90 per week for two people and given that I generally eat most of my meals at home, by western standards it's pretty cheap.
But by Thai standards it's a lot. So now when I go there I'm treated a bit like a star. The owner often rushes over and unloads my cart for me....the security guard at the door calls me Madam and yesterday in a whole new first, the staff there told me that I am beautiful.
So you can see why I keep going back.
i've decided that this is indeed a good marketing strategy that should be employed by western supermarkets. Instead of saying, say..."would you like to try a piece of salami" or "apples only 1.99 per kilo" supermarkets should start handing out compliements to all their shoppers. Imagine what a world of difference it would make to bedraggled and harrassed housewives or any stressed out western shopper for that matter if everywhere time they went shopping the staff said things like
"wow, I love your hair"
or "have you been working out?"
"wow, you're so beautiful"
