I remember my branding teachers would tell me that a brand’s success depended on that brand’s employees. I understood this concept, but it didn’t truly set it until last night. We went for a walk and walked past Cold Stone Creamery, deciding that ice cream sounded good. We went inside and waited in line. There was a customer in front of us who had never been to Cold Stone before the employee behind the counter was shocked by this and tried to explain what to do when ordering. Epic fail. The employee couldn’t explain the simple concept that is behind Cold Stone and couldn’t answer the customer’s question about pricing. The employee was unable to deliver a quality, branded experience while for the customer.
As if one bad employee wasn’t enough I could see a second employee in the backroom, shirt lifted up, rubbing her side which was covered in some kind of red-substance that resembled berries. She wasn’t even wearing any gloves. A little disturbed we left the Cold Stone without any ice cream. Had the franchise hired better employees and taught them the culture that surrounds the Cold Stone brand, we may have left satisfied customers. Instead we left empty handed and the store lost out on a sale.
We decided to go to Fuddruckers Burgers instead for a milk shake. Fuddruckers has a decent in-store ambiance, but they are missing the mark in a few spots. Fuddruckers means burgers and fries, but when you walk into their store they have what appear to be old fashioned drink crates full of various drinks ranging from Izze’s to Vitamin Water, not exactly a good drink to pair with burgers and friends. Definitely reaching outside of the Fuddruckers brand. They also have a “bake shop” featuring pies, cookies and breads. The problem here is that they are trying to be too many things all at once. Their brand is lacks consistency and simplicity.
When we ordered our milk shake the employee was not very engaging and missed her mark on hospitality. She made us our shake, which was handed to us in a Pepsi cup. Had Fuddruckers been on top of their brand, they would have had some sort of special branded cups for their milkshakes. They missed an opportunity to have a milkshake on display as we were on our walk. The cup could have served as an advertisment, instead if people saw our Pepsi cup they would think, obviously, Pepsi.
For a brand to be successful attention to detail must happen. Cold Stone should have had literature that provided an easy answer to what Cold Stone is to a customer who was experiencing it for the first time. They don’t need an entire employee hand guide, but a short book that quickly and entertainingly describes the Cold Stone brand. Fuddruckers should have had branded milk shake cups so they didn’t miss out on a walking advertisement, essentially free of cost.
Perhaps the area where a brand should be most cautious is the employees hired to represent that brand. An employee engages with the customer and is, in most cases, the only point of contact between brand and customer. If this exchange is unpleasent, the brand has a negative view in the customer’s eyes.
Now I understand what my branding teachers were trying to say when they said a brand’s success depends on their employees. The employees have to buy into a brands message and culture if they are going to be selling it to others.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot actually – however – I encountered the flip side of it. I was talking to a girl the other day whom was interviewed for a job with Burgerville… Innocent enough right? Nope. She actually failed the interview because she failed to tell the interviewer what she knew about Burgerville – of course they were looking to see how much she knew about the brand and likely interested to hear her own experiences with it… however, she lost out by not knowing a THING about branding and that it is an essential part of a company.
That’s great for Burgerville. They understand the importance of their image in retaining their customers. I hope the girl has better luck elsewhere.