Value Of A Customer

So finally the dreaded July weather is beginning to show signs that it has finally arrived. The weather has been of late playing games with people by blowing cold at night and early morning while summer hot during the day from 10a.m. With the change in weather to cold it is naturally the time of the year when coffee houses rejoice and become meccas for those tying to keep warm. Knowing this is a coffee houses Christmas period, you would think they would be rolling out the red carpet and making sure they secure your wallet to their establishment instead of giving their competitors a chance to knock them off the totem pole. 

In today's competitive service oriented sector it is absolutely crucial to have a mobile working staff with a stellar gold standard level of service. One bad experience and you would lose customers very fast. Allow me to exemplify an example of what not to do. One day I walked into a Java outlet and politely asked a waitress if I could share a table with someone as it was very packed. She proceeded to ask the closest person who happened to be seated near the entrance and it was a done deal. Fast forward 45 minutes later and I had not been served or a waitress approaching to with a menu to ask what I would have. Never mind that the same waitress had just seated me and did not bother to ask me for my order. Mind you this is a coffee house restaurant so it falls under fast food service when it comes to orders. So there I sat tapping away at my laptop until I had to complain to corporate on twitter in order for me to get someone to serve me let alone prompt service. In my head I am seated there thinking, how many people go through this exact “level” of service at this particular location in a day, then calculate to a week, month and lastly a year. The cost of losing a customer let alone a loyal customer is priceless.

Nairobi Java has a lot of competition and in this market and I think being one of the market leaders has made it become complacent in terms of service standards and food delivery. If I were to use myself as an example of a loyal customer and the value of having me as a loyal and repeat customer, I could probably calculate my worth to the organization thus:

I have a minimum of 2 cups of coffee a day and being in my line of business I am always on the go. Thus at least one of these cups is normally a take away from a coffee establishment. Every Tuesday since April 2010 I have always gone for breakfast at Java Adams arcade/ Junction and now Valley arcade as it is near home. If you do a price analysis, you would get the following:

1 double house coffee per day 170 *5= 850*4= 3400*12= 40,800

Tuesday breakfast 880*4= 3520*12= 42240

Total yearly spending 40,800 + 42,240= 83,040

By law of averages baring being out of town , sickness, family holidays etc., lets us be conservative in nature and say I only visited 70% of the time, you would still get  58,128/- as my minimum value to your organization yearly. This does not factor in my wife’s participation and the people I may meet there who are a value unto themselves. Mind you my wife is a lawyer who spends most of her time at Java mama ngina and java upperhill as she meets with friends and clients. Now if I was to take her minimum value same as mine, you would get 116,256/- as a couple/ family. If I were to complain and say you lose an average of about 2 customers a month at the end of the year you would have 24 customers and at an average of 50,000 per customer you are looking at 1,200,000/- per year minimum just because of lack of customer service and we are not taking into account those who never return because of a bad experience with food or any number of issues. In today’s economy can we say this is acceptable figures for a company that has Dormans, The Mug, Savana, Art caffe and a number of other coffee shops as competitors?

Dear Java it is time to wake up and smell the coffee (pun intended) before you lose customers in droves.