What makes a customer shop at one hardware store vs. another? I have an example where price was not a deciding factor.

There are two hardware stores, Rona and Home Depot in close proximity to my home. Both stores offered the same or similar brands of toilets. So what if anything would determine where I made my purchase?

The deciding factor was service. A toilet is heavy and I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to lift it, and even if I could I didn’t want to risk hurting my back.

The following table contains a comparison of the service I experienced at the two stores:

Home Depot Rona
Toilets mounted on a wall above my head, out of reach Toilets on a floor display, within reach for easy comparison
After 10 minutes of looking at the display, no one comes to assist me.  I leave. Two staff members offer to assist: one immediately and one 2 minutes later.  Both give advice on which toilet offers the attributes I am seeking.  After a model is chosen, the second also explains what if any additional parts might be needed to complete the job.
Generally no assistance in transporting items the customer’s vehicle from this store.  I pay and then drive to a loading area where a staff member loads the toilet into my vehicle.

 I wonder if the two stores realize the vast difference in service they are offering.  The gradual move to the big box store format has brought the customer more selection and better prices for some items, but it seems to have come at a cost – a loss of knowledgeable service.

And why not? Labour is a very expensive input. So minimizing its cost by hiring the bare minimum on a part time basis makes economic sense, because the savings can then be passed on to the consumers as a means to draw them into the store.  This may work on some items and for some customers.  But for other customers, whose time is at a premium or knowledge of all things hardware is precious little, or physical strength lacking, the lowest price isn’t as important, because the customer is willing to pay a bit more for the service they need.

Rona has chosen customer service as its value proposition.  This is evident from the corporate values published on their website, which lists customer service as its top priority.  Home Depot lists excellent customer service at #4.  From my experience, both live up to their values.

The preceeding is but one example of a customer purchase – but it gives pause to consider the psychology behind customer purchase decisions. Cost is not always the deciding factor.