THE REPEAT MOMENT

This is it!
I think it was P&G who were contacted by some nutter who said - I can double usage of your Head and Shoulders Shampoo product with virtually no cost to you in doing so. But it'll cost you a million dollars to find out. OK, they said. His answer was to add the word repeat to the usage instructions and market this in all the advertising for the product. It worked.

Here's my similar idea that I reckon will increase your kitchen sales by about 50% - an idea by my fag packet reckoning that's worth £50 to £60M a year.

Simple.

Relocate your kitchen showroom to where I come in to start my shopping.

Put the cheque in the post.

£4.97

It was for a Disney Princess blob lamp.A snowstorm that lights up over the princess castle in different colours. My daughter is absolutely delighted. It looked to me like maybe a xmas end of line special. So there is something in your stores for kids!

£487.34

That's what I just paid the architect. But I could have paid you.

The architect isn't an architect, but is a qualified architectural technician or whatever they are called. He used to be a postman. Very nice chap. Very helpful. Very good at contacts with the local planners and building control people. Very flexible. Nice to deal with. And a fraction of the cost of an architect, though doing the same job essentially. Those are the positives.

Having used his services in the past I know he has to be watched a bit on detail - not my forte either. His drawings are fine. But they could easily be CAD CAM rendered to give a real picture of how the building will look. And he isn't a creative thinker - but then I'm on that case.

The reason I bring this into the blog is to put forward the idea that you could do this - profitably and with minimum investment. And it would change your positioning so that you are in there as a partner at the start - and able and trusted to advise - and of course cross sell right from the beginning and across the whole course of the project.

LIGHT OF MY LIFE

Perhaps it is Seasonal Affective Disorder. Perhaps it is that. as I get older, my eyes get dimmer. I find it harder and harder to cope with the dull British winter. It's the lack of light. It depresses me no end, and it's a prime mover in wanting to do something about the house.

I don't really know how to light a room. I'd like to be taught. But I know when one is dull and dingy. To try and help a bit, I go to your store to buy a floor lamp. I go with that other light of my life, my daughter.

The lighting section isn't what I'd call extensive, especially for floor lamps. But there are a couple and I choose the Lambo. All well and good. The only observation I would make about the lighting section on this trip - apart from "get a bigger range" - is that it isn't ideal to have the display of floor lamps on the second or third shelf up. It makes it very difficult to see the height of the lamps.

My daughter says she's hungry, so we head to your cafe. There's also a catering stand outside the store, which to be honest seems a better bet, but we haven't yet checked out. The lady in the cafe is lovely with my daughter - very patient and affectionate. We are the only people in there, bar one. We remain the only people in there, apart from staff coming in for cups of tea etc.

There seems to be only a very limited range of foodstuffs on sale. In a bored moment I count them up: 25 on display. The place seems a bit irrelevant. I think to myself that surely there must be a better use for this square footage. What about, for example, replacing the cafes with in store toy shops specialising in construction toys. You'd have my daughter's rapt attention, and mine. It might even give me another reason to come, and would help solve the question on every parent's mind - how do I occupy the kids here.

As if in response, there is a very official tannoy announcement, asking parents to supervise and keep kids under control at all times!

Couldn’t believe that you really don’t sell bricks. Debated it with BG over lunch. “Can’t be,” was his view. “I know”, I said, “mad, isn’t it?” So I went round to my local store and checked. “Do you sell bricks?”
“Yep. Trade counter, mate.”
At the trade counter I asked if you have a catalogue of different bricks.
“No, love. But we’ve got a man who comes round and matches ‘em up.”
“What about roof trusses – do you do those?”
“Yes. We’ll get them for you.”
“Great. None of that is on your website is it?”
“No love. Trade.”
!!!!!

I mess about on your website for ages. There's a lot of good stuff there. But the navigation is clunky and not consumer oriented. Sometimes its very frustrating.
I launched the kitchen planner and mucked about creating a design. I felt so proud of myself. So I saved it and later, when her indoors came in, I wanted to show it to her. But could I find it again? Not on your nelly. So I looked like a right prat.
I found it eventually. But who'd have thought you have to launch the kitchen planner again - when its clearly a download and you think you've already done it. Even then I nearly missed the "my saved designs" tab. Not easy. Shame, because the tool itself is great.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

I go on a wider netsearch for bricks. Jewson's comes up trumps. Their site is clearly arranged for the user and their self build section of the site is great - great for clarity and great tools to use. They offer a project estimating service, free. Five days, and they'll come back to you with a materials and labour estimate based on your plans. Excellent. I could see myself using thst, if only to check I'm not being ripped off. I'd have little idea otherwise. They also offer a brick matching service. Just what I need.