This is the city – anywhere, USA. Inside the breakrooms of some high-value micro market accounts, a crime against design is happening all too often. The victims:
- Decision-makers who simply don’t know the potential their breakroom could offer.
- Micro market end users who are stuck with boring products and environments.
- Operators who eventually lose the location when the decision-maker becomes informed that there are better alternatives available.
The Crime – Using bottling company glass door coolers in micro markets.
Count One – Disorderly looking breakroom
While micro market operators are often willing to accept logo-adorned glass door coolers on loan from bottlers, it's a practice that diverts attention from the service provider's brand. Put it this way; you rarely see an operator showcasing a micro market on social media featuring bottler coolers, especially when they contain food items.
Using bottler-supplied coolers is the kind of practice that most operators grow out of. “I did it in the very beginning,” said Michael Purkey, owner of Arizona Fresh. “We quickly realized how unprofessional it looked, especially compared to the stainless-steel Minus Forty coolers that we get from Fixturelite. Clients notice the difference.”
Count Two – Promoting a limited beverage selection
If an operator is using a bottler’s glass door beverage coolers, we all know that the bottler expects that operator to fill the cooler exclusively with the beverages they produce. The result – a “vending on a shelf” style market. While the use of bottling company coolers will certainly allow an operator to limit their spending, it also limits their product selection, eliminating the many high price, high profit, new age beverages that today’s workplaces are clamoring for. “I don’t want my product selection to be limited. I want to offer products that will sell the best and sometimes, those are alternative beverages that my client is asking for,” said Purkey.
Count Three – Sacrificing quality and reliability
The difference between Minus Forty coolers and bottling company equipment goes way beyond the look of each. “Considering the cost and inconvenience associated with unpredictable cooler performance and reliability, we are directing operators to opt for quality,” said Steve Orlando, an experienced operator of 10 years who co-founded Fixturelite, the leading supplier of micro market retail displays, equipment and design tools. “Our choice is Minus Forty Technologies because they manufacture the best cooler and freezer merchandisers on the market.”
Minus Forty coolers have a look that customers would find in high-end retail market locations. Orlando said Fixturelite has seen nothing but positive feedback from operators who use Minus Forty equipment. “After 30 years in business, Minus Forty has the experience and delivers the quality our clients are looking for,” said Orlando. “Shortcuts on coolers result in an inconsistent look to the micro market space. If an operator wants to land great accounts and keep them, it makes sense to invest in quality equipment, especially from a design standpoint.”
Count Four – Sending the wrong message to your clients
When an operator opts for cost cutting over the customer experience in a micro market, the message is clear: “Because I want to cut costs, your company is stuck with equipment we borrowed to save us from having to invest in your space.”
Troy Geis, co-founder of Fixturelite, said he finds it hard to believe that some operators aren’t investing in their brand and accompanying equipment. “Why would you put yourself at an obvious disadvantage when you are competing for an account to begin with,” he said. “Your competitive disadvantage continues right up to the day that you lose the account.”
“Earning the business means investing in the business,” added Geis. “Clients see that, and they appreciate that you are designing their micro market with their best interests in mind. That is how successful, long term business relationships happen.”
It’s never too late to change your approach. Visit fixturelite.com for more information.
