Business is all about "Hugging Your Customers", says CEO Scott Sharkey

Sharkey's Franchising Co.
"It's All About Hugging"

Hug Your Customers 

Our vision is that anyone that becomes a customer of our stores enters an enduring relationship with us.  He or she instantly becomes our friend.  That's our motto: "Once a customer, always a friend."  It's been that way since the day the doors opened, and it will always be that way.  It's clear to me that customers are thirsting for relationship-driven companies.  They want to be coddled.  They like it when they are smiled at.  They appreciate thank-you notes.  And great sellers want to work for relationship-driven companies. Those companies are more successful because relationship selling inevitably leads to higher productivity and high profitability.  In a relationship-driven company, it's a lot more fun to go to work in the morning.  And we want to have fun!

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Only Extremely Satisfied Customers are Genuinely Loyal

The reality is that satisfied customers simply aren't' enough anymore to make a prosperous business.  They aren't really loyal and will readily defect at the slightest prompt.  Only extremely satisfied customers are genuinely loyal.

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Business Tips

  + Hug ALL Your Customers

  + Old vs. New

  + Hugging Is a Mindset

  + Pile On the Hugs  

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Contact Us
Sharkey's Franchising Co.
Norwalk, CT 06854
Tel: (203) 637-8911

Hugging Is a Mindset 

The very word "hugging" may suggest we're advocating all sorts of fuzzy, touchy-feely type of stuff.  We're not, though warmth is a big part of our business.  I define hugging as a mindset more than a physical act.  It's a way of thinking about customers.  To us, hugging is a softer word for passion and relationships.  It's a way of getting close to your customers and truly understanding them.  I like to say, You listen, you learn, you hug. 

When you acquire the hugging mindset, you'll naturally come up with all sorts of passionate ways to care for your customers.

Piling On the Hugs

You can go a long way toward making a very satisfied customers with one simple hug, but the great huggers pile the hugs one on top of another until they've created an entire force field of hugs.  The great huggers blitz a customer with hugs--with tender loving care.

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" Whenever I notice customers shopping with young children, I like to go over and kneel down so I'm at child height and say, "Hi there, I just wanted to thank you for bringing your mom and dad into the store today."

-Jack Mitchell
www.HugYourCustomers.com
 
"I have met Jack Mitchell many times over the years, and his books have been an inspiration to me from the day I opened my first Sharkey's Cuts for Kids in 2002.  I continue to provide all my new franchisees with his books, "Hug Your Customers", and "Hug Your Employees", as I believe very strongly in his business philosophy regarding customer loyalty".  

"Thank you Jack!"
  -Scott Sharkey
CEO