Church of the Customer Blog
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November 02, 2004
Hire your customers
How to create a more passionate workforce? Hire your best customers.
Super-smart Texas retailer The Container Store sent invitations last month to 100,000 of its best customers who had purchased wrapping paper during the past year, asking if they would like to work at the store during the upcoming holidays.
"Do you LOVE gorgeous gift wrap?" the invitation read. "So do we! Let's put your passion for great gift wrap to work."
More than 1,300 customers replied. Most will probably require little, if any, training about store merchandise.
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I am beginning to like your postings.. I have been taking you feeds for quite some time.. but never paid attention ( I mean real attention !!)..
You'll are actually rockin !! Way to go :)-
Thanks, Peter!
That actually sounds like a great idea. You would get people who like what they sell.
Yup, it means that the employees have already bought into the company's purpose, literally.
If my experience at LEGO says anything, those folks they hire will probably know MORE than those already working there! :)
Jake, no offense to the fine and enthusiastic people working at The Container Store but I would wager an Elfa closet installation that you're right.
But what happens if and when bad feelings emerge between the consumer/employee and the employer? The business will lose both business and employees.
Mark, I see the risk you point out, but I see a higher risk for hiring employees who know nothing about the store or have little emotional investment in the company or its employees.
To sour an established customer evangelist during an employer/employee relationship would require the services of a significantly bad store manager. Or it would have to originate as a bad cultural fit from the outset.
From most indications, the Container Store seems to do outstanding work on both of those fronts.
