Chapter 118 Victory in the first battle
The first day of opening of Taohua Dessert ended perfectly.
Many pastry shops that started out as roadside stalls will see their reputation collapse once they open a shop.
Tong Huaqiong summarized the reasons for this: either they opened a shop but did not know how to market, or they could not guarantee stable output, thus losing old customers and becoming unattractive to new customers.
Thus it was short-lived.
Therefore, when Tong Huaqiong decided to move the roadside stall into the store, she began to build momentum, emphasizing to customers that Taohua Desserts was going to open a store, that the prices and tastes would not change, and that more new product lines would be added.
After opening a shop, the operating costs will certainly increase, and sometimes the prices will have to be set high, but old customers don’t care. If you set high prices, you will lose old customers, especially for Taohua Desserts which started out as a roadside stall, they will fall into this unfavorable situation.
Therefore, Tong Huaqiong maintained the original price of the old products and added a lot of new products. The pricing of the new products was naturally controlled by her. The prices of the new products were not comparable, so customers were more receptive to them. Moreover, the deliciousness of the new products would make some customers ignore the price.
In short, Tong Huaqiong thought of many ways to ensure that Taohua Dessert Shop would gain both good reputation and great sales as soon as it opened.
The success of Taohua Dessert on the first day was not only due to its quality and activities, but also to its refreshing service style.
What made Tong Huaqiong feel gratified was that everyone from Gu Taohua to Liu Yue'e, and even Ma Huateng who was not good at dealing with people, did not let down.
Due to the booming business, all the cakes at Taohua Dessert were sold out by mid-afternoon and they had to close early.
Even though the shop was closed, Tong Huaqiong still did not close the door, as she was afraid that late customers would feel disappointed when seeing the closed door.
Although the late customers did not buy any pastries, they were still treated like guests at home, with tea, fans, and the promise of a buy-one-get-one-free service next time.
It was already sunset when Taohua Dessert saw off the last batch of customers.
Tong Huaqiong took over Ma Huateng's account book, quickly calculated the profit in her mind, and was overjoyed.
Peach Blossom Dessert won the first battle!
Not only was Tong Huaqiong happy, but every employee of Taohua Dessert had a satisfied and proud smile on their face. Even though their voices were hoarse after a busy day, they felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Take Liu Qiaoyun for example. She finally understood why Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua came to the town to set up stalls despite the gossip of the villagers, because the sense of accomplishment from selling each order of cakes was better than growing crops in the fields or sewing shoe soles at home.
Gu Xiaocao was as excited as Liu Qiaoyun.
Ever since Xu Si ruined her reputation, her whole family was forced to move out of the village and she had no way out.
Her father was afraid for her safety and didn't dare to go out to work, so life at home was very difficult. Now she can earn money with her own hands.
While everyone was happy, Tong Huaqiong called everyone to the backyard for a meeting.
Even Liu Yue'e's sister-in-law Hu, who was responsible for cooking and doing odd jobs, and Liu Yue'e's elder brother Liu Shan, who was responsible for tying up the donkeys and horses outside, were all present.
"Everyone has performed well today. Everyone has made contributions in their own positions. The smooth opening and booming business today are all due to your contributions. Everyone has done better than I expected. Everyone has completed their respective tasks successfully. As the shopkeeper, I am very pleased."
Tong Huaqiong had a smile on her face and her words were full of encouragement and gratitude.
"I want to praise two people especially, Qiao Yun and Xiao Cao." Tong Huaqiong looked at Liu Qiao Yun and Gu Xiao Cao.
Liu Qiaoyun and Gu Xiaocao were suddenly called, and they were so excited that they forgot what expression to show.
"Qiao Yun did a great job today in calming down an old lady who was almost swearing because she had waited in line for too long, so there was no dispute on the first day of our store's opening." Tong Huaqiong said.
Tong Huaqiong specifically brought up this matter as the experience summarized from the operation of Sushiyuan.
Why was her Peach Blossom Dessert able to snatch some of Sushiyuan's customers on the first day of opening? A big reason was that Sushiyuan had become too proud of itself after becoming so big and powerful, and did not take individual customers seriously. When it encountered complaints from customers, it not only did not appease them, but also made indirect sarcasms and open attacks.
Just like the accountant Ma Huateng of Taohua Dessert, wasn’t it because of the poor service of Sushiyuan that he became connected with Taohua Dessert?
Liu Qiaoyun was very excited.
She felt that comforting the old lady was her job, but she didn't expect that Aunt Tong noticed it and praised her in public as it was her contribution.
"I didn't do anything. That's just my job." Liu Qiaoyun looked modest and pointed out the "job" that Tong Huaqiong had always emphasized.
"That's wrong." Tong Huaqiong said, "Although it is your job, you were able to stand up in the crisis, withstand the old lady's pressure, and cleverly resolve her dissatisfaction, turning her into a loyal customer of our store. This is a great contribution." Tong Huaqiong continued to praise.
Then I took this opportunity to emphasize to everyone: "This is what I mean when I say that customers are God. We must be patient with customers, listen to their needs, and appease their emotions. This is easier said than done. If you encounter customers with disputes like the old lady today, you must not take it lightly and must take it seriously."
Everyone nodded.
Tong Huaqiong plans to set up a customer dispute department once Taohua Desserts is firmly established, and assign someone to handle customer complaints, disputes and other issues.
"And why should I specifically praise Xiaocao? Xiaocao brought us an order of pastries for the full moon birthday party." Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Xiaocao, and her admiration for Gu Xiaocao was deeper than that for Liu Qiaoyun.
Tong Huaqiong praised this honest and thoughtful girl completely from the bottom of her heart.
This full moon birthday party pastry business belongs to Mr. Li’s family in Yueliangwan, who just had a grandson.
"Xiao Cao, tell us how you discovered this business opportunity."
Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Xiaocao to share her success experience.
Gu Xiaocao was suddenly called out and felt very embarrassed. With Tong Huaqiong's encouragement, she whispered, "When I was packing cakes for Mr. Li's wife, she mentioned her grandson's full-month banquet to the lady next to her. I interrupted her and said that our store accepts cakes for full-month banquets. Seeing that she was interested, I took out the birthday cake brochure for her to see, and she wanted to order the cakes as soon as she saw them."
The smile on Tong Huaqiong's face deepened.
"Gu Xiaocao is great. She can understand the needs of customers from their words and even show them the brochure. Really good!"
Gu Xiaocao blushed at Tong Huaqiong's praise and was very moved. Aunt Tong not only gave her the opportunity to help in the shop, but also praised her for her ability!
Gu Xiaocao's self-confidence increased.
Then Tong Huaqiong praised Ma Huateng for his quick calculation without any mistakes.
Originally, Ma Huateng, a scholar, was forced to become a cashier, which was quite embarrassing. But today, business was so booming that he was only busy with counting and settling bills and had no time to feel sad. At the end of the day, he had the illusion that he was very capable.
Tong Huaqiong's praise made him even more excited.
Of course, in addition to praising the employees in the store, she also praised her family members such as Liu Yue'e.
The praise was just a little weak because she was afraid that her family members would become complacent.
Summarizing, praising, encouraging, and making promises...the review meeting ended successfully.
"Today is the first day of opening. Everyone has done a great job. We have been tired all day. I invite everyone to go to the restaurant to celebrate."
We have to give everyone some rewards.
Let’s start by having a big meal at a restaurant.