I recently took a business trip to Europe, and while I was there, I couldn't resist the almost unbelievable deals offered by some of the low-cost airlines. It turned out that I could fly from Germany to England to visit with my folks for the incredible price of $30! The deal made the trip affordable and would allow me to enjoy some much-needed rest and recuperation with my extended family.

　　I had been attending a trade show in Frankfurt and was impressed by the convenience of the airport and the availability and ease of using public transportation in Germany. I was looking forward to a quick, trouble-free commute to England. It turns out that I should have taken the time to read the small print.

　　I soon discovered that my cut-price deal did not include flying from the wonderful, modern Frankfurt Airport. The flight actually left from another airport more than an hour and a half away. The airport was an old, converted US Air Force base filled with surly airline employees and enormous check-in lines. I had been warned to arrive at least two hours before takeoff, and almost all of that time was spent standing in one queue after another, waiting for a rude check-in clerk to scrutinize a piece of paper and send me scurrying off to the next line. The passengers were packed into the plane like sardines, ignored for an hour or so as we flew, and then released into the airport with little or no information about where to locate our baggage.

　　I came to the realization somewhere over the French coast that I would never do this again. The other airlines certainly cost more, but they make up for it in convenience and customer service, not to mention the in-flight beverages and the oh-so-necessary peanuts.

　　Customer service long gone

　　Lately I have noticed a disturbing trend among many of the smaller businesses in our industry. It seems that in a lot of cases we are engaged in a manic rush to be the cheapest suppliers on the block, to always offer the lowest price, and to undercut our competition at any cost. To do this, our businesses are operating on a knife-edge, balancing cash flow against profit and workers against overhead to land work. This approach turns the leanest of margins into the leanest of profits.

　　Any clear-thinking businessperson knows that this is a potential route to financial disaster. The growing list of screen-printing shops that don't make it through their first five years certainly bears testament to the results of this shortsighted approach. Perhaps it's time for us to sit back and take a closer look at our customers and figure out a better way to supply them with much more than just an empty bargain.

　　Let's look at a scenario in another service industry. When I first came to the US almost 30 years ago, there were coffee shops everywhere with cute waitresses who called the customers "hon." The waitresses were delighted to get you a danish, a cup of joe, and perhaps a slice of mom's apple pie. As the years went by, our lives sped up and it became possible to go through a drive-through or drop into the local 7-11 and pick up the same cup of coffee for just a few cents. Slowly but surely, the coffee shop became a thing of the past. If you had told me in the 1980s that I would happily pay a couple bucks for coffee when I could get it for less than half as much at my local convenience store, I would have said that you were crazy.

　　Along came Starbucks

　　Here's what Starbucks did. They produced a very nice cup of coffee. They served it to us in a clean and welcoming environment with courteous, well-trained employees who smiled and honestly cared about Starbucks' products and its customers. They educated us about coffee, accustomed our palettes to the rich taste of their perfectly brewed creations, and tempted us with ever more expensive and delicious treats. The coffee that we had previously been drinking now tasted bland and boring. Lo and behold, now here we are gladly paying several dollars a day for a product that is available elsewhere at considerably lower prices.

　　Starbucks never set out to be the cheapest; they succeeded by being the best. The biggest advertisement for this business model can be seen in the incredible proliferation of Starbucks on every main street and in every shopping center in America. Chances are that many of you settled down to read this column with that familiar green and white cup in hand and perhaps biscotti on the side. Whether you drink Starbucks coffee or not, you can't help but admire the company's marketing abilities and incredible level of market penetration.

　　Applying the Starbucks model to your shop

　　Look around your facility and see it from your customers' point of view. Is it a welcoming environment? Will they immediately feel confident that this is the facility to take their business to? If you conduct most of your business on the phone, do your customers have to wait while someone finds an available order taker? Does your staff answer the phone in a professional manner? Is the employee who greets customers at the door competent and well trained? Does he or she inspire confidence? Do you have the customer-service skills that make you stand out from the crowd?

　　The fundamental question behind all these others is this: Are you giving customers a good reason to spend a little more money with you rather than settle for your competitors' bargain pricing? You must be able to look your customer in the eye and explain exactly why your product is just a little pricier. And you must have the confidence to let the bargain hunter go elsewhere if necessary.

　　If the deal will be bad for your business, then let it go. Let it become a bad deal for your competitor. Remember, you aren't in the screen-printing business. You are in the customer-service business, and most importantly, you are ultimately in business to make a profit. Never lose sight of that.

　　Take time to educate your customers about what makes you better than the rest of the competition. Start with a tour of your shop, and stress your attention to detail and the quality of your workforce. Show them why quality is not necessarily cheap, and give them good reasons to bring their business to your door. It may be necessary to let them go and get burned by one of your competitors. If you do your job correctly, though, your customers will come back. Build your business relationships over time and you will reap the rewards. It's always possible to beat someone else's price, but if pricing becomes the focus of your business, you set off on a long, hard road to the bottom.

　　Turn your screen-printing business into a customer-service business. Charge an honest price for a high-quality product. Be ready to demonstrate why your products are superior to those printed by your competitors. Look your customers in the eye and tell them why they should pay you more for a job done well. It's a simple formula, but it makes perfect business sense. Now, head down to your local Starbucks and load up on the caffeine that you will need to take care of all the profitable orders you'll be receiving.