Bad business practice or inventive solution?

I can see both sides of the argument, but I'm not sure their solution is the best one for them. There are many negatives.

They might consider revising the policy to include "free days"; they might invest one employee for a couple of hours a week to do exhibits; they might give regular customers a pass to come in free of charge with up to 3 guests....there are many options.

Being in sales, it makes me shudder to think a business took a hard line like this one, but I wouldn't label it "bad business practice". I believe they may want to look at other situations that might keep their lookie-loos down and still accommodate new potential customers.

Just my .02

I have a strong suspicion that I know the business you are talking about...

Hey Steven, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of a store where the abbreviation might be RR are you?

I was at a place a few years ago in South Carolina that did this. I think as a reptile community some of you are right in your opinions, but then again I bet a HUGE percentage of the people that walk into a reptile shop are not reptile enthusiast, but a family passing by, or just a curious person that happens to be in the neighborhood. This means that a HUGE percentage of the people walking into their shop aren't there to buy anything anyway, so why not charge $5 per person?

I think this set up is aimed at the majority of the people that are walking in the door, and they have found a way to make money on those "non customers". I think it's pretty clever.

Sometimes I feel like charging admission to all the people that want to come into my HOUSE!

Originally Posted by TooManyBurmese

I think this set up is aimed at the majority of the people that are walking in the door, and they have found a way to make money on those "non customers". I think it's pretty clever.

I'm just curious if it is clever enough that they come out ahead, I have a feeling it turns away many lookie looos, and it would turn me away, and I am a bonafied herp purchaholic.

No, from what I have seen places are only charging about $5 a head. I just can't see that turning away anyone. I do agree that "free days" might help bring back those who shy away from a $5 admission.

And now that I think about it, if a family is looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon, and they see in the phone book or an ad in the paper "Blah blah reptile shop, $5 admission" I think they would be more inclined to go there, assuming it's good enough of a show to charge admission in the first place. And who knows, if they bring three kids and two of them spend the next year begging for a pet reptile BANG! Two more in the hobby

I guess I just don't really see the negative side. I do see what you're saying, but I just don't think a small admission would turn anyone away.

And I don't think the small admission helps them come out ahead per say. Maybe they make $50 (if most sales are done over the internet) but that's $200 a month. There's probably half their electic bill or entire phone bill perhaps. I think that helps. Again I could be WAY WAY off on my numbers, but just throwing something out there

I know the place in SC was pretty darn crowded, and it was a weekday afternoon!

but that's $200 a month.

That $200 can be made up with a single sale or only 4 small sales. That $200 can be sitting in the pocket of the guy that just walked away because he didn't want to spend $5 on an "admission" fee to a store. I've always considered sales to be a number game. The more potential customers that you can get to see your wares, the more you swing that percentage in your favor. An example, is we sell bulk crickets at damn near our cost just to encourage people to get in the store. There is set days that our cricket orders come in, and I schedule new animals to be ready and on display on those days. All this to get more people into the shop instead of giving them a reason to say "no" which is what an admission fee says to me.

$5? There are local herp shows that charge $5 that have 50 - 100 vendors. I wouldn't pay it for one store unless I knew they had something I wanted to buy so it would be refunded.

If they're only bringing in $200 a month on a $5 admission, that means that only 40 people a month are coming into their store and not buying. Since most stores have that kind of traffic in a DAY, those numbers indicate they are definitely shooting themselves in the foot.

I'd think if they invested in a good salesperson, the increase in sales on a free admission policy would more than make up for the inconvenience.

In general people want something in return when they pay for something. One thing that may very well happen is that a family of 4 with no intention of buying at all but just plain curiosity decides to pay the $20 fee. They might stay in the store for a couple of hours asking question over question just to satisfy their curiosity. They do so because they believe they are paying for a service to which now they are entitled to. They are using the time of the employee while another customer (who actually needs something specific and is planning on spending maybe $200) is waiting in line. This might be a little frustrating for the second customer who might choose to wait (if the item is unique to that store) or walk away if he can find it elsewhere. I bet it has happened to most of us when going into a store to buy something specific (and running late), only to find someone ahead of us asking every possible detail on which will be the ideal pet to buy.

On the other hand I would be more inclined to accept that fee if it was some sort of a coupon without expiration date (I'm assuming it's supposed to be used on that particular visit only). It would be nice if they were additive so if one visited the store 10 times without buying, one would build-up a credit of $50 to be used at a later time. That way we probably wouldn't feel out of our money every time we want to check if they have brought in something that interests us.

Regards.

They might stay in the store for a couple of hours asking question over question just to satisfy their curiosity. They do so because they believe they are paying for a service to which now they are entitled to.

To be honest their going to feel this way whether they paid an entry fee or not, it's just how retail customers are. The situation you described is where the skill of your sales people pays off. There is no way a pet store with it's overhead can pay for 12 people to clean cages all day, an individual sales person for each customer walking in the door, etc. With proper people skills you can manage multiple customer requests at the same time, you learn to read which customers are just in the grab an item really quickly and which ones need more hands on work. I just believe the chance at a sale to a lookie loo is worth a free admission to my zoo