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[url=http://www.moderntiredealer.com/Blog/Tire-Talk-with-Mike/Story/2010/07/Dealer-sends-customers-home-with-a-soda-and-a-smile.aspx]http://www.moderntir...nd-a-smile.aspx[/url]

July 22, 2010

Dealer sends customers home with a soda and a smile
By: Mike Manges

When it comes to in-store promotions, sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ideas. Just ask Clayton Snow, owner of Clayton's Tire Pros in South Jordan, Utah.

Each summer for the last several years, Snow has handed out two-liter bottles of Coke, Sprite or root beer to every customer who spends more than $20 at his single-location shop.

It doesn't matter what they purchase -- tires, new windshield wipers, an oil change -- if they spend more than 20 bucks, they go home with an ice cold bottle of soda.

Snow gives away so many bottles that he no longer buys them at the local supermarket. Instead, a beverage wholesaler delivers them to his front door! "We receive five to six cases a week," he says.

The promotion doesn't cost Snow a lot of money, but it's been extremely effective.

"It's crazy how people will write a check for $700 or $800 and if you give them something for free, they suddenly develop a big smile. And when they go home, you become a topic of conversation among their families and neighbors.

"We want everybody to leave here happy," he continues. "We want them to feel good about the experience. That, to me, is more important than the bottom line. If you operate that way, it comes back to reward you."

[CARMandP]

Pretty good idea. I know the dealership that I worked for hands out apples as part of their service. They go through cases of apples.