Solving your business problems with another industry’s solutions

A true story of solving my business' biggest problem.

In 2017 I had a problem: turnover with our delivery drivers. 40% month-over-month.

As a retail flower shop owner (and a big one at that) this was a BIG problem.

They were the final interaction customers had with our company and had a huge impact on the customer experience.

I looked around at other large flower shops and they were all doing the same things I was. We already had a strengthening culture, strong leadership, and an attractive environment for drivers.

Nothing was changing.

So I decided to learn from other industries instead.

I met with Jimmy John’s and Domino’s franchisees to learn from operators who were way better at delivery than me. Everything about what they offered drivers was less attractive than our positions.

But did they have the same turnover issues? Not even close.

Then I realized the main difference: their drivers received tips. The better they were at their jobs, the more money they made.

See, we didn’t get many tips because the person buying the flowers usually wasn’t the person receiving them. And in 2017, online tipping wasn’t nearly as common.

So I asked myself: What if we simply started asking for tips during checkout?

After getting leadership on board and communicating it to the team, we launched it both online and over the phone. I still remember waiting in the sales office listening to those first conversations.

No objections. No issues. Customers were happy to tip the drivers.

By year end, we had saved $20k in payroll (moving to tipped minimum & increased efficiency), our drivers were making more money than ever, hours in the department were down and turnover had stopped.

Over the next two years, many flower shops had followed suit.

I solved my industry’s problem with a different industry’s solution.

If you have a major problem in your business, you are not limited to solving it the way everyone else in your industry does.

Is there an adjacent industry dealing with a similar condition or challenge? How are they solving it?