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Comment by soneil | Hacker News Reader

How's this a secret?

I used to work in retail/service. Not something with data and metrics, just a mom'n'pop. But we knew our customers. We especially knew our regulars. And you did try not to piss off a regular.

But from this I learnt that people will try to play their 'value' as a trump card when they want to complain. Do you know who I am, do you know how much I spend here, I come here every day, blah blah blah. They are very quick to make sure you know this isn't about a $4 coffee, this is about keeping them & their business.

This isn't a secret, It's just an answer. Yes, they do know who you are. Surprise!

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In my extremely limited experience, the people pulling out the "do you know who I am?" card are typically not regulars. They might think they are, but they're not.

I'm a regular at a few places, and I treasure that status and the privilege that comes with it, and wouldn't go trying to fuck it up unless I was prepared to completely burn that bridge.

Yeah for sure, and with that, they tend to regulate their own service at the point of contact. Often all you need in that situation is that both of you look at something that is a little of and a furrowed eyebrow and they'll take care of it for you. Or, an 'This doesn't seem right' If you have to throw your weight around you're not a regular.

> I'm a regular at a few places, and I treasure that status and the privilege that comes with it, and wouldn't go trying to fuck it up unless I was prepared to completely burn that bridge.

Same. In fact, I tend to think that the "cost" of being a regular includes specifically NOT complaining too much or throwing your weight around. The benefit is great and preferential service, oftentimes free stuff, and so on.

Also, probability of going into seriously heated argument is constant for each sale, and is a factor of a buyer (of a shop too, but we're only looking at one shop, so it's a constant). So, if this already has not hapenned enough times for a customer to become a regular, we can conclude that there's very low probability of this happening ever - i.e. people who become regulars do it because they're satisfied with the service, and it will probably stay that way.

"just a mom'n'pop. But we knew our customers"

There was no illusions then. Now, however, people often think of big companies in an abstract way. The "you're just a number" way. And they are a number, but not just an equal customer number, but instead a "value as a customer" way.

I believe the title means your score is secret not the idea of the common practice of rating a customer’s lifetime value.

Which is why I don't think our current notions of "privacy" are going to be a persistent concern. In the past, people lived in human-scale communities where everyone knew each other and had reputations. In the future, identity and reputation will be increasingly managed by technology. The middle period, where people lived in large metropolitan communities in relative anonymity, is the abnormality.

This is the opposite of my experience in my preferred bodega in mid town. I as well as a few other people were there every morning. When the owner saw me, he knew to put in my order. If the line was long, I would grab a redbull drop my bag off at the office, come back down and my breakfast would be ready, and I would pay.

My order was usually put in after everyone else's was, because he knew I would wait for it. And I was perfectly fine with that.

On the other hand, you might also be alienating new customers that might become regulars, if a business i'm going for the first time shows no interest in me even if i buy a cup of coffee i'm not gonna be returning for sure.

I get what you're saying but this seems to miss the point of the article.

In your service job did you serve each customer in the approximate order they arrived? I'm almost certain you would have to the best of your ability.

The article points to a system which all seem to think is first come first serve but actually inst.

Varying the order and varying the effort are both attempts to do the same underlying thing - retain good customers and waste less times on the bad ones.

Several years ago I used to frequent a sandwich shop about twice a week for lunch. It was literally a mom 'n' pop. The wife worked the counter and dining area, the husband made the sandwiches.

After a few months (and me ordering the same damn thing every time) it got to the point that I'd walk in and—if there was a long line—one of the owners would just point me to an empty booth. It was awesome.

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