Tips for Main Streets: La Mesa, CA, part 2

In my last post, we looked at a Main Street in La Mesa, CA to see where their customer experience could be strengthened. Now let's see what's already working well.

When driving to La Mesa, street signs clearly indicate where "The Village" is.

In addition, wayfinding signs are also clear.

In the 1980s, the Chamber of Commerce funded an Old World look, unifying the entire area. They branded the street as "The Village" and do events like an Oktoberfest, an antique show, and classic car rallys in the summer to drive traffic.

Cute stores with great streetside merchandising add life.

An independent coffee house adds to the European atmosphere.

A nice courtyard was created with seating and murals, commemorating the work of local volunteers, adding to the authentic sense of place (i.e. this is a real town, not a fake Main Street created in a theme park).

Tip of the day: Working together for the common good, as this Chamber of Commerce and merchants' association do, is a great example of common sense, benefiting all parties. For more on the common sense step, click here.


Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer service, Main Street, wayfinding sign, La Mesa CA, consultant

Tips for Main Streets: La Mesa, CA

I'm doing an article for the Main Street News so I visited a local town to see how Experienceology might be able to help. In my next post I'll cover all the things they're doing well. In this post I'll touch on a few things they might be able to improve.

They've branded themselves as "The Village" and gone for an Old World charm. One of the issues for them is that the Main Street, in this case, La Mesa Boulevard, is bisected by a very wide street and railroad tracks. As you can see from the first picture, the area across the tracks (straight ahead in this shot) also looks much more modern.

My first suggestion is to tie in the area visually with large banners, benches, trees, and plantings so it's absolutely clear that The Village continues across the tracks. If done well, this could almost make the tracks disappear. Alternately, they could stop trying to overcome the divide.

This photo shows the "entrance" to The Village from the main drag (you would turn right at the light). There's no sense of welcome, arrival, or entry here. I'd suggest either an arch or a large kiosk with a You-Are-Here map, so people know they've come to the right place.

A pole or weights at the bottom of each banner would keep this from happening in the wind.

Banners are great, but size does matter. Larger banners would link the street more strongly.

This is a fun little shopping area and with a few more touches could offer more of a branded experience, which would transfer to all the businesses on the street. Here are two posts about local businesses on this street: Handful of Wildflowers and Aubrey Rose Tea Room.

Tip of the day: If you have a large location like this, think about it as a zone in Disneyland, and theme in all the elements to create an impression.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer service, Main Street, first impression, La Mesa CA, consultant

Aubrey Rose Tea Room: Hidden treasure in La Mesa, CA

Another fun find during my trip to La Mesa was this charming tea room. I've lived in the area for ten years and had no idea we had a lovely little tea shop like this. I passed by it on the street twice, thinking it was an antique store.

There was no clue from the window display that they actually serve food. It wasn't until I read this sign, tucked into the alcove (only visible from one direction) that maybe it wasn't just an antique shop. I stepped inside.

It's a celebration of Victoriana.

Women and girls were sitting at tables, many in fancy hats, chatting and having high tea.

Every display was lovingly overstuffed in the Victorian style.

Not one false note.

They were doing a bustling business, so perhaps don't need any pointers. But for those of you who might, here are my suggestions.

Tips of the day:

• Signs flush with the building need to be augmented with ones perpendicular or angled out, so that you catch people's eye both walking and driving.
• Don't assume that your business name and window display conveys what's inside. Ask potential customers if you're missing anything. (Some vinyl lettering on the window stating "High tea served" with the hours, would have done the trick here.)
• Keep your Web site up to date. Use themed fonts sparingly, so that Web surfers can easily absorb your information.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer service, Aubrey Rose Tea Room, La Mesa CA, consultant

First impressions and a welcome in La Mesa, CA

I'm doing a story about the 8-step process and Main Streets, and visited this charming town just a ten-minute drive from downtown San Diego. I love the way this shop tied their fresh sign into the existing Old World Euro look of the rest of the street.

Great way to welcome people in.

Love the design and lettering, and the monochromatic window display is strong.

Even the "no restrooms" sign is friendly.*

The cute interior has an upscale flea market, Shabby Chic feeling, and the way they group items by color palette works well.

Tip of the Day: Getting the details right makes all the difference, whether you run a retail boutique or a medical office.

* Every single store on this street has a variation of the "no public restrooms" sign, so I had to ask the owner, what gives? Turns out that someone has been making a living suing small establishments like this for having non-ADA-compliant restrooms. What a shame.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer service, Handful of Wildflowers, La Mesa CA, consultant, retail design, Shabby Chic