I was spurred by something I’d read, a short magazine article, to go on and on about brand loyalty, but I got stymied when I hit the halfway point. The point where there wasn’t a point anymore. Which is sometimes the purposes, but that’s also my failing after so much “modern” art.
Besides fishing, what’s the best course of action? Head on down the road for a cup of coffee. I pointedly walked over to Jo’s. As a simple reflection in the late afternoon, I was trying to figure out why Jo’s is better. To me, it always tastes better. Not like I’m expert on coffee preparation or taste or anything like that, but Jo’s has always tasted better.
It’s a number of factors. According to the lore, the beans are locally roasted, from a politically correct source. The beans, not the data. Fresh roasted is good. But there’s more to the equation. First appearance?
It’s logged here somewhere, I was headed towards the airport for an afternoon flight overseas, and Jo’s had just opened for business. Coffee from the corner of S. Congress and St. James Street one morning, and the next morning? Coffee on St. James (UK).
The espresso was good that first time. But it’s been good ever since, too. Might be the politically correct, fresh-roasted beans. Might be another factor at play, too. Like walking distance. Cover a good mile in the afternoon light, and the palate is clear. Anticipation. A little wait. There were three or four folks ahead of me in line.
Maybe it’s the walk home, clutching the coffee cup. Frequently, there’s little coffee left in the cup. Jo’s itself is entirely outside. That might be it, as well. On a hot summer afternoon, I’ve done this a time or two, I’ve wandered home with a full cup of Jo’s coffee, and waited until the evening – and coffee – cooled off before enjoy it.
Yesterday afternoon, I mentioned something about Jo’s being so good to the Sagittarius behind the counter.
“I don’t know if we’re the best in the world, but certainly in the top ten,” he said.
The aroma of the coffee, the fresh-baked goods on display, a honey bee circulating the sugar counter? Yesterday afternoon? A well-inked Aquarius manning the espresso machine, making it hiss and spurt? Best in the world.
Before I ever got there, I was going to to do a list and compare the coffee shops. But each is different, and good for its own reasons. Each one has a different atmosphere.
Jo’s seems a little trendy on some afternoons. But the coffee on Friday? Still the best.
Brand loyalty – results count
Theoretically, “brand loyalty” is no longer an issue.
I’d be worried about it, but I’m not. I’m loyal to a couple of brands, just a few, but that represents hard-won experience. And as times change, I’m willing to change, too.
The deal is, the (American) buying public wants cheaper, more reliable products. Do a quick internet search on some item. I’ve used several search engines, but as of right now, I still stick to Google and Amazon’s A9. I still wonder, with all the advertising it sells – and all the revenue generated by selling that ad space – if the search engine king doesn’t stack the results. But time and again, it returns reliable information, usually within the first ten to twenty hits.
Results count.
I use A9 when I want different, sometimes more literary answer. Powered by Amazon, I once joked that amazon was like the Wal-mart of the web. I was quickly corrected by a former Amazon employee who plainly suggested that Amazon had been a good place to work.
I’ve noted it before, and I would prefer to use an independent bookstore, but my experience with Amazon has been I get paid quarterly, and that small amount helps offset the cost of running a web page. Doesn’t pay for it all, but results count. My foray into other online book sellers resulted in me sending them business, but me, or the astrofish.net account not getting paid.
I am by no means, loyal to Amazon. it’s just been my experience that their look-ups (and hook-ups) are easier.
From the other side, as a book seller? Amazon sucks. But until I find some other viable option, cheaper, faster, easier, I’ll stick with them.
For years, I’ve worn nothing but Levi Jeans. 501, to be precise. No super baggy, no super tight, and no zipper. I can remember – I had clients – who worked in the Levi factories, both in San Antonio and El Paso areas. Eventually, all of Levi’s manufacturing was moved “off-shore,” in other words, to compete, they had to find cheaper labor elsewhere. The last two pairs of 501s I bought were made in Central America. For a while, I was looking at the labels, and I did manage to pick up a couple of pairs that were still “made in the USA.” But as winter wears on, those are fading…
I was concerned because I figured the non-USA jeans would be cheaper in quality. So far, so good. But if they don’t wear as well as the older ones, I’ll be looking for new jeans with a different label.
Why not Wranglers? I don’t have a “Wrangler jeans” ass. Way it goes. The cut of Levi’s jeans fits just fine. Results count.
My first pair of Teva sandals were nothing more than regular looking flip-flops with a heel strap added. Designed, originally, by river guides in AZ, or so I seem to recall. Worked great. Lasted years. Wore through the first pair, bought a second then a third. But as the manufacturing for Teva brand moved off-shore, the quality dropped. Got to where I was needing to buy a new pair every year. I wore through a pair of Birks in less than a year, so I wasn’t going to do that – I’m hard on equipment.
I stumbled across Piper Sandals at one street fair. Tried them. Cost a little more than a pair of Teva, but so what? My Pipers were resoled by the manufacturer, cost almost as much as the sandals did. At my request, they put a better sole on the sandals, and I’ve gotten more than one season out of them. Yeah, so my sandals are ugly. They’re also very comfortable, and they have, I think, a limited lifetime warranty. Plus, they can be resoled. Again and again. Results count.
Piper Sandals are also handmade in Texas, a definite plus. But results count.
I can’t endorse much. When I do, it has to be a product, an item, something that I find useful.
It used to be a seller’s market. Charge what you want, no price was too high. But that’s changed, as has a number of other experiences. It’s a buyer’s market now.
