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“I appreciate you.” This phrase may appear to be a easy technique to thank customers as they leave, but… Pop-up bagels in New York knows it’s much greater than that. At the bagel shop, we prioritize every customer interaction, serving hundreds of fresh, fluffy bagels every week, which founder Adam Goldberg says can leave a lasting impression and even make someone’s day.
Yelp Reviewer Amanda R was one such customer who believed that a little interaction made a big impact. “They just said, ‘I appreciate you.’ It was so authentic. I felt they really appreciated my presence. It was a really short interaction, but it was very sweet and the bagels were amazing,” she says.
This culture was created on welfare made the bagel shop go viral. The customer waited in the store for an hour for her friend to reach, and one of the employees gave her a free bagel for a snack. The next morning, all of the store’s social media accounts blew up. It seems that the client had a major impact on the food industry and posted about this act of kindness. Influencer or not, that is how PopUp Bagels treats people, Goldberg says.
“We like to take care of our customers [and] take care of our community that visits us,” he says. “We always treat every person in our store as if they were an influencer, and we treat every person in our store knowing that every bagel that comes out will likely be photographed and posted online.”
Marketing and social media were key to the store’s success. From the sign outside with the slogan “Infamous but Famous” to the way bagels are served over a large cup of cream cheese, every element of the customer experience compels them to take a photo and share it before they leave.
Goldberg all the time knew his bagels may very well be photographed, but he didn’t know how build a brand from when he began. That’s when he reached out to one of his investors with branding experience to create the bagel aesthetic that is throughout social media today.
Goldberg says the ability to seek the advice of with experts and build partnerships is essential to the company’s growth. For example, he consulted with an experienced manufacturing specialist who handled logistics and production when the company became profitable and it was time to scale up. When it got here time to open stores in recent cities, it meant hiring more employees and staying on schedule, so he hired a veteran of retail operations to administer the transition. He said that humility is vital when hiring employees where knowledge is lacking.
“A lot [knowing when and how to grow] it’s knowing what I can and can’t do,” he says. “It’s extremely important to allow people who are great at what they do to do what they do.”
With a team of seasoned professionals at his side, Goldberg was left to make larger decisions pricing strategy AND building a business model. Much of his plan involved assessing the market to strike a balance between profitability and customer satisfaction.
“I worked backwards,” he says. “What price, maximum or minimum, is someone willing to pay so that we can sell it and he can buy it? We decided that three bagels and schmear for $12 was a good value.” Math checked; three bagels and a schmear was a win-win for each customers and the company.
But business profitability doesn’t end with maximizing revenue; minimizing costs is equally vital.
“The biggest waste in the food world is too big a menu and too many products,” Goldberg says. “And the one thing I never really want is the cost of waste. You’ll always have something, but I don’t want it to be 20%. I want it to be 1%.
Down minimize wasteit all comes down to supply and demand. Goldberg only supplies a few products that are in high demand to ensure the product leaves the shelf. And the economics of waste minimization; bagels and schmear are flying off the shelves. Even at maximum capacity, PopUp Bagels always has a queue at your fingertips.
Amanda says the store was still busy at 11 a.m. on a weekday. “Part of me thinks I’m so hungry. How am I supposed to wait in this line? Then the other part of me is like: Okay, it really must be good because there are so many people here. So we stopped, got in line, and literally before we knew what we wanted, we were already inside and ordering. It was so fast, so effective. When you see a line you think: There has to be something here that people will love.“
And that special something that keeps New Yorkers coming back comes down to bagels. “So crispy and seared on the outside, so warm and soft on the inside,” says Amanda. “We walked a few blocks away, sat on the porch, and just took pieces of a bagel and tossed it with cream cheese. We were in seventh heaven. It was so good.”
From nice conversations with the staff to fresh-out-of-the-oven bagels, the better part of this experience is like the hottest bagel in the store: every thing.
PopUp Bagels has expanded throughout the United States to 10 locations, adhering to the following core business principles:
- Take a moment with each customer. Whether it’s giving out a freebie while you wait or showing a moment of gratitude, the little things may end up in long-term loyalty.
- Treat every customer like an influencer. You never know who might walk through the door, so consistently deliver top-notch service, not for PR reasons, but because it’s authentic to your brand.
- Stick to your corporation model and know your limitations. Profitability is key before scaling. Keep the business model clear, easy and useful to each the company and the customer to make sure operational efficiency and profitability.
- Hire correctly and admit when you wish help. Be open to hiring experts in areas where you lack knowledge to assist your organization achieve the best results. Above all, treat your employees with respect and empower them to create positive customer experiences.
Listen to the episode below to listen to directly from Goldberg and Amanda, then subscribe Behind the review for more information from recent business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora AND Soundcloud.
Editorial contributions by Erin Palmero and Kristi Lindahl