16 July 2008 Murky Water On Ice

Small time blogger Jeff Simmermon posted about his experience at a coffee store.The passionate owner has very strict policy on the quality of his coffee and would note serve the customer an expresso on ice. Boing Boing and Metafilter picked up the story and the original post soon had over 200 comments. Shortly after, the owner of the coffee store replied. Note the use of "Fuck you, Jeff" and "If you ever show your face at my shop, I'll punch you in your dick." I don't think there are many brands that could get away with this kind of behaviour. I know my bank couldn't. Neither could my university. But personally, I feel this coffee shop does it and does it well. They may have lost Jeff but they just gained me. Contracting the size of your market doesn't seem logical. But when you focus entirely on loyal customers and brand evangelists, you can guarantee they will repeat purchase. More often than the guy who just stopped by for a coffee on ice anyway. Great use of a small business blog too....