We’d arrived early at Broome airport – ‘at the top of Australia,’ and as expected, a familiar face was there to greet us.
‘Come and stay with us at the house Charlie, we’re away tomorrow morning, first light but it’d be great to have a yak – even better if you could look after the house for a bit!’
Neither Sue or I had seen our hosts for over 25 years and still there was a special bond. As dawn came next morning, sure enough, the 4wd diesel sitting on the drive-way fired up, and away our friends went on a three-day share-drive to the other side of the country …
‘The keys to Gail’s car are hanging up Charlie, beer is in the ‘fridge. See you next time!’
Broome is a lovely place, tucked ‘out of the way’ at around 11 o’clock on the map of Australia. Dry heat during December, it’s good to stay by the pool if you can. Pretty soon though, Sue had ideas of a tour over to the ‘retail offer’ and so next day we made our way ‘into town.’
Later that evening we were where we should be – by the pool – discussing the disappointment of what was the lack of quality retail within the town …
‘You need to get in to see Maeve…’ announced the voice from over the fence.
Then … a face appeared through the banana tree. ‘If Maeve can’t help you, no-one can.’
Next morning, after taking suitable directions from our ‘jungle neighbour’ we jumped in our borrowed charabanc and headed off in search of … ‘Maeve.’ (30c and 30 clicks!)
Ringing in the ears were the words:
It’s a trek, about 30 ‘clicks,’ mainly dirt but worth it. Just don’t stray off the track otherwise you’re in trouble … you’ll be shot or eaten or both!
Heeding the words, we eventually, and in one piece, arrived at ‘Maeve’s Emporium.’
Stopping the car was easy, getting out a little more tedious. Just as we’d parked, two (rather large) dogs made their way – at speed – to inspect the new arrivals and direct them toward the front porch.
Our host, Jim was pouring the Chablis accompanied by a shriek from Maeve … ‘make yourself at home, I’ll be there in a mo.’
I picked up the proffered glass as dear wife made her way inside the store.
We’d been there a while, Susan was happy to browse and content, the company was good and despite no evidence of a pool, the wine proved a welcome respite to the heat. Lunch was served, Sue was now selecting and I could see the visit to Maeve had been a good idea…
Sometime later, chaperoned to our car by the aforementioned house-mutts. I turned and asked Maeve how she was able to have the dogs offer such a warm welcome?
‘Oh, easy, they learned long-ago that if they looked after the customer they collected an extra treat.’
We said our goodbyes and by the time we’d made it home, it occurred to me that Maeve had got ‘it’ just about right.
An exclusive offer to a chosen market, a destination away from the main part of town. ‘Something’ for the discerning buyers looking for that special memento … at the ‘right price.’
Anyone shopping with Maeve was in for a memorable experience.
How do you make your customers feel? Are you offering a special experience?
CharlieKenny.me 