Editorial Blog

For those of you who haven't heard of trendwatching.com, it's an Amsterdam-based, independent trend firm that uses 8,000+ spotters in more than 70 countries to identify new consumer trends, insights and business ideas. It's trendwatching.com's opinion that "there's more innovation happening than ever before. New brands, new niches, new concepts, new products, new services and new experiences are flooding an equally fast expanding number of markets." Its list of 41 new business ideas includes: redesigning products; being "hyperlocal"; new vehicles for delivering marketing messages; "tryvertising" aka letting consumers try your products in "relevant settings"; aligning your business with a cause ("Caring is the new Taking"); and making things (services, products) faster, easier and more convenient.

But, just what is innovation? The Gage Canadian Dictionary defines it as: 1. a change made in the established way of doing things. 2. The making of changes: bringing in new things or new ways of doing things. With those definitions in mind, I think trendwatching.com should add Mr. Bobak Bakhtiari, the manager of the Tanforan Shell Gas Station in San Bruno, California, to its list.

I heard Mr. Bakhtiari's story when I was driving home from work on Wednesday. He was interviewed on the CBC Radio One show, As It Happens. The reason he was being interviewed was that he had found an innovative way to respond to customer complaints -- in some cases, rages -- about the high price of gas. As he explained, his cashiers were tired of being lambasted about rising fuel costs. Now as we all know, there's not a lot a gas station manager can do about the actual price of the gas. But Mr. Bakhtiari found two ways to defuse his customers' anger and relieve his beleaguered cashiers. Here's what he did: He offered a free express car wash to any customer who could throw a ball at a target, and in hitting it, dunk a Shell employee. He also implemented the "20-second rant." Customers who come in angry are invited to rant for 20 seconds. If they do, they receive a free express car wash. The results: The legitimate complaints of customers are recognized and acknowledged, and they get something free; complaints to cashiers have decreased dramatically making for a happier staff; and Mr. Bakhtiari has gotten a lot of free publicity. What did it cost the gas station? Just a few free car washes. Now that's innovation.