I think the problem you're running in to is the difference between a franchise and a company owned store. Some brands don't do a terrific job of setting standards for their franchises. This is why every In-N-Out Burger is the same, but every McDonalds is not. I'm not talking about the food, but the actual site. In-N-Out is a privately held, non-franchise business. McDonalds is often but not always franchised.
It's an interesting problem that a lot of companies face. I think brands grow slower if they're not franchised, but the user experience is better. I've found my Hallmark experience to be very inconsistent, especially here in the Bay Area. In MN, where I grew up, it was just like your experience in RI. If you needed a card, you went to the Hallmark store. It's taken me many years to break out of that thinking here. Now, when I need a card, I go to Target. They've got the best selection around. Mind, I'm not a card fanatic like you are, but they have been more than satisfactory for my needs.
I think we've already talked about this, but I've always been super brand conscious. My mom, for some reason, found it really important that we understood that a Kleenex was a tissue, but a tissue was not necessarily a Kleenex, etc.
Living in Berkeley has also beat a lot of the brand familiarity out of me, because this place is so anti-giant corporation. You've got to go to the next city over to find a chain of almost any kind. There are a few around. I mean, Berkeley is where Peet's coffee started, so there are a bunch of them about. THere are fewer Starbucks here than you'd suspect, and, of course, no Dunkin' Donuts. Because there are no DD's in all of California, I believe.
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Date: 2011-11-13 03:21 am (UTC)It's an interesting problem that a lot of companies face. I think brands grow slower if they're not franchised, but the user experience is better. I've found my Hallmark experience to be very inconsistent, especially here in the Bay Area. In MN, where I grew up, it was just like your experience in RI. If you needed a card, you went to the Hallmark store. It's taken me many years to break out of that thinking here. Now, when I need a card, I go to Target. They've got the best selection around. Mind, I'm not a card fanatic like you are, but they have been more than satisfactory for my needs.
I think we've already talked about this, but I've always been super brand conscious. My mom, for some reason, found it really important that we understood that a Kleenex was a tissue, but a tissue was not necessarily a Kleenex, etc.
Living in Berkeley has also beat a lot of the brand familiarity out of me, because this place is so anti-giant corporation. You've got to go to the next city over to find a chain of almost any kind. There are a few around. I mean, Berkeley is where Peet's coffee started, so there are a bunch of them about. THere are fewer Starbucks here than you'd suspect, and, of course, no Dunkin' Donuts. Because there are no DD's in all of California, I believe.
Anyway. TL;DR, I'm with you on the brand thing.