On Black Friday I was roped into what I knew was going to be a horrible, horrible mistake, and that was going to the mall with my wife. But what I knew was going to be awful ended up being quite nice for a few reasons. Since we went at night the mall was not that packed (as witnessed by our easy to find parking space), and since we had a mission to get in and get out, it was fairly tolerable, but the most non-awful part about it was that I got inspired. I got inspired to write this post, and the photo below is the reason why.

Our sole purpose of the trip was to go to Lulu Lemon, a company known for their expensive, yet incredibly well designed workout clothes for women. For years (since she discovered them in Los Angeles) Mary has raved about how incredible the clothes are and how smart and creative they are in the design. For instance, the first piece of workout clothing I remember seeing with a built in iPod pocket it was a Lulu Lemon top that Mary got in 2005; and the first jacket I remember seeing with a thumbhole to keep the jacket sleeve from riding up was also a Lulu Lemon that Mary got. They are an extremely smart and innovative company, but I’m getting ahead of myself now.

During the 20 minutes we were there I did what I always do in retail establishments, look like the hopelessly lost husband and critique the finish out of the store. My critique was as follows:

First off, they claim to have the most comfortable couch in the Dallas Galleria, and having been a patron to many of those couches over the years, it lives up to the hype.

Second, the finish out of the store is incredible. It gives you the feel of open, earthy, and reclaimed materials (whether it is or isn’t reclaimed is a moot point, the feel of it is what sells) and all of the island displays and shelves in the store are on wheels so they can wheel them out for free group yoga classes (for which they are known). It is truly a beautiful store and comfortable store.

The final thing I critiqued is the purpose for this whole post. I wandered back to the dressing room area and found the chalk board pictured above. This is the place where they post consumer feedback and ideas on their design. As you can see they take their customer feedback very seriously. So seriously that they display it publicly for all to see.

You can tell that this company is working hard to stay on their toes and be foreword thinking to remain ahead of the competition. You can also see that they know the specific things they need in order to keep that edge: “Innovative, Specific, or Measurable” feedback. Maybe it was a customer that came up with the idea for an iPod Pocket? Maybe it was a customer that came up with the idea for a thumbhole in the sleeve of the jacket? Either way, what matters is that they are listening. They are listening because they know if they don’t stay on their toes, a more innovative and hungrier company is going to come around and knock them on their ass much like they did to everyone else in women’s sports apparel industry a few years back.

Why don’t more companies abide by this?

By posting this feedback publicly, other consumers can build on the ideas and help the company develop something even greater. If someone has a complaint, maybe another customer could help resolve that complaint? If a customer has a great idea, another customer can help validate the idea as someone who would purchase it. They are essentially crowd sourcing products and innovations!

I applaud you Lulu Lemon, and I accept the price of your clothing because I like the way you do business (this is a statement that I reserve for a very VERY select number of companies because accepting a price wouldn’t be too frugal of me).

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