Where the best ideas come from

Last summer, at a farmer’s market in an urban area, a customer asked a staff member if it was possible to get a box of their ugliest vegetables. He wanted to use them for juicing and didn’t care what they looked like.

The employee initially said no, but then told the customer to come back at the end of the day. When the customer returned, the employee offered him a box of the ugliest vegetables that hadn’t sold that day for a reasonable price. The customer was appreciative and told the employee that he would return next week for another box.

The following week, the employee had not only a box ready to go for the customer, but several other boxes of “ugly vegetables” ready for sale.

When the customer walked by later in the day, he noticed that all the boxes had been sold to other customers.

Sometimes the best ideas come from your customers. Listen and learn.