Ace is the Place

I went to my local Ace the other day looking for a replacement spool for my weed trimmer. The thing that immediately impressed me about Ace was how helpful their people were. Within the first few seconds of being there, a young woman asked me if she could help me find something. She then showed me where the replacement spools were and returned to her post. While Ace isn't the biggest store, her service saved me some time and got me to where I needed to go quickly. I found what I needed and I found it fast and then proceeded to checkout. At the checkout, the cashier asked if I had an Ace card (I didn't). An Ace card is simply a free rewards card; there is no credit attached to it. If you shop at Ace a lot, it can save you some bucks. For Ace, the card is a 'next step' of committment for their customers. The cashier then asked if I wanted one (I didn't). The point here isn't that I didn't sign up for an Ace card, what impressed me is how casually and friendly the cashier asked me, and that she asked me for this next step.

A couple of takeaways for churches from my visit to Ace:

• Greeting vs helping- I think many churches have the greeting thing down (Hi! Good morning! Welcome to Hillcrest!). But greeting isn't the same thing as helping. I get greeted at Wal Mart and Sam's Club, but their level of service fails miserably when matched against Ace. Churches win when their people are helpful, not just friendly (can I show you where the nursery is? How many chairs do you need?).
• Casual next step- churches have their own version of an Ace card or next step of commitment. Could be a small group, a membership class, a serving opportunity, or even simply going out to lunch after a worship service. Sometimes we fail to remember how important the personal ask can be for these next steps, instead hoping that an announcement or something in the bulletin will do the trick. But imagine if you asked someone to come to something or join you for lunch after the service. It's casual, it's low key, and while the person may decline your invite, you've no doubt left a good impression.

I think Ace is going to be ok, so long as they keep service core to their business. The same holds true for churches.