If you’re ever in Carrollton, Kentucky, pull into a gas station called Hop Shops.
After you fill up, walk into the store and head for one of their restrooms. I promise it’ll be unlike any other bathroom break you’ve ever taken. That’s because the Hop Shop bathrooms double as discos. Watch the video I shot to see for yourself.
The owners don’t promote these unique features at the pumps, so I couldn’t believe my luck when I stumbled onto them during a recent vacation. I had shared an online video of the disco bathrooms with our Creative team years ago, holding them up as a perfect example of how to surprise and delight customers.
The Hop Shops team has turned nothing into something. They’ve converted the unremarkable – often negative – act of using a gas station restroom into a fun, memorable and, yes, shareable, moment.
According to the cashier I spoke with, “People tell us they’ve driven three hours to see our bathrooms. We even had a couple get married in one.” And, as the sign on each door reads, these unique lavatories have been featured on social media and network television shows and in at least one national magazine.
No complicated strategy. No media buy. Just a weird idea that someone at Hop Shops implemented to give people a laugh. It’s a pure, audience-focused concept that’s generated countless positive impressions and a whole lot of goodwill.
That’s the point of our Humor On Hold, too. By applying funny content to the equally unremarkable experience of holding, you treat your callers to an elevated encounter – one they’re likely to actively engage with and remember.
You’ve probably been in hundreds of public restrooms, but how many do you recall with any fondness? Likewise, your callers have been on hold with more companies than they can remember. So, unless you choose to make it memorable, the caller experience you provide will be forgotten, too.