New Orleans, Part 3/ Driving to Savannah

On Wednesday, we got up and packed everything up to get ready to leave New Orleans. We went back into the French Quarter for an interview with a local business owner, Nancy Tusa. She owns a shop called WhatsNew, which she labels as a souvenir type store, only more upscale and lacking the typical tacky shirts and keychain type souvenirs. Nancy originally started her work career as a banker and then a teacher until her friend, who owns a shop down the street, mentioned to her that there was a location open. Nancy decided to be risky and open up a shop and has been loving it ever since.

She really stressed the fact that location is key for her and her shop's success. Many middle aged tourists travel to New Orleans and specifically the French Quarter (middle aged because, in general, they are the ones that can afford to travel,) and this is perfect for her business because they are the people that are attracted to the items that her shop carries.

Customer service is another key aspect to her success. She explained that she loves people and, similar to what all the other local businesses have previously said, having good customer service is crucial. For example, if someone comes into the shop and they need five plates but they only have three in stock, they will make sure they get two more. They always put their customer's wishes first and will do anything they possibly can to satisfy them.

Another point that she brought up was one very similar to one that Heidi had mentioned the day before - the idea of exclusives. Nancy is not allowed to sell the same items as the store next door or down the street, therefore providing a variety of shopping on the street and in the French Quarter. For example, her store, a candy store, and a clothing store among others are located on that little strip itself. This is a fair and a healthy form of competition because there are no mega superstores casting a shadow on the local businesses, automatically telling them what they can and can't do. Rather, they all compete with each other to try to attract the most customers and they all have an equal opportunity.

Lastly, similar to what we have heard at many other local stores, she isn't too keen on advertising. She pays to be part of the French Quarter Business Association who advertises with that money, and she mentioned once having placed an ad in a magazine that would be seen in hotels. But other than that, she counts on word of mouth. The fact that most of these stores seem to take a different path than advertising in every newspaper and billboard (like many megacorporations,) but choose to rely on word of mouth and loyalty of customers is not only extremely brave, but it shows that they are able to be successful due to their fantastic customer service and great products.

After the interview, we all reconvened and headed to Savannah, GA. It was a long drive, especially because the roads through Georgia were relatively slow and kept changing speeds. It was frustrating - but we finally made it. Yay!