Experience Shouldn’t Be A Surprise Benefit

I was on Twitter recently talking to a friend about Border’s booksellers and how they are closing 200+ superstores due to bankruptcy. She mentioned that she will miss the experience of going into the store, rummaging through pages of books, and having a nice coffee drink. That experience was something she valued as much, if not more than the product. Unfortunately, for Borders’s, the experience that she and many others (including myself) had wasn’t the primary aim of their stores, but it was a surprise benefit. When economics dictated that they had to change course, they stayed towards their primary goals (being a book seller) and not towards the experience that – while good – was something that they more or less stumbled upon.