Customer Experience Lessons from Everyday Shopping: What Dee & Dee Brown LLC Can Learn from a Clues Audit

Customer Experience Is Built Through Small Details

Every business sends messages to its customers, even when those messages are not spoken aloud.

A parking lot, store sign, checkout process, employee greeting, receipt, mobile app, or follow-up message can influence how a customer feels about a company. These small details are called clues, and together they shape the overall customer experience.

As part of our Customer Experience course at Washtenaw Community College, we are completing Clues Audits based on real visits to businesses we regularly use. Donnetta examined the CVS pharmacy drive-thru experience, while Dominique compared grocery-shopping experiences at Meijer and Kroger.

The assignment examines the customer journey through five stages:

• Entice
• Enter
• Engage
• Exit
• Extend

It also asks us to identify Functional, Mechanic, and Humanic clues and determine whether each clue has a positive, neutral, or negative effect on the experience.

These lessons apply directly to Dee & Dee Brown LLC because our customers also form impressions from every interaction they have with our business.

What We Learned from CVS

Our visits to CVS often happen through the pharmacy drive-thru. This makes the experience especially convenient because Donnetta can remain in the vehicle while picking up prescriptions.

Simon and Simone usually ride along with us. Simon sits on extra pillows and padding so he can look through the drive-thru window. When an automated message plays, Simon often barks at the voice. The employees usually recognize him and offer him a dog treat, even though he never eats it. Simone usually sleeps through the entire visit and pays no attention to what is happening.

This experience demonstrates the power of Humanic clues. The employees’ friendliness and recognition of Simon make the transaction feel more personal. CVS is not only providing a prescription. The employees are also creating a memorable interaction.

For Dee & Dee Brown LLC, this is an important reminder that customers remember how a business makes them feel. A personalized thank-you message, remembering a repeat customer, or carefully responding to a question can strengthen customer loyalty.

What We Learned from Meijer

At Meijer, Donnetta usually uses a motorized shopping cart while Dominique pushes a second cart that may also hold returnable pop bottles.

We normally begin near the dairy section at the back of the store and work our way back toward the entrance. During the trip, we often purchase three extra cases of Meijer mini bottled water and pick up a small bag of ice before leaving.

Dominique usually scans all the groceries at self-checkout.

This experience highlights several Functional clues:

• Motorized carts support customers with mobility needs.
• Bottle-return services add convenience.
• Self-checkout allows customers to control the pace of checkout.
• A wide product selection makes it possible to stock up in one trip.

These clues support Meijer’s intended impression as a convenient, accessible, one-stop shopping destination.

For Dee & Dee Brown LLC, functionality matters just as much. Customers should be able to easily understand product descriptions, prices, sizes, shipping information, and return expectations. A customer should not have to struggle to complete a purchase.

What We Learned from Kroger

Kroger creates a different grocery-shopping experience.

Because the weather has been extremely hot, Dominique sometimes shops alone while Donnetta remains in the air-conditioned vehicle with Simon and Simone. The dogs enjoy the ride, although they do not enter the store.

Dominique normally begins in the meat department and then works through the back of the store, purchasing items such as:

• Cereal
• Chips
• Crackers
• Shredded cheese
• Soda
• Other household essentials

Soda promotions often influence what we purchase. We normally use self-checkout and may spend around $150 during a trip to stock up on necessities.

Kroger’s promotions, loyalty savings, product organization, and self-checkout options are clues that support impressions of affordability, convenience, and value.

This connects directly to Dee & Dee Brown LLC. Promotions can attract attention, but the value must be clear. Customers should understand exactly what they are receiving and why the purchase is worthwhile.

The Three Types of Customer Experience Clues

Functional Clues

Functional clues relate to whether the product or service works properly.

Examples from our shopping experiences include:

• Motorized carts at Meijer
• Pharmacy drive-thru service at CVS
• Self-checkout systems at Meijer and Kroger
• Prescription-ready notifications
• Bottle-return machines

At Dee & Dee Brown LLC, Functional clues include accurate listings, proper packaging, timely shipping, and products arriving as described.

Mechanic Clues

Mechanic clues come from the physical or visual environment.

Examples may include:

• Store lighting
• Signs
• Parking-lot conditions
• Aisle width
• Merchandise displays
• Clean floors and organized shelves

For an online resale business, Mechanic clues include product photography, website design, listing organization, branding, packaging, and the appearance of social media pages.

A cluttered product photo or confusing description can create the same negative impression as a messy store aisle.

Humanic Clues

Humanic clues come from employee behavior and personal interaction.

Examples include:

• A friendly greeting
• Offering assistance
• Thanking a customer
• Recognizing a repeat customer
• Showing patience and respect

For Dee & Dee Brown LLC, Humanic clues are created through messages, comments, offers, order updates, thank-you notes, and responses to customer concerns.

A business can have excellent products, but poor communication can still damage the experience.

Applying the Five Customer Journey Stages to Dee & Dee Brown LLC

Entice

The Entice stage is what attracts someone before making a purchase.

For Dee & Dee Brown LLC, this includes:

• Search-friendly blog posts
• Product photographs
• Poshmark listings
• Social media content
• Titles and descriptions
• Promotional offers

Our first goal is to earn the customer’s attention and create curiosity.

Enter

The Enter stage begins when a customer visits our website, Poshmark closet, blog, YouTube channel, or social media page.

Customers should immediately understand:

• Who we are
• What we sell
• What makes us different
• How to find products
• How to contact us

The experience should feel organized and welcoming.

Engage

The Engage stage includes browsing, asking questions, comparing products, making offers, and purchasing.

Strong customer engagement requires:

• Accurate descriptions
• Clear photographs
• Honest condition disclosures
• Prompt answers
• Respectful communication
• Easy purchasing steps

Exit

The Exit stage happens when the transaction is completed.

For our business, this includes:

• Order confirmation
• Secure packaging
• Timely shipping
• A thank-you message
• Clear tracking information

The final moments of a transaction can influence how the entire experience is remembered.

Extend

The Extend stage continues the relationship after the sale.

Dee & Dee Brown LLC can extend the experience through:

• Follow-up messages
• Social media posts
• New product announcements
• Blog updates
• Customer appreciation
• Repeat-buyer offers
• Invitations to follow our business

The goal is not simply to make one sale. The goal is to create trust that encourages customers to return.

Turning Customers into Loyal Supporters

The Clues Audit shows that customer experience is not controlled by one large action. It is created through many small details working together.

CVS employees offering Simon a treat may seem like a small gesture, but it makes the experience personal. Meijer’s motorized carts support accessibility. Kroger’s promotions influence purchasing decisions. Self-checkout provides customers with control and convenience.

Dee & Dee Brown LLC can use these lessons to create a stronger experience by making every clue intentional.

We want customers to experience our business as:

• Trustworthy
• Welcoming
• Organized
• Convenient
• Customer-focused

Every photograph, message, package, blog post, and customer interaction should support those impressions.

Our Commitment at Dee & Dee Brown LLC

As a mother-and-daughter business, we understand that customers are real people with different needs, routines, and expectations.

We are continuing to learn how to improve our customer experience by combining classroom knowledge with everyday business experience.

Our goal is to build more than an online resale business. We want to build a recognizable and trusted brand where customers feel respected before, during, and after every purchase.

The Clues Audit reminds us that every detail communicates something.

At Dee & Dee Brown LLC, we want those details to communicate care, honesty, value, and appreciation.

Join the Conversation

What small customer-experience clue has made you return to a business? Was it a helpful employee, an easy checkout process, clear communication, accessibility, or something memorable after the sale?

Share your experience in the comments below.

Visit Dee & Dee Brown LLC to follow our journey as we continue building a business, expanding our education, and applying customer-experience lessons to real entrepreneurship.

Website: www.deeanddeebrown.com
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