The Weight of Choice in the Locksmith’s Shop

Guillaume worked in a small shop. Guillaume was a locksmith. Guillaume sold locks and Guillaume made keys. The shop was in a quiet street. Guillaume had a catalog on his desk. The catalog came from a large supplier. Every year the supplier sent a new catalog. The new catalog was always thicker than the old catalog.

The old catalog had forty pages. The new catalog had ninety pages. Guillaume looked at the pages. Guillaume saw many locks. The locks were for front doors. The locks were for back doors. One team at the supplier designed a silver lock. Another team at the supplier designed a steel lock. A third team designed a chrome lock.

All three locks were strong. All three locks were the same size. Guillaume did not understand why the catalog needed three locks. The catalog did not explain the difference. Guillaume felt tired when he looked at the catalog.

The supplier had many teams. Each team wanted to contribute. The team for silver locks wanted to show progress. The team for steel locks wanted to show progress. The teams did not talk to each other. The teams only talked to the person who printed the catalog. The person who printed the catalog liked more pages. More pages made the company look big.

But Guillaume was the person who had to talk to the customer. The customer came into the shop. The customer wanted a lock. Guillaume showed the customer the catalog. The customer looked at the silver lock. The customer looked at the steel lock. The customer asked Guillaume which lock was better. Guillaume did not have an answer. Guillaume knew both locks worked. The customer became confused. The customer left the shop without a lock.

The Wish Book: When Abundance Becomes a Burden

In the late nineteenth century the Sears catalog grew in a similar way. Richard Sears started the company in 1886. The first catalog was a small book. The book sold watches. Then the book sold jewelry. By 1897 the catalog had 786 pages. People called the catalog the Wish Book.

The catalog had everything. The catalog had wood stoves. The catalog had buggies. The catalog had clothes. Sears wanted the catalog to be a store for every person. But the catalog became a problem for the factory. One page showed a stove with a small door. Another page showed a stove with a large door. The factory had to make two stoves.

The parts were not the same. The workers were busy. The catalog grew because the teams at Sears wanted more items. They thought more items meant more money. They did not see the factory. They did not see the worker who was tired.

The Vanilla Paradox: A Kitchen Confession

I make ice cream. My name is Sky M.K. I develop flavors. I once made a vanilla flavor. People liked the vanilla flavor. Then I made a vanilla flavor with sea salt. Then I made a vanilla flavor with bean flecks. I put all three vanillas on the menu. I thought the customers would be happy. I thought the customers liked choice.

I watched the customers from the kitchen. A customer stood at the counter. The customer looked at the three vanillas. The customer looked for a long time. The customer did not look happy. The customer looked stressed. The customer eventually ordered chocolate. I felt sad. I went into the back room and I cried.

“I cried because I had made the choice too hard. I had worked for weeks on the salt ratio. I had worked for weeks on the bean source. But the customer just wanted vanilla. I had made a catalog of vanilla that was too big.”

– Sky M.K., Flavor Developer

Modern Scarcity: The XPENG G6 and the Paradox of Rubber

The XPENG G6 is a car. The car is an electric vehicle. The car is modern. The car is quiet. Owners of the XPENG G6 want to keep the car clean. Owners want to protect the interior. Evevup is a company that sells accessories. Evevup has a collection for the XPENG G6.

The collection has many items. The collection has storage organizers. The collection has floor mats. The collection has trunk mats. The collection has seat protection. These items are useful. These items are specific to the car. A customer looks for xpeng g6 zubehör to keep the car new.

The floor of the XPENG G6 is flat. The floor is covered in carpet. Carpet is hard to clean. If a customer spills coffee the carpet stays wet. If a customer has muddy shoes the carpet gets dirty. Evevup sells floor mats. One floor mat is made of rubber. The rubber is black. The rubber has a high edge.

The high edge keeps the mud on the mat. The mud does not touch the carpet. This is a clear benefit. The customer understands the benefit. But then the catalog grows. A different team adds a different mat. This mat is made of a different material. The material is also waterproof. This mat has a different pattern.

The first mat has lines. The second mat has diamonds. The customer looks at the lines. The customer looks at the diamonds. The customer wonders if diamonds are better at holding mud than lines. The catalog does not say. The customer spends thirty minutes reading about rubber.

The Center Console Conundrum

Storage is also a category. The XPENG G6 has a center console. The center console is between the seats. The center console is a deep hole. If a customer puts a phone in the hole the phone is hard to find. If a customer puts coins in the hole the coins are hard to find.

Evevup sells a storage box. The storage box fits in the hole. The storage box has a tray. The tray is for the phone. The tray is for the coins. This is a good product. It solves a problem. Then the catalog grows. A team adds a second storage box.

The second storage box is made of silicone. The first storage box was made of plastic. The silicone box is soft. The plastic box is hard. The customer does not know if they want a hard box or a soft box. The customer thinks about the phone. Will a soft box protect the phone? Will a hard box make a noise?

The choice is a new burden. The customer came to the website to solve a problem. Now the customer has a new problem. The new problem is the choice.

Sloan’s Ladder and the Cost of Artificial Variety

In 1924 Alfred Sloan changed how General Motors sold cars. Henry Ford sold the Model T. The Model T was one car. The Model T was usually black. Sloan wanted more cars. Sloan created a ladder of brands. He had Chevrolet for people with less money. He had Cadillac for people with more money.

He had Buick and Oldsmobile in the middle. This was a catalog of cars. Each brand had a team. Each team wanted to be the best. The Chevrolet team added a feature. The Pontiac team added the same feature. Soon the cars looked the same. The customer went to a dealer. The customer saw a Buick.

The customer saw an Oldsmobile. The customer could not see the difference. The engines were often the same. The frames were often the same. The cost to make the cars went up. The catalog was growing but the value was staying the same. The customer was paying for the choice. The customer was not paying for a better car.

The Frunk Barrier

The XPENG G6 has a compartment in the front. This is the frunk. Some people use the frunk for charging cables. Other people use the frunk for groceries. A customer might look for an xpeng g6 frunk accessory. They might want a box that fits the space. If there is one box the customer buys the box.

If there are four boxes the customer stops. The first box is waterproof. The second box is insulated. The third box has dividers. The fourth box is a simple bag. The customer only has one frunk. The customer only needs one solution.

But the four boxes exist because four different people at a company wanted to add an item. Each person thought their item was useful. Each person was right. The box with dividers is useful. The insulated box is useful. But together they are a wall. The customer cannot climb the wall.

Crossing Out the Noise

I went back to my ice cream shop. I looked at the menu. I took a pen. I crossed out the vanilla with salt. I crossed out the vanilla with bean flecks. I kept the best vanilla. My assistant was worried. My assistant said we were losing options. My assistant said customers like to choose.

I told my assistant about the man who ordered chocolate. He did not want chocolate. He wanted vanilla but he was tired. When I had only one vanilla the customers started ordering vanilla again. They did not have to think. They could just eat. The sales of vanilla went up by 31%. We saved money on ingredients. We saved money on space in the freezer. The catalog was smaller but the business was better.

Evevup has many categories. This is good for the owner of an XPENG G6. The owner can find everything in one place. The owner can find a mat for the trunk. The owner can find a protector for the back of the seat. The seat protector is important if the owner has children.

Children kick the seats. Their shoes are dirty. A protector made of leatherette is easy to wipe. It keeps the car looking new. If there is one protector for the G6 the choice is easy. The owner sees the protector. The owner sees it fits the G6. The owner buys the protector.

The simplicity is the service. The service is not the number of items. The service is the selection of the right item. The person who prepares the comparison sheet for a store has a hard job. They have to list the features. They have to list the prices. If the features are the same the sheet is boring.

If the prices are the same the sheet is useless. The person looks at the two storage boxes. They look at the two mats. They try to find a reason for both to exist. They write “Type A” and “Type B.” These are not real names. These are names for things that are too similar. The person is running out of words. The person is tired. The person wants the catalog to stop growing.

The Red Marker Solution

Guillaume the locksmith sat in his shop. He took a box. He put the old catalogs in the box. He took the new catalog. He took a red marker. He circled the best lock for a front door. He circled the best lock for a back door. He ignored the other sixty pages.

When a customer came in Guillaume did not show them the book. Guillaume showed them the two circles. Guillaume said these are the locks you need. The customer smiled. The customer bought a lock. The customer was happy because Guillaume had done the work. Guillaume had made the shortlist. The catalog was big but the choice was small. That is how a shop should work.

I still cry at commercials. I saw a commercial for a watch. The watch had one hand. It did not have a hand for minutes. It did not have a hand for seconds. It only told the hour. The commercial said that time is simple. I liked the commercial.

It reminded me of my vanilla ice cream. It reminded me of Guillaume. It reminded me that a growing catalog is a weight. We must carry the weight or we must put it down. I choose to put it down. I want my customers to eat ice cream. I want the XPENG G6 owner to drive their car.

I do not want them to spend their life looking at a screen of black rubber mats. They have better things to do. They have roads to drive. They have families to see. The accessory should help the life. The accessory should not become the life. I will keep my menu small. I will keep my life simple. It is better that way.

A Path Through the Forest

The catalog will always grow. People will always want to add one more thing. But the person in charge must say no. Saying no is the hardest part of the job. It is also the most important part. Without no the catalog becomes a forest. You can get lost in a forest. You can die in a forest.

A store should be a path. A path leads you home. A path is easy to follow. We need more paths and fewer forests. We need to help the customer get home. That is the goal of the catalog. The goal is the end of the journey. The goal is not the catalog itself. It is a tool. We must remember that it is only a tool.