When big box expert Roy Prevost comes to Weyburn later this month to talk to small business owners about surviving Wal-Mart's arrival, the first thing he'll do is go shopping.

"I usually walk downtown, nonchalantly, to see what the reaction is (in stores to the customers)," he said in an interview from Vancouver. "I'll walk around and ask questions. I'm sure I'll see which businesses don't take care of me."

Prevost will speak at the Weyburn Inn on Monday, June 16 from 7-10 p.m.

Excellent customer service is one of the prime means for small business owners to remain viable in spite of the big box retail phenomenon, he said.

"This country is full of businesses owned by people who don't know how to treat people well or to promote their own business," said Prevost. "This is critically important."

Businesses in most communities are used to having walk-by traffic, but in the new era they have to be very specific with the customer, asking what would make them or keep them as loyal customers, he said.

"Business needs to romance their customers." They need to ask what they can do to make the experience of shopping in their store or for their service more valuable to the customer than it would be if they shop at Wal-Mart, for instance, he said.

Maybe they need to ask what value they can add to the experience so people will pay a premium price, he said, or maybe they need to train their staff in customer service.

Prevost said Wal-Mart has its customers and terrific prices in some core products but it doesn't always offer the best price, selection or service. "Smaller retail owners have to be very sharp. They have to keep their ear to the ground (to pick up on the opportunities)," he said.

The key point he makes at his seminars is that survival for small retailers is possible in a big box world. Ryerson University did a five-year study on towns where Wal-Mart has located and found smart retailers have not had a negative experience, he said. Sometimes the new big box outlet brings more people into the community, so the small retailer has to figure out how to bring some of those shoppers to his/her store, he said.

Prevost's three-hour seminar will help participants identify some of their strengths and weaknesses, the factors they can control in their business, and how to develop a "unique selling proposition." He will also explain the 20/80 rule, that 20 per cent of their customers account for 80 per cent of their sales, and what that should mean to them.

Toward the end of the evening, Prevost turns to what he calls an "attitude session." He asks participants if they enjoy what they do, if they have business goals, and if they feel contempt for their customers, among other things, and what effect those attitudes have on their business success.

The seminar is sponsored by the Weyburn Review, AM 1190, the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Regional Economic Development Authority, and Sunrise Community Futures Development Corporation. Cost is $10 for Chamber members and $15 for non-members.