When customers develop an affinity to their favourite store, they often name a particular feature they like most. The butchery section is usually a source of attention, with customers falling for the low-fat ratio, or a friendly butcher's face, or low prices, or even custom-prepared dishes like kebabs.

I was paying a visit to a major supermarket in the Upper Highway area of KZN, and got into a chat with the butcher, while he scurried around packaging and labelling my miniscule purchase of cabanossi. What got me thinking was the signage, which seemed to indicate he was running a private operation, but under the banner of the supermarket chain. He confirmed just as much, and within the space of a few questions, I learned that he had grown up in the meat business, learning the trade from his father.

He had a butchery of his own in a small town, with a loyal customer following, but once a new supermarket opened, he simply couldn't compete, and lost his business. Here he was, in a different province, operating his corner under another flag. Why? Isn't there a resurgence of the dedicated butcher, or the specialised fruit and veg shop?

"One stop" is the term he coined. Customers didn't like to go to multiple places to get their shopping sorted out. I also queried him on the idea that customers often choose something like a butchery section as their reason for liking a store, and while he agreed, he also concerned himself with all the departments of a store working together. While a fantastic butcher might propel a store, a poor bakery or a miserable cashier might undo his hard work.

So what then is more important, price or quality? All three, he said. Price, quality and service - drop the ball on any of the three and the opposition take the game.

Even as I cashed in and wandered back into the sunset over the car park, I had to question this: how many customers develop a liking for a certain quality, and then blind themselves to cost? Why is it that I can flag a store as being expensive, only to have customers come roaring out in support of the store, quoting price as irrelevant? Do customers insist on a combination of price, quality and service, or do they either choose price OR quality, and then shop ignorantly henceforth?

I guess I know one thing: nobody has a reason to change their habits until they're shocked out of their status quo. Perhaps they get burned by a particularly poor incident at their favourite place, or otherwise, a site like PriceShare comes out and presents them with some intriguing data that forces a rethink. That's the moment I live for, not to mess around with people's habits, but to help them get out of a rut, and really dig out the best combination of price and quality available. And don't forget service...