Kottke.org: Business Lessons From the Donut and Coffee Guy

Jason Kottke (web designer of Gawker among other sites) wrote a great short essay, observing an NYC coffee cart vendor who quickened the pace of his service by letting customers make their own change from a pile of coins on the counter. Kottke ruminates on the business lessons of this, including this gem:

Many companies take shortcuts in getting their customers to trust them, paying lip service to Trust™ in press releases and marketing brochures. Which works, temporarily and superficially, but when you get down to it, you can't market trust…it needs to be earned. People trust you when you trust them.