We May Not Be in Love, But We Ought to Get Engaged
Posted by Debra Neville on Tue, Feb 23, 2010 @ 08:19 PM
I'm always looking for new material for my blog postings; I keep coming back to customer service which in its simplistic form is about engaging the customer.
Another Road Trip
In the past few days, I've been in the Boston environs--south and west of the city--visiting independently owned specialty stores, big-box stores and a B&B. In two of my experiences I'll tell you what happened and then I'll tell you what should have happened.
HAPPENED: Gift store:I love the line of Brighton handbags. This day, though, I needed a new business card holder. I spotted a Brighton one on sale--40% off; I grabbed it and made my way to the register. "Have you ever shopped here before?" "No, I've always wanted to stop in; I love the Brighton line; this is my first time here," I said. "That'll be $38.50," the clerk replied.
Sale t(ended) at the retail POS.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED: Talk to me. Tell me about the Brighton line that's coming in for Spring. Tell me about your customer loyalty program; ask me if I want to be part of it. Tell me about your store e-newsletter. ASK me if I want to receive future emails from you about store events, preferred customer sales. Ask me for my email address. Talk to me. Give me something to talk about.
HAPPENED: Big-box stores: I went to seven stores searching for a pasta machine. I know I had a quizzical look on my face as I walked the aisles many times in each store, trying to find the elusive machine. Not one person in any of the stores engaged me at any time. I know it's February and stores are still experiencing the slowness of the post-Christmas season, so stores have bare-bone staffing levels. Some stores had no staff in sight until you got to the register. I left all seven stores empty-handed.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED: Motivate your staff to service the customer at all times. Hands-on attention from staff will win any customer, even if he/she leaves empty-handed. Tell me about your CLEARANCE items so I can stock up. Don't you want me to open up my wallet?
TIP for Mangers and Store Owners: Ask your customers what they think of your store's customer service. Take a survey. Ask them their mood rating as they walk into the store. Give them that number. As they're leaving, ask their mood rating again. If it went up--congratulations. If it didn't or went down, ask yourself and your staff some questions about the customer experience they delivered to the customer and how they can improve it for the next customer.