Do you want more or fewer customers?
Go through any checkout line at your favorite retail store and you’ll find that each employee is different. Some cashiers say “Hi, how are you?” and others hardly say a word. Over the past week, I decided to observe each store employee at several different businesses as I shopped. After noting several negatives and only few positives, I assembled a list that offers crucial tips to maintaining good customer service.
1) Greet your customer.
I hate being ignored when I walk into a place of business. Whenever I walk into a store and the employees stare at me blankly, I am tempted to do something just to prompt some sort of reaction to my presence. This doesn’t mean I’m seeking attention wherever I go, it merely means that if I’m going to spend money at your store, you’d better darn well acknowledge me just out of common courtesy!
2) Offer assistance and ask if you can help with anything.
Some employers require that you offer assistance to every customer you see. I think this is a great rule of thumb. Even if the customer doesn’t need something at the moment you ask, they are more likely to come looking for you later if they need a hand rather than leave the store in a frustrated manner. When I am lost in a store and cannot find an employee to help me, what do I do? Leave and spend my money elsewhere. Don’t let your customers walk out of the store like this…they might not come back!
3) Make eye contact and speak clearly.
At one of my stops last week, I needed help finding a new computer keyboard. I found the first employee wandering about the store, and asked him where I could find the item. He hardly looked at me when he pointed me in the right direction. Ideally, the guy should have looked me square in the eye with a smile, and escorted me to the product. Granted, I found the item just fine with the point of a finger however, I consider it to be excellent service when an employee takes me directly to the product and finds out what my needs are. I have gotten lost and confused during past shopping trips simply because an employee didn’t want to show me where something was.
4) Don’t yell at your customer even if they make you mad.
Oddly enough, at the very same store where the employee wouldn’t make eye contact, I had seen another employee yelling at a customer just weeks earlier. A man had walked in to make a return and wasn’t understanding a certain store policy, and the hot-headed girl behind the counter lost her patience. The employee assisting me glanced at another co-worker nervously and whispered something about bad behavior not being allowed. I was shocked and ready to walk out of the store, even though it had not happened to me personally.
5) Have integrity and don’t be the “class clown” at work.
Everyone likes to laugh and have a good time, but there are limits. I remember when I worked as a cell phone sales rep and my co-workers and I would get bored. There was no professionalism about our goofy behavior, and I often times think back and recall how passers-by would glance at us with eyebrows raised. I learned my lesson. Don’t get overly loud and obnoxious, it just makes a bad impression and can harm your sales.
6) Appreciate your customer. Say hi and thank you, and mean it.
Yet again, at the store mentioned above
(with the yelling and shy employees) I found that I was not really appreciated. When I went through the checkout with my item, the bag was tossed in my direction as soon as I paid. Here’s a tip: hand the bag directly to the customer. It’s good etiquette and saves the customer having to gather everything in a rush. I also like it when a cashier asks if I want the receipt in the bag. Instead, I was tossed the receipt, which I wanted IN the bag. (I had to put it in myself while still at the checkout.)
7) Make it a happy environment.
I understand that not everyone loves their job. Even though I love it when folks pursue their dream job, I know it doesn’t always work out that way. So if you don’t love what you do, at least act like it for the sake of the customer! I can’t stand it when employees are miserable and mean, because their bad attitude can be contagious to anyone that crosses their path. If you want a customer to spend money you have to be HAPPY!
These are just a few ways you can increase sales and step your game up in 2010. I personally learned a lot of these tips when I was employed by Bed, Bath & Beyond where I was trained in excellent customer service. Raise the bar high and watch your customers keep coming back for more.
Nice! These are all very important. I think 1, 2), and 3) are really important at the most basic level… but it’s shocking how often this isn’t done at times. I think this is one advantage of small business. Sometimes smaller businesses appreciate the customer more.
Great points Mandee!
It’s weird how overlooked these facts are. It’s simple common courtesy yet companies aren’t instilling these values into their employees and this ultimately leads to lost money and lost customers!
One of the most important things I feel you mentioned was the greeting of the customer. Bob Burg wrote up a blog post about the people at the Ritz-Carlton and how they always used “Good Morning/Good Evening/Good Day” instead of “How are you doing” as the latter is often overlooked and you can tell in the voice tone that the person asking how you are doing really doesn’t care.
Customer service is of VITAL importance, if we take care us our customers, they’ll take care of us! It’s as simple as that! Great points, keep up the great work!
-Chris Hughes
All very important and useful tips. Years ago I was a restaurant manager, and we trained our servers to greet the new arrivals within 1 minute of their being seated at the table. Even if it was to say “HI, I’ll be right with you”.
My biggest pet peeve while shopping is the cashier that is thankful she only has 10 minutes left, or the one that is whining to go on break while cashing out my items. I left a store once, in mid-checkout, because I felt that I was an inconvenience to the employee.
Thanks for posting these Mandee!
Yeah Mary, that’s one I forgot to mention! I have little tolerance for employees that act like I’m a pain because I get in their checkout line when they are waiting to take a break or go home. The disdain is clearly written on their faces. It’s a total lack of consideration!