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Customer Service Who's Right? The Business Employee, Owner or Customer?
I consider myself to be a professional shopper and I’m sure my husband would agree. I also consider myself to be a professional Business Owner. So, when I am out and about I tend to witness Customer Service from both points of view and I must say, after all of the training, coaching and assistance available to all of us I am still at a loss when it comes to Customer Service and our behaviour.
I listened to a talk show this week, and the topic they were discussing was the retail store Sears and their demise in the Stock Market. They attributed the rise and fall of this conglomerate largely due to the lack of response to the needs of it’s customers. It wasn’t that long ago Sears stocks were valued at $144 per share and as of today (Oct 12th 2018) they are at 0.41 Cents per share, Ouch!
Customers have enormous power when it comes to the success of a business. They have enormous power when it comes to the success of YOUR business. But this works both ways. We are often quick to anger when we are at the cash register of a rude employee, or are easily frustrated by an employee who clearly doesn’t have any idea of the stock they sell. My question therefore is, do you? Do you know what the stock is you carry and what your inventory levels are or what shelf they can be found on? Is your demeanor to your clientele always patient, friendly and kind, or are you tired, and hungry, leaving a less than savory taste with your clients?
Yesterday I went to a craft shop and stood in line behind several other customers while waiting to check out. I was privy to the interactions between the consumer and the cashier. Each and every time, the customers would say, “Thank You” at the end of the transaction and the cashier would hand over the bag of shopping and reply “Bye”. Not once did she thank her customers for shopping there, or ask them to return, not once! As I left with my purchase my thought was, Why am I saying Thank You for this purchase? I am essentially thanking the cashier for letting me spend my own money? Strange! Yes, I am thanking her for handing me my shopping and helping, but that was lost in translation after she forgot to thank me and the countless others.
Today I found myself at the self check out of a very busy Home Improvement store. It was lunchtime on Saturday afternoon, with one check out open for commercial clients and only self service lanes open for the rest of us. The queue was 10 people deep and the consumers were visibly becoming frustrated. One of the customers asked why none of the registers were open, the employee replied in a curt voice “They are all at lunch since they had to be here at 530am!” Now granted they absolutely need to have lunch, but the comment nor the tone wasn’t needed and left me wondering, why do all the cashiers need to eat lunch at the same time? Shouldn’t they be staggered lunches so the front of the store can remain covered?
With proper business etiquette training the appropriate response may have been a bit more like this, “I am sorry for your wait, it shouldn’t be much longer”, or “I understand your frustration, and will be happy to help you in just a moment when this register becomes free”… etc.
The problem lies when you have a frustrated customer and an equally frustrated employee battling for who is right! The situation elevates, management has to get involved and emotions peak causing a right mess. All because customer service skills are becoming a thing of the past.
It’s simple! If lack of cordiality, politeness and pure human kindness are missing in your interactions with your business dealings, whether retail or otherwise, you will lose your business. If it can shut down large multi-million dollar companies it can shut down Solo-preneurs, Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses!
Next time you are out and about practice patience. When you are running your business, do the same! You might find, your customer retention peaks and your revenue does the same. After all it’s the connection we crave, not necessarily the products we are purchasing!
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