It was a Friday afternoon, I was in Alberta, I had met with some clients and I had some time to go for a walk. I decided to walk down to the strip mall that was near where I was staying. My first stop was a hardware store. I entered the store, walked past three staff who were talking amongst themselves, walked around the store browsing the products and then out.
No one gave me eye contact, nodded or checked to see what I might be looking for. I was surprised because the products in the store gave me the impression of a hometown country store, but the service was definitely not country.
I walked to the next store in the strip mall. I walked in and around the store again without any offer of help, acknowledgment or customer service.
Crazily, I spent 30 minutes in five decent-sized retailers and no one even smiled or said hello to me! What is going on? Is customer service dead? Or is it that this size of business doesn't really care about its customers any more?
It used to be the rule that when a customer walked into a retail establishment that they were greeted within the first 15 seconds. Even the big stores would have some sort of greeter near the doors where they would say hello. Many retailers, large and small, still seemsto have a policy of doing this. In our stores, we made a point of trying to greet each and every person who came in through the doors and then our intention was to check in on them several times during their visit to see if they were finding what they were looking for. Not only did this seem to increase sales but it really helped us build a relationship with visitors and turn them into customers.
Why is it that when I go into most stores, the only time that I feel that I am important or am able to have a human interaction is when I buy something and take it to a till? My stores had a higher than average sales per square foot than most retailers but my assumption was that most people are lonely. In fact, I would swear that there is a certain percentage of the population that goes shopping because they are lonely. They are getting out of the house, not so much to do a chore as to talk to another person.
When we take the time to engage customers, to really be interested in them, to be curious and find out what they are looking for and what is important to them, we can actually make a difference in their day and even their lives. How much work does it take for us to smile at the people we come in contact with, to share a hello, or even a touch on their shoulders or elbows?
Being in customer service and business shouldn't just be about the sales. The funny thing is that when we take the time to engage with our customers and be sincere and interested, the dollars roll in. Customers who are engaged want to spend more time in the business where they are treated as human beings. They come back more frequently and they spend more money. They are more loyal and they refer our business to others as well.
So what do we need to do to have better customer service in our businesses?
Firstly, we need to establish that our customers really are important to us and not just offer lip service. This means that we need to ensure the right level of staffing to be able to greet and talk to customers. We need to instill in our employees the value of treating customers respectfully. This is important, not only to the business, but the deepening of relationships with customers makes our employees' jobs more gratifying, which is a bonus in this digital age where even facetime is not face to face.
Secondly, we need to keep our employees accountable for greeting each and every customer who comes into our business.
Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, we need to lead by example. How are you as a leader exemplifying the importance of customer service?
I probably would have died of loneliness if I was reaching out for human contact that Friday in Alberta. As far as I am concerned, customer service is dead in certain types of businesses. What do you think?
Dave Fuller, MBA, is a Certified Professional Business Coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Have customer service problems in your organization? Email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com
