I was the top sales person at an Adelaide outdoor store that I worked in when I was at university doing Science. I only worked Thursday night, Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. Granted, they were the busiest times, anyway…
I put my success down to my customer service mantra:
"I must talk to E V E R Y O N E who comes in the shop, no matter what I’m doing."
Many times I would be fitting a backpack, at the checkout, fiddling with someone’s shoes, but I always popped my head up, smiled and spoke to my customers.
I get really peeved with most customer service people, particularly in Sydney. I often get ignored in a restaurant, the child care centre (when I drop off my son), corporate businesses, bars, retail outlets! Cafes are particularly irksome, you know, you don’t know whether to sit down or order at the counter??
Customer service starts with ‘How can I help you’ or ‘I won’t be a second’. We must acknowledge our customers, whether they have a problem, a question or not.
If I walk into a surf shop and am not acknowledged, my business will likely walk away with me, right out the door. With the retail climate, poor as it is, there is no excuse for shitty service. And staff don’t need any training for this. They need to be told, talk to every customer you see or get another job.
It’s simple. It’s polite. And it’s so easy to do!
