I am a consumer, you are a consumer, we are all consumers. I am writing this purely with my consumer hat placed firmly on my head. I am very passionate about small businesses and wish I had one myself. So, maybe, it is this passion that causes me to be a critical consumer. Don't get me wrong, I don't outwardly complain to the manager, but observe and share my experiences with friends or with you our readers. You probably too share poor customer service with friends. Word of mouth gets around pretty fast. So how is your customer service? Do your employees practice good customer service? Have you trained them?
I will keep this to one example: I promise!
I live in a small town, with one very small grocery store (not in WY). The next closest grocery store is eight miles away, so for quick fixes, I won't travel that far. I believe in supporting local businesses, and have tolerated the poor customer service in this little grocery store for two plus years. The owner is great. Some of the employees are good too. But, there are a couple of employees that don't greet you with a hello, or say anything (to me anyway). On the occasion that I need to ring the bell for assistance, these employees act as if I interrupted something very important. This behavior reflects badly on the store and on the owner.
Don't think you need to train people how to greet customers, how to make them feel special (if they come in three or more times a week for two years, how hard is it?), how easy it is to smile, say Thank You for shopping here because I know you have other choices? Unfortunately, you don't have to go far to find a great example of poor customer service.
Am I being too critical? I would love to see your comments on customer service and especially if you provide employee training!
I agree - customers should be valued and taken care. A simple hello and good morning makes customers happy and feel at ease.
Posted by: Patrice | August 26, 2010 at 06:47 AM