Customer Service Never Stops
We talk all of the time about customer service and how it is the most important aspect of any salesperson. In a society where customers can get virtually the same product from a thousand different stores, it is customer service that often sets one store apart from the other. Why am I telling you something that you obviously all ready know? It is simple, I had an experience the other day that shocked me, but it is also sad to say that it probably happens all too often.
I went into a local video store to rent some movies for the weekend. It was late and I got there about ten minutes before they closed and as I walked through the door, I heard employees groan and just got some awful looks. Apparently, they were not happy that they were going to have to deal with a customer in the last few minutes of their shift. As I walked through the store looking for movies, I could feel the employees looking at me as if to say hurry up. Not one of them offered any assistance and upon checking out, there was zero conversation except when they told me what my total was. There was not a thank-you or a have a good night as I walked out the door. It was a dreadful display of customer service and had it not been for the fact that my family was ready to watch a movie or two, I would have left without renting a thing.
The bottom line is that customer service standards should be followed whenever there is a customer in the store not just at the salesperson’s convenience. Why should a customer who comes in right before closing be treated any differently than a customer who came in at two in the afternoon? The answer is they should not. It is understandable that as the night winds down and you begin to get ready to close, you get anxious to go home but business hours are posted for a reason. If you are open, then please be prepared to provide quality customer service until the doors are locked.
FINAO – Brad Huisken – IAS TRAINING
