Three Ingredients To Effective Customer Service.

I recently visited a local retailer to purchase a new jacket, however unfortunately my size was not in stock. The clerk (after making several calls to someone else in the store) reluctantly offered me a rain cheque. I thanked her and decided to visit in a week when new stock was to arrive. After my next visit I asked someone at another service desk (same store) if they could just order my size and be done with it. The clerk responded “Head office does all of the ordering.”

Huh? Having worked with numerous retailers I can tell you that statement doesn’t hold water. Now my interest was peaked.

Next I called the head office and spoke with the inventory manager who was quite helpful when I explained the situation and promised to rectify the situation by having new stock of my size sent to the local store. Fast forward two weeks and no call from the store. I called the friendly gentlemen at the head office and asked if he had any luck, he said “Well, I emailed another store and told them to send your size to your local store if they had it. I suppose if it hasn’t shown up, they don’t have it.”

Wow, great customer service! A lack of customer care and attention at both the regional store and head-office.

The bigger issue here is that business success is directly related to customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction starts with listening to customer needs, empowering employees to take action with customer concerns, and instilling a culture of action in employees.

The more important question is, how are your employees or staff dealing with customers? To build satisfied customers (those that pay and return for more!), determine the extent to which the three elements above are engrained in your staff. You might be surprised at what you find.

© Shawn Casemore 2012. All rights reserved.