There’s no getting around the fact that December is a tough time for employees. On the one hand, increased sales are a critical boon for business, but on the other, there’s seemingly no end to the stress and frenetic pace of the holiday season. But the people working in the retail and dining industries aren’t the only ones feeling the squeeze: customers have shopping lists to complete, gifts to ship, and events to plan—all while balancing their own working lives and regular familial commitments. All of these considerations make the last weeks of the year crunch time, which means we all have to focus on delivering our daily best. To that end, let’s take a deep dive into a recent Shep Hyken article, titled Five Ways to Lose Your Customers for some guidance.
As Shep begins, losing a customer isn’t just about delivering bad customer service because “sometimes it’s much less obvious. It can be an attitude of indifference.” After all, customers have so many choices that they usually aren’t beholden to any one business. They can shop or dine at your competitor down the street or even order online. It’s not good enough to be “good enough” anymore, either. In the case of retail, we must overcome the inertia of losing sales to the Internet, which usually requires so much less effort than driving across town to visit our stores. Thus, we can’t just deliver okay customer service; we must deliver an extraordinary experience.
Let’s continue with Shep’s article. His first warning concerns those who fail to acknowledge their customers. He recounts an especially bad experience with a hotel clerk who was so engrossed in whatever he was doing that he could scarcely be bothered to check in a guest standing in front of him. Nothing makes a customer feel less valued than being ignored or overlooked. Acknowledge and attend to everyone!
Next, he explains the importance of caring about the customer and his or her needs: “Apathy kills the relationship and true caring and concern for the customer trumps all.” Whether a customer has approached you regarding interest in your products or services, or whether he or she has a problem, employees must take the time to show they care and are willing to take the time to help. That sense of caring is an easy advantage your staff has over a webpage.
For his third point, Shep takes a look at the importance of listening to your customers. This goes hand-in-hand with showing care, because “if you have a problem that is due to a breakdown in communication, well that is the worst Moment of Misery you can have with your customer.” Mistakes happen, but make sure they’re not the result of your employees being distracted or dividing their attention. Where possible, give undivided attention and confirm everything before doing anything.
Fourth, he focuses on how critical it is that your employees always respond to your customers, as in answering their voicemails, emails, tweets, or the like: “A bad customer service situation gets worse when the company doesn’t respond to the complaint or problem.” Again, we must admit that December is a tough time because of how little time there’s seems to be to get anything done, but failing to respond to customers is a big no-no. While your staff shouldn’t ignore the customers in front of them in favor of returning those messages, they should do so as soon as they can get off the floor and into a private area.
And lastly, Shep reminds us that, “Customers want to be appreciated for spending their hard-earned money at your place of business.” This is especially true when they’re running ragged from all of their holiday-related errands, planning to receive guests or take a trip themselves, etc. Take the time to say thank you to everyone who visits your business, even when they don’t decide to buy from you that day. Let them know you appreciate that they thought of you. Remember, your relationship with your customers is a commitment, so you must be willing to be patient and appreciative.
As always, the year has flown by and is almost over, but your commitment to quality customer service and salesmanship never ends. The Brandt Group is here to help you with all of your mystery shopping and training needs, so [contact us] today and let’s put all of these principles into practice to ensure that this Christmas—and the new year to come—are both merry and happy. Show your clientele you’re not indifferent to them by improving those skills today!
