Let’s Talk Customer Service

December 4, 2008 | By | In customer service

Let’s chat a little about customer service.

On my recent visit to a shopping mall, I heard a commotion in one of the store. There were shouts of congratulations and handshaking, the whole yahoo. It seemed that a customer won something or other. The reason I stopped to check it out was because the good cheer sounded fake. I was looking at all the sales staff going through the motions and really faking it. And through it all, the customer and his wife just stood there and accepted the terrible acting!

I know about that outlet, and the way they do business. Needless to say, I consider their merchandise over-priced. Part of their sales pitch is this: they will make a call to their head office either to get approval for the payment by installments, or to ask for a special price. Then they will tell the customer that he has won a something extra, or up-sell an item at a special price, some variation of this. Then they really pour it on and make the customer feel special or lucky.

Since I’m not involved in their company, I don’t really care how they conduct their business. If a customer wants to buy their products and pay a premuim in the process, that’s not my business. But I will say this, if a retailer ever pulled something that unethical on me, I would’ve walked out of there immediately.

Customer service had better be real. Especially when you are trying to close a sales worth a few thousand dollars. If you cannot be enthusiastic about the sale or product, don’t try to fake it to your customer. As a customer, I get turned off by fake smiles, or a canned sales pitch. You know, the one that makes the sales person sound like he or she is reading off a checklist.

In retail, like in life, everyone has bad day. Sometimes that is the way life is. One way to overcome this is to make sure you establish teamwork in every department of your company. If a customer is driving a sales person up the wall, send in reinforcements. Even if only the sales person gets a commission, I expect everyone to pitch in and close that sale. And we do that for every sales person without thinking about who gets the commission. That is what teamwork is all about. Get the sales first, then we will make sure the favor gets returned.

In the case of a customer complaint, it’s even more important to work as a team. Wouldn’t you feel better if people are actually concerned about your shopping experience? When the retail outlet resolves the problem on the spot? Make it clear that customer complaints are everybody’s business, and are to be resolved on the same day wherever it is possible. Worried about the additional cost to your business? How much would losing a customer cost you? Read this to see what your customer is worth. This is where your customer service can really shine!

Although we try to provide real customer service, and practice good business ethics, there are people whose whole philosophy seems to be in direct contrast. There are still shoppers who expect the deal of their lifetime every time they shop. They might think they are driving a hard bargain, but they also leave themselves open to being taken advantage of. The excuse I have heard businessman use is “Since this is what they want, let’s give it to them”. Well, socking it to them is more like it.

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