As I plan for the Memorial Day long weekend I suspect I will be required to invest quite a bit of time preparing for our barbeque, our arriving house guests and our trip to the beach. I will probably need to make several stops for food, grill supplies, beach towels and maybe even a little beer and wine. I might even need to make a trip to the home improvement store as I have plans to catch up on a few household fixes. I am sure, at some point, we will probably venture out for a bite to eat which is sure to be followed by a visit to an ice cream shop for a nice old fashioned banana split. Last but not least, I am betting that my buddy Matt or Bob will challenge me to a game of horseshoes or Wiffle ball so I will also need to go to a sporting goods store.
What does all of this mean? This means I will spend a good portion of my holiday weekend visiting retail stores!
So my questions for the day are as follows: What is wrong with customer service? Why do we revile the prospect of dealing with stores and the people responsible for representing the brand on the retail floor? Why do customer service levels drop in some stores during the summer holidays?
Here are 5 mistakes retailers will make during this long, and potentially busy, weekend that will, likely, drive customers crazy:
Big Mistake # 1 – Insincere Greetings – If I have to hear the standard, canned, robotic, monotone, consultant written, scripted greeting when I walk in the door I think I just might turn around and go without. Nothing is really worse than an insincere, almost sarcastic, greeting. It is funny because I hear the same words delivered in the same insincere, frustrated tone from store to store and from franchise to franchise. You can tell (based on their tone) that somebody is forcing them to do it, and they don’t want to be. Please everybody! Let your personality come through a little bit and enjoy what you are doing without being too pushy. Make us like you and your days will go by much, much quicker.
Big Mistake # 2 – Complaints To Me About Their Schedule/job – It seems like a common practice nowadays for a retail associate to tell the customer how much they “cannot wait to get off work in an hour.” Worse, is when an associate complains, probably while ringing up my purchase, about how much they do not like their job and cannot wait to get a new one. This cannot help the brand for the long run. Yes we expect this stuff but we are also pleasantly surprised when somebody says something like: “well, it is a holiday, but we love our boss and this is what we do so we don’t mind being here so you can get what you need to have a great holiday.” The point is this: You have to be there anyway so why not make it count! Instead of making somebody think you are a jerk why not make somebody’s day. Regardless of how long you have to work it is not going to go any quicker if you are rude or nice so why not be nice and enjoy making other people happy.
Big Mistake # 3 – Blaming Everything On “They” – This has become a universal excuse for many in the retail world. When an associate cannot get something done, maybe it is a discount or a return, they will blame it on “they.” ”They won’t let me do that!” ”They changed that policy!” ”I guess they don’t do that anymore!” What ever happened to being a member of a team? What ever happened to “we” and a better explanation to follow? How about moving toward a we explanation and then providing some advice on an alternative solution? This is very frustrating because I don’t know who they are and I am dealing with you! Accountability is one of the hallmarks of a likable person so make this one happen. Be likable and be accountable.
Big Mistake # 4 – Excuses For A Mess – In many stores I will find a mess on the retail floor and many more excuses. I suspect I will see messy shelves, scattered sale circulars and garbage overflowing from the trash receptacles. It seems that, sometimes, on a holiday weekend some stores think the holiday is an excuse to allow chaos to reign. I realize they may be shorter staffed but the store is their place of business and they have to be moving at “double time” to make sure they are presenting the right image to the customers. When the pressure is on you have to step up your game but most choose to step down their game.
Big Mistake # 5 – Lack Of Leadership Presence – This is probably the biggest reason I will experience the first four mistakes. I suspect there will be a lack of leadership presence on the retail floor during these busy times. Like it or not the holidays can present a boom opportunity for many stores (especially those in destination locations). Leaders have to be out in front of this opportunity. They have to be in their store thanking people for working on their holiday weekend, greetings customers and making sure the ship is in order. Unfortunately, many leaders take the weekend off or worse, they themselves suffer from the first four retail customer service diseases which is bad news for the entire team. Negativity is contagious and it is up to the leader to make the weekend fun for everybody.
Those businesses who put their best foot forward over the weekend are sure to win repeat business, create goodwill with their co-workers and strengthen their brand.
Happy Memorial Day To All!
And, thanks to those of you who are working this weekend. I will see you in a few hours.
Tags: customer service, employee engagement, leadership, retail customer service, retail service quality index, RSQI, teamwork