What’s the single biggest event at your store? Mother’s Day? Easter? Christmas?
Nope, none of the above… It’s when a customer walks into your store!
We have customers in our place of business all the time, but seriously, they are the reason for our existence. Can they tell that when they walk in the door? Do we welcome them, make them feel cared for, make them successful?
I was in a garden center out West one day when a young man came in asking for helleborus. He’d been asked by a friend to get some. Now, the poor fellow didn’t have a clue what helleborus looked like, but the clerk just waved him on out back and pointed in the general direction. He had to ask yet another clerk do direct him again. How do you think he felt as he walked of that store? Probably not one of his favorites. Do you know the #1 reason customers stop shopping at a particular store? 60% said that they were “treated with indifference”. Not price. Indifference. How sad. The good news is we can fix this! We can each make it our organization’s top priority to treat every customer with honest, respectful care and they’ll reward you with loyalty.
Til next time,
Peter
Customer service is always number one. No matter how small the purchase is, everyone needs to be treated the same. Make them feel important every time and you will keep seeing them come back for more. Our motto since day 1.
It’s so true, Paul. It’s a temptation to subtly view a customer as a “bother” because they’re interrupting what we are in the middle of. But without customers, we soon won’t have other tasks…. Thanks for commenting!