RETAIL AND SERVICE

Last week I had two quite distinct experiences with the customer service offered in retail stores.

 

In the first store , I was looking at the video cameras, because it would be nice to have a videoblog as well, isn’t it? I was looking whether they had the Flip Video which was featured in the last FC issue. I was the only person in the store, but he didn’t pay any attention, as he started to vacuum clean the entrance. So, I decided not to wait and ask for help. When I told him that I was looking for the Flip Video, he asked me whether I knew the part number, so he could check it in the computer….?! The computer did not know about this product. Then I checked the other cameras. For which he had to open the special display. When he handed me one of the cameras I tried to use it, but it didn’t work. He said that is because the battery is not inserted. As he made no effort to correct this, I stopped my search……..

 

I have nothing personal against this young man. There is a lot to improve for his boss though. It looks like that all the management effort is geared towards getting the  right products with the right prices and discounts on the shelf. However, it is key to understand that the consumer needs help in buying the electronic articles. Most articles are quite complicated, so it helps me in my buying process when someone shows me how they work. It is like having a test drive. Just looking doesn’t give me the right experience. This means that the young man who helped me needs training. Training is needed on how to socialize with the consumer and on how to showcase the usage of the products. This small investment in time will have a great pay off.

 

The opposite of this experience was when I visited a new supermarket, which just opened. I was looking for certain products but couldn’t find them. So I asked one of the girls where I could find it. It surprised me that she walked with me to the right place and showed me the article. That was fine. I went ahead with my shopping and I couldn’t find another article, so I asked again. And again she walked with me to the right aisle and shelf. I asked her whether that was not a nuisance, as many customers would be asking her this. She replied that it was very understandable that this happened and that after some time it would no longer be needed, as the customer would know their way around. Another pleasant surprise was when I checked out. Because I had bought for a certain amount I did receive a free box of apples. I liked the apples, but it is hard to take it with you on a bike. So, I asked whether she had another idea. As a response she put the apples for me in a plastic bag, so they would be easier to carry. This store clearly has understood that you have to train your people on the right behaviour. And that pays off!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 most common leadership shortcomings and how to resolve them

After scrutinizing 360-degree feedback data on over 11,000 leaders and evaluating the 10% considered the least effective, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman found the 10 most common leadership shortcomings . These are ranked according to the size of the difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders' scores; successful and failed leaders differed most significantly in their energy and enthusiasm.  Please find the listing below as well my suggestions on how to change them.   1.     Lack of energy and enthusiasm If you do your job just because you have to, if it feels like it is something you should do (rather than would like to do), then it drains your energy. If you are a leader mainly because you are attracted to the status, the power and the money, then you will lack the necessary enthusiasm. Your heart is not connected, so it just is an economic and rational activity. This activity is not fuelled by your enthusiasm. If you do work, which you love to do, if you foll
Read more

Do you feel like you’re running around in a straitjacket?

Image
  If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life.  ~ Abraham Maslow Do you feel like you’re running around in a straitjacket? Or swimming in ice hockey gear? You probably think this sounds ridiculous. Still, that is what we all do, most of the time. We let beliefs limit us.  We believe that we are not good enough. We believe that we cannot change or grow. We believe everything that mass-media tells us. Most of the time, fear is driving our behavior . And fear definitely makes us risk-averse. When I ask people whether they are using their full potential, they look at me in a sad way. They immediately feel the pain of not living up to their own capabilities. Many people are suffering because they feel not seen and not good enough. As a consequence, they lack self-confidence and experience stress, burnout, depression or worse.  Why is this the case?  It is crucial to understand that parents, teach
Read more

AMAZON’S Backlog in Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company

Image
Last week I did read an article in TechCrunch that Amazon now accepts American Express membership rewards points for purchases on Amazon.com. Well this is good news, I thought, as I have quite some points to use. So, I logged into the specific page on Amazon to link both accounts. I just had to fill in a few details regarding my American Express account and then hit the last button ‘Link rewards account’. But........ nothing happened, I expected a confirmation page which tells me that everything is linked now, but no reaction at all. I could only see that my cursor was back at the place where I first provided my details. So, I tried again and again, but every time no result. Pff, this was frustrating. While I was so happy with the possibility of buying books from my points. What to do next? I had to get in touch with customer service. This is where we get in an area where there is a huge opportunity for improvement. It is very difficult to find a way to email/contact customer serv
Read more