Retail Customer Service Fundamentals

7/30/2019 Retail Customer Service Fundamentals

1/26


2/26

- 2 -Copyright 2003-2008, DMSRetail, All rights reserved.

Thank you for Purc hasing DMSRet ai l s

Ret a i l Cust omer Serv ice Fundament a ls .

The Ser ia l Number of t h is copy is

DMSRCSSN9267


3/26


by

Copyright 2003-2008 DMS Retail

All rights are reserved worldwide.

No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or

reproduced, in any way, including but not limited to digital copying and printing without

the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.


4/26


Ret a i l Cust om er Serv ic e Fundament a ls

This guide is intended to p rovide a basic und ersta nd ing of the role of aretail or customer service employee. If you understand the points you willbe able to speak to a prospective employer in terms they relate to. MostManagers want to hire people who understand what it takes to besuc c essful in c ustomer service.

We can give you many examples of candidates responses which clearlyindica te that they ha d no idea wha t wa s req uired to b ec om e succ essful

in retail or customer service. For instance, when asked what customerservice means many people respond with something like it meanshelping people find what they are looking for or being friendly andasking them if they need any help . There is nothing wrong with theseresponses and , c ertainly, friend liness and help ing peo p le a re a goo d sta rt,but they simp ly do nt c ompa re to ma king c ustome rs feel great a bout


5/26


being in your store; so great that they tell others about their positiveshopping experience and building rapport and asking questions tounderstand their needs so that I can show them something that theyllwant to buy.

This guide g ives you informa tion to help you und erstand wha t is rea llyexpec ted of a reta il/ c ustome r servic e e mp loyee.

Rem em ber, its a ll about the c ustom er and it starts and ends with you!

Custom er Sat is fac t ion

You have probably heard the phrase, rule #1: the customer is alwaysright , and the rule # 2: If the c ustome r is wrong , refe r to rule # 1. Well, thatis no t a lways true.

The c ustomer is, however, the person who makes it po ssible fo r your

employer to stay in business. The customer pays your wages and returnsprofit to the ow ner of the business. If the c ustom er do es not buy wha teve rit is you a re selling, the business will fail its tha t simp le.

Customer satisfaction ultimately determines success or failure. Everyoneknow s tha t p roviding c ustomer service is essentia l. The p rob lem is tha tmost people talk about it, but fail to achieve any real results on theservice front. Generally, the problem is one of focus, understanding andcommitment.

So, what d oe s it ta ke for a c ustome r to be sa tisfied ? There a re m any

answers to that question. Everyone has different expectations. What youneed to do is to p rovide enough p ositives during the c ustom ers shop p ingexperience to make them feel happy about parting with their hardea rned dolla rs. They must p erceive va lue in your offering .

So ho w do yo u do this?


6/26


7/26


Success t ip : Always position yourself so that you are facing the front ofyour store/ workp lac e. This way, no c ustome r will enter without youknowing. If you are engaged with another customer at least you canma ke eye c onta c t with the c ustome r who is entering . This will ma ke themfeel we lc ome in the a bsenc e o f a verba l g ree ting . Of c ourse, you shouldgree t the m verba lly as soo n a s possib le.

Basics of t he Sales Process

Custome r Servic e fo r Beg inners was designed for peop le w ho have noexperience in the retail/service industry. For this reason, the following salesproc ess is simp lified .

There a re a few simp le step s to be fo llowe d during the sa les proc ess:

greetingap proa c h/b uild rap po rtdetermine needspresent op tions

overc ome ob jec tionsclose

The Greet i ng:

As me ntioned ea rlier, the g ree ting is very imp ortant to both the c ustome rspositive shopping experience and the sales associates success.Customers want to feel welcomed. Always greet your customer in afriendly, enthusiastic manner.

You may say Hello, how are you doing today? Or you may becomemore involved and say something like Hello, I can see from all of thebags you are carrying that you are having a successful shopping triptoday. Wha t c an I help yo u find (or wha t is still on yo ur list)?


8/26


Regardless of what you say, the important thing is that you haveacknowledged their presence in your store and you have welcomedthem in a friend ly a nd enthusiastic ma nner.

The Approach and Rapport Bui ld ing:

You ha ve w elco me d the c ustom er and s/ he o r she is now loo king a roundat what you have to offer. After giving the customer a few minutes to

familiarize themselves with your offering, its time to approach them andtry to sta rt b uild ing a relationship with them.

You m ay notice them hand ling me rc hand ise. That is the p erfec topportunity to approach and mention some of the features and/orbene fits of that pa rtic ula r p iec e of me rc hand ise. You ma y ma ke acomment like I bought that stereo last weekend and the sound isunbelieva b le. If you are p lanning to update your system we have a lot o fop tions ava ilab le. Dep end ing o n how the c ustom er respond s to you, youc an c ontinue ta lking to them in a very friend ly, helpful way. Perhap s they

will tell you about a party they are planning and their need to updatetheir equipment. You can show enthusiasm about their event and askquestions about it i.e.: how many people are attending? What is theoc c asion? Etc . And then you can move into the op en end ed questionssuch as What did you have in mind? or What are you planning toreplace? or What do you have now? and How well has it performedfor you?

Open ended questions require something other than a yes or noanswer. Asking questions that can be answered with a simple yes or nocan keep you asking questions for hours without finding out anything that

will help you m ake a sa le. You ll be like a hamster on a whe el, c ove ring alot o f ground and go ing a bsolutely nowhere.

Ask questions that encourage an informative response from the customer.You need to g et informa tion from the c ustome r in order to p roc eed to thenext step . After a ll, how c an you p resent o p tions tha t a re m ea ningful to


9/26


them if you dont have any idea what they are looking for or what theyneed?

During this discussion you are, in fact, building a relationship with thecustomer because you are learning about their reason for being in yourstore a nd you a re ma king friend ly, non-threa tening c onve rsa tion.

Determining Needs:

This is where open ended questions a re c ritica l. You nee d to asc ertainwhat your customer wants/needs/desires. Keep asking questions andlisten to their responses. Dont ever assume you know what theywa nt/ need / desire. Listen and lea rn.

Present ing Opt ions:

Onc e you fee l c omfortab le tha t you rea lly understand wha t the c ustome r

wa nts it is time to sta rt p resent ing op tions for them to c hoose from . You willneed to know what you are talking about. Depending on what you areselling, you need to have a certain level of product knowledge. Whetherits chocolate, clothing, electronics or cars, you need to understand thefea tures and bene fits of wha t you a re selling.

Sta rt p resent ing op tions to your custome r. As you p resent ea c h op tionexplain the features and benefits. You will know, relatively quickly,whether to continue with one option or move on to another one. Judgethe c ustom ers responses and use your best judg me nt.


10/26


Overcoming Objec t ions:

During the presenting options stage, you may sense that the customerhas som e ob jec tion to the o ffering. You will wa nt to know w hat theobjection is because it may not be well founded. Customers may notknow a s muc h as you d o a bout your p rod uc t. Som etimes the c ustom ersob jec tion is based on a n inc orrec t assumption the c ustome r is ma king . It isup to you to determine what the objection is and then overcome it. Ofc ourse, if the ob jec tion is c lea r ( I don t like the c olor! ) move o n. But if theob jec tion is not c lea r, you need to a sk questions to find out ho w to get to

the bottom of it. For example, the customer may belooking at a suit you have presented and they seemunsure a bout it. You ne ed to find out wha t it is tha t they d onot like about the suit. You cannot continue presentingop tions tha t a re no t suitab le. Tha t is a wa ste o f eve ryone stime. In a c ase like this say som ething like You re not sureabout this one? What is it that you dont really care for?Perhaps the customer will say Im not sure about thisfab ric . At that p oint you have the pe rfec t op po rtunity to respond with a llof the positive information you have about the fabric of that particularsuit. If the customer responds favorably to what you have told him/her,

then you have successfully overcome the objection. If not, you need tofind out m ore ab out the fab ric the c ustomer is looking fo r and then find amo re suitab le item.

Som etimes the c ustomers ob jec tions c annot be ove rc ome. You will haveto present more op tions. The imp ortant thing to rem em ber is tha t by tryingto o verco me the c ustom ers ob jec tions you a re o ffering a servic e to yourcustomer by providing information that they do not have about theproduct you are presenting. If this is done properly, the customer willunderstand that you are trying to help rather than trying to push the

prod uct on them.

Never continue trying to overcome a powerful objection that thecustomer obviously has no intention of changing. If you continue to tryyou will bec ome a nnoying.


11/26


Closing t he Sale:

This is simp ly the summ ary of the time you have spent with the c ustome r.Usua lly at this time you a nd your c ustomer are ready to sum up wha t hastaken plac e.

For instance, if you overcame the customers objection regarding thefabric of the suit you presented, then the following would be consideredc losing sta tem ents:

It looks like the b lue o ne is the o ne you a re g oing to go w ith. I c an see you re ha ppy with the fea tures and b ene fits of the b lue one. Are you g oing to g o w ith the b lue o r the g rey? Whic h one d id you dec ide on?

Success tip: If you want to be c om fortab le w ith this p roc ess ask a friend orrelative to role p lay with you. They a re the c ustom er; you a re thec ustome r servic e a ssoc ia te. The prod uc t you ha ve to sell should b esomething you are very familiar with and something that you feelenthusiastic about.

The point o f this role p laying situa tion is not to turn you into a perfec tsalesperson. It will be helpful to you to practice presenting the productto your c ustome r. You c an ma ke up the features and be nefits and g etcomfortable trying to convince your customer of the value of theproduct .

Features and Benef i t s :

Fea tures a re the func tiona lity and c ha rac teristics of the prod uc t or servic eyou are selling. Benefits are the translation of those functionality and

characteristics into actual what does it do for me type benefits to thecustomer. Inexperienced salespeople sometimes make the mistake ofconstantly and endlessly listing feature after feature without telling thecustomer what benefits can be expected from those features.Rem ember, not eve ryone understands your p rod uc t or servic e a s muc h a syou d o. Som e o f these fea tures ma y eve n ha ve industry spec ific lingo inthem , aga in w ith whic h the c ustom er is p rob ab ly unfamilia r. Not


12/26


converting that lingo into understandable and clear benefits willoverwhelm and ultimately annoy customers. Annoyed customers do notbuy and go somewhere else, where they hope to get clearerc om munica tions. It is very imp ortant to know a ll the fea tures and bene fitsof your product and services, and once youve figured out what thec ustomer is looking for, limit your fea ture/ benefit listing to sa tisfy a ll the irsta ted needs.

The Value o f Product Know ledge

While there are certainly exceptions, the majority of your customers knowless about the p rod uc t you a re o ffering for sa le tha n you d o.

Rea d eve rything you c an about the prod uc t you a re selling. Ask questionsto c la rify anything you d on t unde rstand . You need to b e the expert in thecustomers eyes. If you a re p erce ived as the e xpert, the c ustomer will feel

c om fortab le doing business with you. Customers want to trust the personwho sells them something. Customers are used to being duped,scammed, lied to, ignored, hounded, and generally treated like they arenot important. If you treat them with respect and share your expertknowledg e, you will ga in a c ustome r for a long time to c ome.

Handl ing Customers a t the Checkout :

Customers want to checkout of your store quickly. In this convenience

oriented soc iety, it is c ruc ia l tha t the c hec kout experienc e is positive.

be friendlybe c ourteousbe effic ient


13/26


If you are friendly, courteous and efficient almost any difficulty can beovercome. For instance, when your cash registers (usually referred to asPOS point of sa le) a re m alfunc tioning, or the a utho riza tion of d eb it andcredit transactions is unusually slow, you can ensure your customers aresatisfied by being friendly, courteous and as efficient as you can possiblybe. Ma ke sure tha t your custom ers know tha t you value their time. This isc ritica l. Neve r assume the c ustome r has time to wa ste.

Another thing to rememb er: once the c ustome r has dec ided to b uy, theyconsider the merchandise theirs. Be sure to handle the merchandise withc are. Plac e it on the c ounter ca refully and pa c k it a ppropria tely.

How to Learn f rom Customer Compla in ts

A complaint from a customer is a bad thing. It means your customer isnot happy. Tha t s why it s so imp ortant to figure out the rea son fo rcustomer complaints. If you want to make your customers happy, you

have to start with wha t youre do ing tha ts ma king them unhap py.

Som e reta ilers believe tha t a lac k of c om pla ints me ans they m ust b edoing well. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consider thesestatistics:

96% of c ustom ers don't c om pla in a bout poo r servic e. 90% of customers who receive inferior service won't come back to

your sto re.

Think about it. Let s say you w a lk into a store a nd the sta ff do esn t wa it onyou, so you leave without buying. Do you go back into the store and tellthem that therea son you left w as be cause they didn t w ait on you?When you order a meal at a restaurant and it's only 90% of what youexpec ted (not ba d, but not grea t) . . . doyou send it bac k?


14/26


Certa inly, som e w ould c om p la in. Thank good ness for those few , bec ausethe rea lity is tha t most p eop le just d on't b othe r. So, whe n you do get ac om pla int, consider that there ma y be 25 othe r c ustom ers out the re w hohave the same criticism of your product or service, but haven't botheredto tell you. They've just d ec ided to shop elsew here! As part o f any servic equality initiative, you must seek out customer feedback. Complaints arean integral part of that information and provide you with unparalleledopportunities to fix those things in your business that your customers thinkare b roken.

Telephone Et iquet t e :

This is an a rea where m any, ma ny servic e p eo p le g o w rong. It is absolutelyimp erative that you understand how, and when, to use the telep hone.

When the telephone rings while you are serving a customer at the cashdesk you must always remember that the customer standing in front ofyou is paying you m oney for your merc hand ise.

Excuse yourself properly and quickly answer the telephone. Put the calleron hold and let them know that you will return immediately uponcompleting the transaction you are currently involved in. An appropriatesta teme nt would b e Plea se ho ld for just a m om ent w hile I finish a ttend ingto this c ustom er and I ll get right bac k to you.

Return to the customer in front of you and complete thetransac tion without see ming rushed o r impa tient. Onlywhen you are completely finished with the customer in

front of you after you have thanked them for theirbusiness and invited them to return should you go backto the telep hone.

I am not suggesting that the telephone caller is not important, but youmust p rioritize. You c annot g ive two c ustom ers priority a t the same time . Ifyou try, youwill likely prov ide less tha n excellent service to ea c h. The


15/26


telephone c a ller will likely understand tha t you are involved with anothe rc ustom er and w ill be p a tient p rovided you a re friend ly and c ourteous andthat you return to them as you sa id you would.

Under no circumstancesevershould you conduct a telephone

conversation with the receiver tucked between your chin and shoulder

while you are p rocessing a transac tion with a c ustomer in front of you. This

shows tremendous disrespect for your customer and they will likely be

insulted enough not to return to your store.

An important note regarding incoming telephone calls: Often an

individual from your companys Head Office will call the store/businessreq uesting informa tion from you. Som et ime s it will be your Ma nager,District Manager, Vice President, or even the President/Owner of thec ompany. DO NOT LET THIS CHANGE YOUR TELEPHONE BEHAVIOR. Anyone of your superiors or Head Office staff should understand that thecustomer in front of you is your priority. If you find this is not the case youneed to c la rify the situa tion w ith your Mana ge r.

The L i fe t ime Value o f a Custom er

Knowing how muc h a c ustome r is worth to your co mp any o ver the long-term is the b est wa y to c onvince yourself to b ec ome more c ommitted tokeep ing yo ur c ustom ers happy.

Ca lc ula ting the lifetime va lue of a c ustome r is rea sona b ly simp le. Take theexample of your local supermarket. A typical family of four will spendapproximately $200 each week on groceries and other household items.Given tha t they ma y be awa y for two weeks a year, that m ea ns they willshop at their supermarket for 50 weeks each year. Over the course of ayear, this single family will spend approximately $10,000 at thatsupermarket. Now, let's assume that the average family stays in theirc om munity for 10 yea rs. Without taking into ac c ount infla tion, tha t one


16/26


family is worth $100,000 ($10,000 per year times 10 years) to thatsupermarket.

Now imagine what type of service -- be it speed, friendliness or specialassistanc e tha t family wo uld get the next time they b oug ht g roc eries ifthe c ashier knew they were w orth $100,000 to the store (not just the $200they were spending that day). It would probably be much better,wo uldn t it? Suddenly, whe n you rea lize the va lue of c ustom ers to yourbusiness over the long-term, making decisions to benefit them (and not

just your sho rt-term bottom line) bec ome muc h easier. Take the time tofigure out w ha t a c ustome r is wo rth to your business.

Store Maintenanc e and Cleanl iness Standards:

Because the store is open to the public it is very important that thepremises be kep t c lea n a nd we ll mainta ined .

The best way to ma inta in these standards is to a ttend to them on a

continuous basis. Major cleaning and maintenance should be donebefore or after business hours but many smaller tasks can be performedwhile the store is op en.

Regular dusting, organizing, tidying, folding, hanging, etc. by allemployees will help to keep the store in order without a huge timec ommitment o n the p art of just one or two emp loyees.

Checklist:

g lass on w indow s and doo rsmirrorsequipmentfloorsshelveslight fixturesc eiling vents


17/26


cupboards/closetscountersbathroomsga rba ge c ontainers

Custom er Serv ic e as a Loss Prevent ion Tec hnique

Loss prevention means to prevent losses of company assets.Shop lifting c rea tes losses of o ne of the c om panys mo st signific antassets their inventory. To a new reta il person the idea of d ea ling witha shoplifter (sometimes referred to as boosters but this is usuallydep end ant on their me thods) can seem quite sc ary but you rea lly donot have a c hoic e in the matter if you a re to p rotec t the co mp anysassets.

Always remember that your safety is most important. Never put yourself in

harms way to c atch a thief.

If dea ling w ith a shop lifter conflicts with your idea s on c ustom er service it ishelpful to remember that great, focused customer service skills will help

you throug h it. Shop lifters look like every other c ustome r so w hen you seea c ustom er who loo ks suspic ious you need to pay very spe c ia l attention tothem.

Be sure to make them aware of your presence through yourgreeting and ap proa c h.Ma ke a me nta l note of the ir physic a l desc rip tion in case youare asked to assist in the completion of a police report lateron.Sta y c lose enoug h to see what the y a re d oing . Shop lifters liketo hide b ehind rac ks and ta b les.Sta rt a c onversa tion which e ngages the susp ic ious ind ividua l.Ask the b asic op en e nded questions as you no rma lly wo uld todete rmine the ir need s.Do not be deterred when the suspicious individual tries tomake you go away. Continue to stay close and keepc onversa tion going.


18/26


A real customer will probably enjoy your undivided attention but ashoplifter will l ikely become agitated because they wont be able toshoplift when you are showing so much interest in them. If this is the case,the shoplifter will likely leave your store and go elsewhere to commit theircrime.

Tea ms of Shop lifters req uire a d ifferent approa c h. The p oint o f tea mshoplifting is distraction. One team member will demand the attention ofone or more store a ssoc ia tes or c rea te a ma jor disturbanc e tha t w ill lea vethe actual shoplifter(s) free to steal as much as they can carry while thed isturbanc e is being d ea lt w ith.

Thing s to look for:

3 or more individuals entering the store, usually heading ind ifferent d irec tions; these teams rarely shop tog etherall well dressed; possibly suits with oversized coats some ofthese o versized c oa ts have la rge, lined pouc hes sew n insidethey may be carrying lined bags which will defeat anelec tronic a la rm system (EAS); these bags ma y c a rry thename of a well known retailer but, upon closer examination,

you can see the bag is homemade and the retailers namehas been printed , fraudulently, on the frontunreasonab le requests or dema nd s for your atte ntion

If you find yourself in this situation you will need to act according to thenumber of sta ff in your store a t the time.

If possible one staff member should be dedicated to each of theshoppers . Sta ff me mb ers should stay c lose to the suspec ts, ma ke lots ofc onversation, ma intain eye c ontac t with the suspe c ts ba g or coa t.

If you are alone, remember to stay calm and do not be distracted bywha teve r d isturbanc e the shop per is trying to c rea te. Plac e a c a ll to thesecurity department in your shopping centre and ask that they come toyour sto re q uickly.

Ma ke a me nta l note of the physic a l desc rip tions, as above .


19/26


These teams ab solutely do no t wa nt to b e c aught b ec ause theirlivelihood depends on their success and they cannot afford to becomeknown to the polic e. So, onc e d ete c ted they will likely run from the storeas quickly as possible and move on to another store. If you are in a stripma ll or stand a lone store you w ill likely be a b le to ge t the license num berof the g eta wa y vehicle. How eve r, do no t put yourself in da nge r to d o this.

Ca ll the p olic e a nd desc ribe the incident.

You c an b ec ome a ma jor asset to your c ompa ny by p rovid ing e xc ellentcustomer service to every single customer who enters your store.

Customer service is the first, and most important, step you can take toprotect your companys assets. If you use customer service and sellingstep s with every c ustom er shop lifting inc idents will be red uc ed . Shop lifterscase stores to find out their level of attention to customers. You definitelydo not wa nt your store to be know n a s one tha t igno res c ustom ers. On thecontrary, you want to be know as a store in which every customer iswe lc om ed and a ttend ed to fo r the d ura tion of the ir visit. This will not onlyinspire customers to visit you again and again, but it will signal shopliftersto stay a wa y.

Proper Conduct of Employees

There are a few things tha t new and inexperienc ed reta il em ployee s oftendo that a re no t a pp rop riate . Take a wa lk through a ny shop ping ma ll andyou will see examples. Usually these things are done because theemployee has had no prior experience or exposure to the retailenvironment and they simply do not know that these things areina pprop ria te. Perhaps no one has ever told them . While m any will rea lizetha t it is c om mo n sense not to do these things, som e don t:

inviting friend s and fam ily me mb ers in to c hat while on duty


20/26


using the company phone to call and chat with friends andrelatives; som etimes these a re long d ista nc e c a lls tha t w ill bec harged to the com pa nyc hewing g um o r drinking po p / c offee o n the sales floo roffering to g et friend s or family a g oo d pric e o n merc hand isekeeping their cell phone turned on and even taking callswhile on dutylea ning on fixtures or countersstand ing a t the c ash d esk while d oing no thing

Som e o f the a bove beha viors a re simp ly inapprop ria te b ut others

c onstitute a buse of c om pany prop erty or p rivileg e a nd , whe n disc ove red ,would be just c ause for d ismissa l.

Punctual i ty , Rel iabi l i t y and Flexib i l i t y :

Employees working in a retail/customer service organization need tounderstand that there are some special requirements when it comes topunctuality, reliability and flexibility.

The smo oth op eration of a reta il store d ep end s la rge ly on the worksc hedule. The w ork sc hed ule ta kes a lot o f time and effo rt to p rep a re. Itmust ta ke into ac c ount the needs of the c ustom ers and the business, theava ilab ility and qua lity of life of staff memb ers and ma nag eme nt and thewa ge c osts of the business. Onc e prep ared , it ma y be cha nge dfreq uently in orde r to a c c ommodate ma ny variab les.

It is very important, therefore, that employees respect the work schedule.If one emp loyee is la te for a shift, another ma y not be a b le to g o home ontime. If an employee does not show up at all, some other employee will

have to stay o r c om e in to work on a da y they are no t sc hed uled to w ork.These things d isrup t the business and the lives of the a ffec ted em ployeesand, possibly, their families.

As a retail/customer service employee you must be flexible enough toc hange your wo rk sc hed ule w hen required . There are ma ny events whichc om e up unexpec ted ly and the reta ilers ability to p rovide the sta ffing


21/26


req uired to meet the c hang ing needs of the business will contribute to thesuc c ess of the orga niza tion.

Suc c ess tip: If you want to get m ore hours or a raise reme mb er that yourMa nager will co nsider your punc tua lity, reliab ility a nd flexib ility in a dd itionto your productivity when making a decision. In retail, these attributesc anno t be underestima ted .

Unders tand ing and Meet ing t he Expect a t ions o f Your Employer :

First of all you must ensure you understand what your employerexpects of you. For example, what you are expected to wear,how you a re supposed to ha nd le c ertain situa tions, wha t you a reaccountable for, etc. Your employer has a responsibility to letyou know what is expected of you. Ask questions for clarificationif necessary.

Once you understand what is expected of you it is imperative that youlive up to those expectations or resign from your position. You cannotcontinue to work for an employer with whom you disagree about whatyou should , or are willing to, c ontribute . The e mp loye r dec ides wha t isexpec ted of its em ploye es. It is very simp le. If you do not resign from yourposition, you need to fulfill the requirements of the job by living up to theexpectations.

Appeara nc e Dress Code and Groom ing Stand ards:

Clean First a nd foremost, you must b e c lea n a t a ll time s.

Neat Do no t show up for work loo king like you have just bee n


22/26


drag ged through a hedg e o r have e ndured a hurric ane

App ropriate image for the business Your ap pea ranc e should reflec t theima ge of your compa ny, where p ossible a nd rea sona ble.

Pressed Do not wea r c lothes tha t a re wrinkled . This me ans tha t c a rryingyour wo rk clothes in the b otto m o f your bac kpa c k is out o f the q uestion.

Polished You must appear professional and this requires that you lookwe ll put toge ther and polished .

Posture One of the easiest ways to determine if a person is enthusiasticand involved in their work is to look at their posture. A person who isslumped over and dragging their feet does not inspire confidence incustomers.

Hair style Be rea sona b le. This doe s not mea n tha t ha ir should notbe stylish or even trendy. Of course it can be, but it should neverborde r on b izarre.

Piercing These should be minima l. Depend ing on the business

you are in you may get away with excessive piercing but,ge nerally spea king , fewer pierc ing are preferred .

Tattoos Cover them. You may find that many customers dontunderstand the stag e you were go ing throug h when you g ot them. And,honestly, it rea lly isn t a ny o f the ir business. Ta tto os are a private ma tte r sokeep them that way.

Comfort Your c lothing a nd shoes should be stylish b ut c om fortab le. Youcannot be efficient if you are wearing clothes that are too tight or shoesthat c ause you to limp around ha lf wa y throug h your shift.

Make-up The nature of your business ma y d icta te w ha t make-up isappropriate. If not, follow the less is better doctrine youll be morec om fortab le a nd it w ill take you less time to g et ready for work.


23/26


Belly tops Dont wear them. Customers did not come into your store tosee your ba re tum my.

Cleavage (female) or chest (male) bearing tops Again, dont wearthem. You are there to sell merchandise and provide service and not toadvertise your physic a l att ributes.

Success tip: When in doubt about what is appropriate just ask your Manager.


24/26


Seven Deadly Sins of Cust om er Servic e

1. Apathy: A just don't-give-a-damn attitude on the part of

the salesperson or an impression conveyed to the customer

in terms of Do I look like I give a damn?". Some people get

this way when they get bored with their jobs and nobody is

reminding them that their job priority is to serve the

customers.

2. Brush-Off: Trying to get rid of the customer by brushing-

off his or her need or problem; trying to "slam-dunk" the

customer with some standard procedure that doesn't solve

the problem but lets the service person off the hook for

doing anything special.

3. Coldness: A kind of chilly hostility, curtness,

unfriendliness, inconsiderateness, or impatience with the

customer that says, "You're a nuisance; please go away." It

is amazing to find that so many restaurants carefully select

the most moody, depressed, hostile person they can find for

the hostess-cashier job, making sure the customer's first

and last moments of truth are good ones.

4. Condescension: Treating the customer with a

patronizing attitude, such as many health-care people do.


25/26


They call the doctor "Doctor Jones," but they call you by

your first name and talk to you like you're four years old.

5. Robotism: "Thank-you-have-a-nice-day-NEXT." The

fully mechanized worker puts every customer through the

same program with the same standard motion and slogans,

and with no trace of warmth or individuality. A variant of this

is the smiling robot who gives a permanent "star" smile, butyou can tell nobody's home upstairs.

6. Rule Book: Putting the organizational rules above

customer satisfaction, with no discretion on the part of the

service person to make exceptions or use common sense.

Banks are famous for this; they usually do everything

possible to eliminate all traces of human thought and

judgement, with the result that no one is authorized to think.

Any customer problem with more than one moving part

confounds their system.

7. Runaround: "Sorry, you'll have to call (see) so-and-so.

We don't handle that here." Airline people have made this

into an art; the ticket agent tells you the gate people will

take care of it, and the gate people tell you to see the ticket

agent when you get to your destination, and the agent at

your destination tells you to have your travel agent take

care of it.


26/26

When you make sure you are not committing any of the

sins above, you are better than 75% of the

people out there already.

Retail Customer Service Fundamentals

Documents

Transcript of Retail Customer Service Fundamentals