Making it count at the counter
We always plan and talk about how we can
capture new customers, but have we ever spent any time and
given any thought about why we lose them?
I was amazed to discover that more than
30 percent of customers — among them the first-time
customers — don’t come back, not becayuse of price,
service or quality, but because of counter help indifference.
 | ||
Maybe the counter person is having a
personal conversation with a friend and gives the customer
absolutely no recognition and then does not apologize for
keeping the customer waiting.
Then when the customer is finally being
attended to, the counter person offers a curt “When do
you want it for?” Or maybe states, “We mean
Wednesday, not Wednesday morning!”
“How about this stain?” the
customer may ask. “I thought you could get it
out.”
“Hey, we didn’t put the stain
in” comes the answer. “Give us a break!”
It happens in every business —
restaurants, and department stores, as well as drycleaners
— that because of the indifference of the counter people,
customers never come back and go looking for more courteous
service at another store with more understanding customer
service people.
How can a company prevent such deplorable
conduct?
It starts with good hiring. You have to
interview prospective counter personnel with an eye toward
making certain they have the right attitude.
A counter person should be a
“people person” with a personality that can
exercise some patience. One characteristic that all counter
people should have is to be an extrovert who enjoys working
with other people.
We have many types of personalities that
can continually work alone and prefer the solitude that lets
them concentrate on the task at hand. They may even dislike
dealing with personal contact and the problems that dealing
with the public brings.
Such personalities may be suitable to
being lab technicians or in other positions that don’t
require public contact. But that is one type of person we
don’t want working at the counter. They will dislike
having to smile or being accommodating and if they are
unfortunate to be placed in that position, they show their
resentment in subtle ways that the customer easily detects.
How do you know this before you hire? Be
careful and cautious when interviewing. Ask the questions that
will reveal the personality of the prospective candidate.
Describe situations that call for acts of patience and look for
creative answers.
For example, the customer says, “I
know it’s a holiday week, but could I have it tomorrow?
Or is it possible that you can deliver this to me tomorrow
morning?”
Or a customer may ask, “This stain
has been on there a long time and I don’t even know what
it is. Can it be removed?”
All these questions require training to
give the best answer, but a smiling and understanding counter
person can handle any situation, no matter how complex, and
leave the customer with the feeling that good answers were
given and the correct attitude was displayed.
As I have preached many times: “You
never get a second chance to make a first
impression.”
 |
