Article:

Old Fashioned Customer Service, Please!

By Anne M. Obarski

Give me a good reason to go shopping and I am out the door and in the car faster than you can say "money"!

A friend of mine shared an article about the new "scan yourself" system that is currently being used at some supermarkets. The article went on to say how much fun it was to use and how the young people will flock to use this type of technology.

She said our neighborhood grocery store had one of these new contraptions!

I told myself I was had to check this out! Grocery shopping for me can be a relaxing experience. I can go into a trance walking up and down the aisles, tasting food, and listening to terrible elevator music and occasionally meeting an old friend who seems to enjoy the experience too. You know the kind. The ones you end up standing talking to until your ice cream melts and forms a puddle at your feet?

So, last Saturday night; I made a trip to my local supermarket just to pick up a few things. A bag of apples, a pumpkin for Halloween, some bananas, a loaf of bread and ice cream. As I rounded the corner of the last aisle, I spied an empty check out line with the new scanner system. It looked like I could quickly do this and get through and no one would have a clue that this was my first time.

However, there I stood looking at the monitor with all of the directions looking as clear as the first time I opened Windows on my computer! Luckily this sweet, LOUD voice tells you what to do first. And if you don't do it right, she tells you again! And if you miss it the third time there is a great big button that you push to call for help!

Waiting at the end of the cash register is a young cashier whose job it is to help out poor souls like me who think that technology is so easy. With a quick suggestion, I am ringing up my groceries like a real pro! One by one I passed them across the scanner. Each time this charming, LOUD voice would say, "bananas, $.59 a LB", move your bananas to the moving belt, "bread, $1.49", move your bread to the moving belt, and so on, just in case I didn't know what I was buying or where I should put it!

I know the whole store knew exactly what I bought! I can imagine buying something like a laxative. "LAXATIVE, $3.89, move your laxative to the moving belt! Ughhhh!

Well I finally completed my purchase, which took twice as long as if I would have stood in an "old fashioned" line! The voice never wavered on the computer and I don't think she even said, "have a nice day", or "you did a great job your first time". She didn't even ask if I wanted paper or plastic, because I had to bag my groceries.

How much fun is that? I didn't get a chance to hear the bagger and the cashier talk about the previous customer or that they didn't have their break or that I really didn't want paper inside of plastic, did I?

Technology can be a true time saver. Time will tell as to whether more people are going to make their holiday purchases on-line this year. One of the biggest complaints of on-line shopping is the lack of customer service. Bottom line is that people still like to have a conversation with a person.

The tight labor market is pushing many employers to get serious about improving retention rates and improving workplaces. Retail success depends on friendly "human" salespeople who like what they're doing and where they're doing it. The addition of technology is just that, an addition.

Technology is a long way from replacing the smiling face of an employee who loves their job. We can be very robotic at times but it is when we are truly communicating, with our whole being, that relationships and repeat business are cemented. By the way, would you like paper or plastic?

Anne M. Obarski is "The Customer Service Spy!" As a professional speaker and trainer, Anne will work with your company to provide you with the clues to keep your customers coming back. Anne presents keynotes, break-out sessions and customized training, nationwide, in the area of customer service. You'll want her two new books, "Surprising Secrets of Mystery Shoppers" and "Real World Customer Service Strategies That Work". For a limited time get her free, "10 Big Secrets to Giving Mystery Shopper Feedback and Get the Changes You Want", by faxing 636-922-2696 on your letterhead and write the words, BIG SECRETS. For more info go to: http://www.merchandiseconcepts.com or email Anne at anne@merchandiseconcepts.com.

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