Article:

Are You Driving Customers Away? --
What's Holding You Back from
Delivering Great Customer Service?

By Anne M. Obarski

According to a recent Conference Board survey, the single biggest concern for CEO's globally today is retaining their existing customer base. As Ashok Gopal states in the Gallup Management Journal, "It looks like companies are rediscovering a basic tenet: no customers, no business."

So what is driving customers away? Ask anyone you know about the type of customer service they receive from any company and you will more than likely get a story about how horrible the service was or how unknowledgeable the employee was, or how un-caring the manager was. It is more the "norm" for any of us to talk about a "bad" service experience rather than an exceptional one.

According to GfK Custom Research Inc., January, 2004, poor service drove shoppers out of the stores in December 2003. Customers were disappointed in their shopping experiences in large and small stores nationwide in the following 3 key service areas:

I remember teaching these same basic principles to my college students years ago in a Retail 101 class! Why is it that we are not listening to our customers? Why are we driving them away when we can easily offer what they are asking for, if we so choose?

I recently did a consulting project for a large food store chain in which we did a "mystery shop" to find out what their customers really experienced as they shopped. My favorite question out of all of the questions was the following: "Would you return to this store based on your customer service experience?"
I had to ask myself, isn't that the goal of every business?

The first time we polled the customers, their response to that last question was 65% of the customers would return to that chain of stores based on their customer service experience.

We then conducted a large training program that addressed many of the other areas that the customers deemed important. Some of the areas that we addressed were: ease of shopping, selection of merchandise, easy-to-understand signage, helpful as well as knowledgeable employees and finally, teaching the employees to say thank-you. Did your eyebrows go up on that last one? Mine did!

During the training program, the employees were challenged to see if they could "move" the 65% satisfaction rate, just 5%. We didn't ask for the world. The most recent reports showed that they exceeded that number and achieved a 74.6% satisfaction rate, or in other words, almost 75% of the customers said they would return to the store based on their customer service experience.

That number could prove to be a huge addition to sales, and more importantly, as an indication of satisfied customers who might tell others about a "positive" experience!

Interestingly, the biggest changes came in the area of human relationships. Ashok Gopal is again quoted saying, "While about 70% of customers' buying decisions are based on positive human interaction with sales staff, companies dedicate a miniscule 10% of their resources to ensuring that positive human interactions will take place.” Where are your priorities?

So, how do you bring customers in, not drive them away? The 3 simple directions that will help us not get lost!

1. A good roadmap!

Arrange the store or business so that people can easily find what they need. Stock the shelves, displays and counters with merchandise in such a way that you look like you believe in your products.

Help the customer answer their own questions, when they need to, by providing informative signage that looks professional and not like something your first-grader did! Make it easy to maneuver through your business. Unusual floor plans and oddly placed shelving may look "trendy", but it serves only to frustrate the customer.

2. Good directions!

Train, train to retain! Maintain an ongoing training program so that your employees are knowledgeable about products, policies and people. Hire them, schedule them and allow them to be the resource for the customer. How many times have you been in a business or on the phone and all you want is someone to help you! Why are we making it so difficult for people who want to give us their hard-earned money to do so?

Update employees on new merchandise, how it is used and the best way to sell it. Teach your employees different ways to use that product as an "add-on" to a sale, in which the customer truly will benefit. Inspire your employees to be more than just a "parrot"; "Thanks", "Have a nice day", "Put that on your charge", "Did you find everything you were looking for?" etc. just means, pass the crackers!

3. Good Co-pilot!

Buying and selling can be an "emotional" business. Help make it a positive one for your customers. It seems so trite to say, "Smile, make eye contact, listen with both ears, think before speaking and thank them for doing business with you" but that is exactly what your customers are asking for and they are telling you in black and white that it is a large part of what keeps them coming back.

I live in western Pennsylvania and it always seems like our roads are "under construction". There are times I thought it would have been nice to have been the person who thought up those orange cones or barrels that are seen on highways letting you know that there is construction ahead. I find myself taking a longer route just to avoid those headaches. Why is it so hard to get where I want to go? It seems so easy, yet so frustrating at times.

I think that is how customers see businesses. You advertise that this is how I can get what I need and then you put up lots of roadblocks to make my journey long and difficult. What roadblocks can you remove to make your customers' journey a quick and pleasant one? I think your customer is looking for that "preferred" parking place. But you're going to have to move that orange cone first!

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: www.merchandiseconcepts.com or email Anne at anne@merchandiseconcepts.com.

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