Retail Contrarian

The Attack of "How's It Going?" and "May I Help You?"

Most retailers who miss sales do so by ignoring customers.  Others miss sales when they over-engage the customer. Yes, there really can be too much of a good thing!  I know that nothing will run me out of a store faster than too many people trying to help me.

Last year I was in a store that was obviously implementing a new company initiative that required staff to talk to a customer whenever the customer was within a certain distance. I was asked at least eight times either "How's it going?" or "May I help you?" within the first five minutes I was in the store.  The funniest - or maybe it's the saddest - part is that there were only four or five employees working in the store! I was attacked by some of the employees more than once. Either I'm not a very memorable person or they were only going through the motions and didn't really care how I was doing or if I needed help. I suspect it was a little of both.

When I was attacked for the ninth time I snapped and said I'd been doing pretty well until I came into this store and was asked over and over how I was doing. I'm sure they talked about the crabby customer after I left.  I didn't care because I had no plans to return (unless I needed something to write about.)

Greeting or welcoming a customer when they enter your store is an important piece of delivering a quality customer experience.  I was discussing this with some clients on Friday and someone compared it to someone coming to your home.  You welcome them when you answer the door but you don't keep greeting them over and over.

These are the different types of QUALITY engagement that should take place in a store:

1. Greeting and engaging the customer when he/she first comes into the store.  I've covered this many times in the Daily so I won't go into much detail here. What I do think is that it should happen within thirty seconds or so and can be done either verbally or non-verbally.

2. Re-engaging by the same employee who first greeted and engaged the customer. This is often a continuation of the conversation the employee had with the customer. Customers should probably only be re-engaged once unless he/she is clearly open to it. Don't overdo it or you'll ruin their shopping experience and your chance at making a sale.

3. Acknowledging the customer by a different employee. If a sales associate is somewhere near a customer and makes eye contact it more than appropriate to smile and say hello. Sometimes you can tell the customer wants help but more often than not they are just being friendly.  Skip "How's it going?" and "May I help you?"  Just acknowledge the customer and show by your actions that you're willing to help.

4. Engage for a reason. When done well this can be one of your most effective sales tools but when done poorly it is potentially extremely annoying to your customer.  Engaging for a reason is when an employee engages a customer he/she did not initially greet in a conversation.  The engagement can be based on what the customer is looking at, what they are wearing, bags they are carrying, etc.  If the store I wrote about above had engaged for a reason then I wouldn't have left so annoyed.  Then again, engaging the customer nine times in five minutes is annoying no matter how you slice it.

Note what isn't listed:

* Asking customers how you can help them.
* Asking the customer if anyone is helping them.
* Following customers around the store.
* Talking to the customer without purpose.
* Telling someone "welcome" when they're well into the store.

The difference between making and not making goal is often based on a staff's ability to naturally engage the customer.  The difference between a customer having a good or a poor experience is usually based on how much value the employee's engagement approach adds to the customer's experience.

So let me ask, how well do you and your team engage and not over-engage the customer?

Do You Make an Excuse or Give an Apology? (Repost)

This is a repost since the previous post was still in draft form but that darn send button is to close to the preview button! I apologize for the inconvenience and I will do my best to not post a draft again. (See, I take my own advice in today's post.)

I always appreciate it when a company understands the difference between an excuse and an apology.

We have a pizza place in town that delivers a phenomenal pizza in about 45 minutes. A while back we ordered a pizza but after almost an hour and a half we started to wonder where the pizza could be. Right before we called them they called us to say that the pizza driver had been in an accident and they were making a new pizza for us and would deliver as soon as possible.

While disappointed we had to wait even longer, we understand that accidents happen (and were relieved to hear that the driver had not been hurt.) Our pizza eventually arrived and as the delivery person handed us our dinner she told us that it was on the house.

Now if there was ever a good excuse for a pizza being late it was this one, but I appreciate that the company wanted to make the situation right instead of making an excuse.

Excuses may explain why something has happened but they rarely satisfy a customer.

Whenever we need to make an excuse it should always be followed up with an apology and an action to make things right for the customer. Thank you, Upper Crust Pizza for knowing the difference.

So let me ask, does your team know the difference between making an excuse or giving an apology?

Forget customer service. It's all about the experience.

The Core of Apple's Retail Success

Much has been written about the Apple Store experience and what can be learned from its successful retail execution.  From my perspective, what makes the Apple Store strategy work is that it only makes one assumption of its customers: they’re going to buy something in the store, and it will most likely be an Apple product, service, or philosophy.  Unlike the myriad retailers who label or “bucket-ize” potential customers, Apple’s approach seems to treat everyone as a blank slate.

Understanding that anyone can use, enjoy, and appreciate something they sell, Mac Specialists (as Apple’s front-line sales talent are known) are trained to take on individual clients, as opposed to moving among multiple customers.  This allows the Specialist to delve into the customer’s needs, build a comfortable rapport, and recommend a well-tailored solution of product and/or service.

It’s an uncomplicated and effective approach.  It doesn’t absolve the Specialist from the responsibility of selling, and it focuses their attention on the customer.  It encourages them to develop strong listening skills, and increase their knowledge of the store’s products, services, policies, and processes. It’s uncommon for a retailer’s sales approach to successfully serve both the customer experience and the employee’s professional development.  Most retailers have to choose one or the other, and the one not chosen usually suffers.  It’s nice to see Apple has made it work.

Learning From A Bad Stop & Shop Experience

It's easy to spot companies who are and are not customer-centric, especially when you're the customer. The other day I was at the deli counter at my local Stop & Shop when the employee who was helping me was asked by another employee to come down to the other end of the department.  My guy pointed to me and said, "In a minute."  The other guy insisted he come immediately.  Even though my guy was gone probably less than a minute, it really annoyed me.  When my guy returned I asked what his co-worker had wanted. He replied, "To tell me he was going on break."  How rude and self-serving is that? 

After I got my order I went off in search of the manager on duty to complain and who do I run in to but Mr. "My Break is More Important than the Customer."  As I was telling the manger how I felt Mr. Break stood right there saying it wasn't a big deal.  And he's right.  Taking 60 seconds away from my order isn't a big deal.  Interrupting an employee who is waiting on a customer so you can go on break is a HUGE deal. 

Compare that to Whole Foods, whose counter employees always give me their undivided attention.  You're either customer-centric or not.  It's not what we say in meetings or trainings that determine if we're customer-centric or not, it's what our employees do that determines it. 

It's important that your employees know:

1. The customer always comes first.
2. An employee who is with a customer should only be interrupted in case of an emergency.
3. Never carry on a conversation with a colleague who is helping a customer.
4. When in doubt, re-read rule number one.

It is vital that you be aware of how well your team does or does not in this area because trust me, your customers know.

Going Beyond Customer Service

Almost all customer service training includes the same instructions for dealing with unhappy customers. These steps usually include the importance of listening without interruption and the need to empathize, validate, apologize, take responsibility, and agree on a solution. I hope you do all of these - with a smile - when working with dissatisfied customers.

I got to thinking about why some stores are so much better than others at turning unhappy customers into happy loyal customers. Two different stores that seem to be following the same steps often show very different results. I've even seen different results in the same store with different sales associates who have been through the same exact customer service training.

I've come to understand that the best retailers and retail associates add an additional step that helps turn a negative experience into a positive one. Sometimes I'm not sure the people who do this even realize what they're doing; it just comes naturally. The extra step is easing the inconvenience. It's an important part of the solution but it's a step that most people overlook.

For years when I worked in a store I didn't always understand why customers were still mad after I agreed to fix their problem. "Sure I'll swap out that massage chair, sir. All I need you to do is box it back up in the original packaging and bring it back to the store." Why did my unhappy customer remain unhappy? I had listened, empathized, apologized, taken responsibility, and given him a solution! What's the big deal? Obviously the big deal was that I didn't ease the inconvenience. The problem remained a problem for the customer even when given a solution.

To successfully turn unhappy customers into happy loyal customers you need to assess what inconvenience the problem is causing the customer. Will the problem with the product cause the customer any inconvenience? Will the solution, or any part of the solution, cause the customer any inconvenience? Why would I not think that boxing up a defective chair and bringing it back to the store was asking a lot of a customer who was already not too happy about the situation? Obviously if I had asked myself those questions about my discontented massage chair customer I would have offered to swap the chair out in the customer's home.

Try to create a solution that will both WOW the customer and is fiscally responsible. If my car is the shop and the dealer offers to call me a cab, that's not much of a WOW. Giving me a ride somewhere is better, but the biggest WOW is to loan me a car since it does the most to ease the inconvenience. Of course offering me a loaner if I'm only getting my oil changed in my Yugo doesn't make financial sense regardless of how much it WOWs me.

Unfortunately many retailers now look at solutions that ease the inconvenience as a profit center, not the extremely important customer service and experience tool it is. Nothing is less productive than trying to squeeze money out of someone who is already unhappy. Not good. Retailers need to ask themselves if the short-term revenue is worth what the loss of a customer will cost in the long-run.

By the way, the best part about easing a customer's inconvenience is that it makes you a hero in the customer's eyes. And if you make "ease the inconvenience" a regular step in working with unhappy customers, you'll be a hero in mine as well.

This is from our weekly newsletter The Weekly Retail Experience.