We have this idea of customer service being drummed into us at present... here's a good comment I found...
"I sell yarn, and teach knitting, which is an admittedly unrelated part of retail. But. I suspect some things I have learned will be helpful to you.
1. Remember what the person likes. This takes time. Yesterday I was able to pull out just exactly the type of pattern that a customer was hoping to find (Her description: a cardigan for a baby girl, fun enough to make for twins. This could have been any infant cardigan pattern in the store.) Had I not paid any attention to her in previous visits she would have had to look through two huge binders of baby sweater patterns to decide for herself. As it was I was able to hand her one binder to browse while I pulled out the pattern from the other. She was impressed and because she trusts me she didn't look for something "more perfect."
2. Also of your repeat customers: remember little things about their lives, if they've shared them. Don't ask complete strangers anything personal, but if they share unprompted they're likely to be impressed if you remember. Again, this takes practice. If Jack is always buying ping pong balls whenever the grandkids come into town and mentions that they're having a birthday party for the six year old this weekend, and that's why he's getting more than usual (is it obvious I know nothing about sporting goods? I thought so.), remember that when he comes in again.
3. If your company has a distasteful policy (doesn't take AmEx, doggies are not allowed in, returns have time limitations) that the customer is (knowingly or otherwise) attempting to get around, be polite about it. This wording works well for me, "I'm sorry Jane, we can't accept American Express, but we do take Visa, Mastercard, or Cash." This lets them know what their options are, and prevents them from pulling out a checkbook or Discover card as option two.
4. Don't dress like a slob. This is kind of hard for me sometimes. It means that I have to stop wearing shoes once they look the least bit beat up. My favorite pair of jeans with the busted belt loop stays at home, and I brush my hair. It's amazing how much more seriously people take me when I take an extra moment to assess myself in the mirror before I leave the house. I tend to dress a little "older" because I look so young. But it helps reinforce the fact that I didn't learn to knit last year.
5. Know everything you can about your area of expertise. For me this means reading all the current knitting magazines, being involved in a huge online community, practicing different techniques, and reading the blogs of famous knitters. It also means that I try as many different yarns as I can get my hands on, even many we don't stock at my store. This means when a customer brings me a pattern and says, "I want to make this, help me find a yarn," I can say, "Oh, I've used the Claudia's Handpainted Sock Yarn (It's actually called Fingering, but that's just kind of funny), I really like it and we carry the Cherry Tree Hill, which uses the same base yarn and comes in lots of great colors." What I mean is, be able to offer a comparison. Obviously, I know it's easier for me to try out a $5 or even $20 ball of yarn than for you to run a mile in multiple pairs of $150 shoes. That is why I say "everything you can" and not "absolutely everything there is to know."
6. Keep track of every single question that customers ask you for, say a week. Note which ones come up the most. Find and know the answers to all the questions. Repeat every few months. If a question comes up about a particular product (or class of products) with surprising regularity, don't wait for it to be asked! For us it's machine washability. I nearly always ask people up front if they have washability requirements for the garment they're making. If they say yes then I don't need to show them Alpaca Silk blends. If they pick up un-washable products I can say, "that would work with your gauge, but it would have to be hand washed." And our customers appreciate this. I'm sure there's something related in sporting goods.
7. Bonus - be able to give basic directions in the neighborhood of your store. How to get there from major streets, as well as a few decent places to eat. You will be amazed at how often you notice people asking for this kind of information once you're actually prepared to give it.
posted by bilabial at 12:14 PM on July 23 2008 on Ask Metafilter, in response to the question "How can I be a better retail employee who is helpful, but does not annoy you?"
The Divine Muses
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