When you are working with the public, everything banks on your ability to provide adequate customer service. The more in tune you are with your customers and their needs, the more equipped you are to serve them to the best of your ability. When you need a little boost, here are five things you can try:
1. Greet the customers as they walk in
Believe it or not, sometimes the simple things will help have the customer have a positive experience in your store, and this can start with greeting your customer. Make sure you smile, make eye contact, and ask them how they are doing. The greeting alone can open the door for them to tell you what they’re looking for or ask you the location where a specific item is.
2. Look for selling opportunities
When you are serving customers, they do not always know exactly what they want. When you are helping someone to discover their needs, take the opportunity to throw in suggestions to sell a related product. Also do this for when you do not stock the actual item that the customer desires. This skill takes considerable time to master since you do not want to appear as being overly aggressive or pushy. An example for a shoe store might be that a customer found a pair of shoes that she likes but she wears an adult size 7.5. In this situation, it may be best to walk her to the kid’s section where you have those same style shoes but kid’s size 6, which you have in stock. There are times like this where the customers may not realize that kid’s shoes sometimes run 1.5 sizes smaller than adult shoes.
3. Make an effort to know your customers
Every human enjoys being acknowledged. If you have a regular customer, get to know their name. Being able to greet a customer by name enhances the chance of creating a positive experience on their part. This makes the customer feel valued, increasing the chances significantly of them returning regularly to continue doing business. Let’s say you run a pool supply store. Understanding how the customer uses their pool may be mutually beneficial. The customer may have their daughter’s birthday pool party coming up and you can show them the cool giraffe pool float that is gigantic you just got in stock. The customer might have been just going in to make sure the pool will be blue for the party, but now, with your help acknowledging the customer, the pool party is going to be a big hit and one of the other parents at that party is going to come into your store because their kid loved the pool float as well. This helps to ensure the customer becomes a repeat customer.
4. Go out of your way to help customers within your limits
If you are serving a customer that is unfamiliar with your services or the layout of your building, assist them in what way you can. If you are able to leave your post to show the customer to where they want to go, it relieves stress and builds a positive experience. It is much easier to walk with the customer in a flower shop to the long stemmed yellow roses than it is for them to possibly struggle to find the item they are looking for. Sometimes, there is just nothing you can do to satisfy a customer but if you show real effort; the customer will remember it as being positive overall.
5. Let an angry customer rant
Despite your best efforts to please customers, there will be times when a customer will become aggravated. In most cases, if you just remain quiet and let your customer rant, they will be much easier to communicate with after they calm down. Most people just want their frustrations heard, at the very least. If your customer becomes verbally abusive, advise them that you will not be able to serve them until they calm down so that you can communicate on a professional level. If little else is working, call your supervisor since they should have more training and experience and help turn your customer’s frowns upside down when they are becoming more hostile.
6. Thank your customers for shopping at your store or using your services
Always thank your customer after having completed a service. This allows the customer to have closure for any transactions that have taken place. It allows for the customer to feel valued and they will be more inclined to do business with you in the future.
So applying these simple tactics to your customer service routine will not only create more positive experiences for those you serve, but it will also boost your confidence and make for a better working experience.
11
February