A Reminder About The Importance of Customer Service

By JeannetteMG on November 18, 2009

Jeanette
Giancaspro is a consumer reader of Scrapbook Update. She joins us a
guest blogger today to share her perspective on what is really
important to her as a consumer. You can learn more about her by
visiting her blog It’s My Crafty Life.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother owned a yarn store. It
wasn’t just any yarn store. It was “Connie’s Yarn Shop,” and her
customers came from miles around to spend the day (and often the
evening) knitting and crocheting, and making all sorts of wonderful
creations. The reason for my grandmother’s success wasn’t just her wide
selection of goods and services. She also gave her customers
outstanding customer service. As soon as they walked into her store,
they felt valued, appreciated, and welcome. That is one of the keys to
operating a successful business.

Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the norm these
days. Here’s a scenario with which I’m sure many of you can relate: I
go into a large craft store looking for a particular item. I look on
the shelf where I expect it to be, but it’s not there. I look around
for a sales associate to help me, but there is no one around. I search
the store and find someone who appears to be annoyed even before I ask
her a question. After I inquire about the product, she looks at me as
if I’m crazy and says something like, “I’ve never heard of that,” or
“If it isn’t on the shelf, we don’t have it.” I look somewhere else and
find it. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, and trying to use
a valid coupon that the cashier refuses to accept, I leave frustrated
and angry.

I don’t think this is the way most retail store owners want us to
leave their stores. I believe that everyone who owns a store truly
wants his/her customers to be happy. The problem lies in employee
training and supervision. Sales associates, cashiers, and stock
personnel must be pleasant, helpful, and knowledgeable. No one can be
expected to know everything, but a pleasant and helpful attitude goes a
long way in customer service.

As a consumer, I feel from my experience that retail store owners
need to pay more attention to training and supervising their employees
so that their stores can compete in these difficult economic times.
They must hold their employees to higher standards and train them more
effectively in customer relations. They should also monitor employees
to ensure that customers are leaving their stores on a positive note.
Can every store be a Connie’s Yarn Shop? Of course not. Can every store
make me feel valued, appreciated, and welcome? Absolutely!