“I
would like to witness price drops in person just as they appear on TV when the Wal-Mart yellow smiley face does its thing.”+
I like salespeople who let you browse when you say you are just looking.–
You no more get in the door, and a salesperson wants to know if he or she can help you with something!–
I just like to be left alone to look around; if I need help I will ask for it.+
Help but only when I need it–
Salespersons who follow you around–
Clerks who insist on helping even after I have declined their offer–
Any store where sales staff is so pushy you almost have to be mean to them or leave the store to get any relief!–
Associates who look at you and hurry off, so they won’t have to help you–
Associates who never say anything, no thank you, how are you do-ing, or anything+
Clerks who are willing to call another store to find what you want and then offer to have it shipped to you92 W he n Cu stom ers Talk
+
Clerks who are willing to find out an answer, even if they don’t know it off the top of their head–
It’s bad when I know more about a sales promotion than the sales-people do!–
Pushy customers+
Stores that go out of their way to get the exact product you want· · · · ·
“Once when I was looking for a nice suit to wear to a friend’s wed-ding, I wandered into a high-class men’s apparel store. As I looked at sev-eral expensive suits, a salesman asked what I was doing. I told him about the wedding and that I wanted to wear a knockout suit.
“He looked me up and down and told me that he didn’t think the store had what I was looking for. I knew why. I was wearing jeans with holes and a T-shirt. While pulling out my wallet, I informed the sales-man that he should not judge people by what they are wearing and waved a wad of Bens (hundred-dollar bills) under his nose.
“A supervisor appeared and apologized, but I took my money down the mall and spent it elsewhere.”
· · · · ·
“As the owner of a relatively large warehouse that distributes auto-motive products over 17 states, I live a rather comfortable life, which in-cludes a summer home located on a tree farm in southern Indiana. My mother, who is very well off, was visiting and asked me to assist her in buying a new car. She had been driving a Cadillac but felt she wanted something slightly smaller this time.
“I felt I needed to assist her but was not really dressed for the chore, because I had been moving fences for the horse all day. I never-theless agreed and proceeded to the local dealer. We were greeted af-ter a time and, as we walked through the showroom, I noticed an older Mercedes convertible. I had been wanting a new toy since I had sold my Corvette a year or so before. I asked the salesman how much the Mercedes might be.
“He must have prejudged my ability to pay, because he replied, “If you have to ask, you probably couldn’t afford it.” Since the dealer was a friend of mine, I let the comment drop, left the store, and made an all-cash purchase with the competition.”
· · · · ·
How Customers Want to Be Served 93
–
Employees who act as if you are an inconvenience when you ask for directions+
Those who treat you as a special person–
Salespeople too busy with personal conversations to help you–
Salespeople who try to sell you more than you want or need+
Well-trained salespeople who are easy to find on the sales f loor–
Salespersons who work on commission+
Being willing to tell you that their product may not be the best choice–
Sales associates who refuse to make eye contact–
People who cannot count change and who are lost if a register goes down+
Any salesperson who makes eye contact and can count change+
Friendly people who smile, care about customers, and enjoy their work–
Employees who talk to other employees about personal issues while they are ringing me up+
Recognizing that I am a regular customer· · · · ·
“I believe the customer who has left the house and gone to the trou-ble of coming to your store deserves service before customers who call on the phone. Salespeople should ignore ringing phones or put them on hold until the customer at the register is taken care of.”
· · · · ·
“As a veteran of almost 50 years in the retail and government food industry, I never cease to be amazed at the lack of attention or down-right discourtesy given to customers who are in the store to spend money and who therefore pay the salaries of the employees.
“Too many employees act as if they are doing you a favor by shop-ping at that store. I attribute this performance directly to lack of proper management. Many years ago, I was told by a senior manager that he could enter a store and, after standing just inside the selling area for five or ten minutes, would know the personality of the top management of that location. I have found this to be so true.
“If employees are smiling at customers, offering to pick up that piece of paper that just fell on the f loor, and so on, you can be assured you are witnessing the result of attentive, fair-minded management that
94 W he n Cu stom ers Talk
encourages the staff to provide customers with the most pleasant ser-vice experience possible.”
· · · · ·
“There is a checker at our grocery store whose face would most likely crack if she smiled. I actually avoid her checkout line. Of course, that is probably what she wants me to do.”
· · · · ·
–
When someone who works for a store I’m shopping curses–
Young girls with nose rings. I want to hand them a Kleenex.–
Checkout clerks who chew gum with their mouths open–
Clerks with straggly hair and unkempt clothing that chew gum–
Not treating employees well in front of customers–
Clerks on the phone with their friends–
Being cashed out by someone having a complex conversation with either another cashier or, worse, on the cell phone–
Salespeople who don’t speak English are a big turnoff.–
Clerks who walk right by you when they know you need help–
Being called honey or sweetie–
Having our group addressed as guys–
Being ignored in a hardware store because you are a woman–
Handing over money I have worked hard for to someone who is disrespectful+
Cashiers who say hello and thank you–
Retailers who ask for your address and phone number or zip code–
Clerks who do not say one word during an entire transaction. I had to look at the register screen to find out how much to pay.–
When restaurant servers ask if you want change+
When a cashier or clerk gives me a friendly smile–
Pushing extended warranties–
Out-of-stock sale items, especially right after the sale is an-nounced. They said they only had to have one in stock to run the ad. It’s a great way to get customers in the store once but once will be enough!· · · · ·
“I hate bad service, especially when it’s from a store I want to shop regularly. My son and I went to check it out opening day of a new T.J.
Maxx store. At the time, he was a young man and looked like a teenager.
He had on a large bulky coat with many pockets and was also carrying a bag from the store we had just shopped.
How Customers Want to Be Served 95
“At one side of the store were all of the suits and higher-ups from the company admiring their new store. The security lady told my son he had to take the bag to the front of the store and leave it at the counter.
This had never happened to him or me at any other store. My take on the situation was that the security person was being overzealous in order to show the brass she was on the ball for shoplifters.
“We turned around and walked out, and T.J. Maxx has never gotten another penny from me.”
· · · · ·
+
The people at Safeway are very nice and that’s why I started shop-ping there.+
Whole Foods Market and Safeway stores have very friendly, help-ful checkers of all ages and ethnicities. Both stores have good ser-vice and short lines.+
Let me look, offer to help, and then leave me alone unless I ask for help again. Dillard’s is very good at this.+
Home Depot has salesclerks who actually know the locations of merchandise, answer questions in a friendly manner, and truly make shopping a pleasure.+
I like to ask questions in a home improvement store and get an-swers I actually understand. Lowe’s is good at this.+
Salesclerks at Foleys always thank you by name when you pur-chase by credit card.+
I like to receive specialized assistance and training in a home re-modeling project. The best retailer in this regard is Home Depot.+
Smaller mom-and-pop stores are best, as they are happy to see you shop with them.–
I can’t stand high-end places like Neiman Marcus and Lord & Tay-lor that sell junk at ridiculous prices trying to be trendy.–
Furniture and car salespeople are the worst!+
When I am looking at electronics, I like for salespeople to ask if I have questions and, if they don’t know the answers, find someone who does. (Wal-Mart)+
I like stores that offer senior discounts. Kohl’s is great about this.I just qualified! We deserve a break!
–
Best Buy is awful. The salespeople are pushy and, worse, are dumb. They know nothing about the product they’re selling, and they constantly push service contracts that you don’t need or want.96 W he n Cu stom ers Talk
–
On discovering an item is out of stock, the salesperson tries to push me into buying something else instead of what I wanted. I’ve had this experience at Best Buy.+
Barnes & Noble has a dedicated information center with a num-ber of helpful salespeople.+
Babies R Us associates are smart, funny, and helpful.–
Some furniture stores spend years going out of business.+
Sears has frequent sales and stands behind its products.–
Shoe salespeople who don’t have the size you request but bring out shoes in sizes that aren’t even close!· · · · ·
“I will drive 20 miles to grocery shop at AJ’s Fine Foods. It has soft lighting and quality foods. I appreciate premade salads and dinners, as I don’t have time to make them myself. (I’m spending too much time on-line completing surveys!)
“The most-offensive service I ever experienced was at 24 hour Fit-ness. The salesperson, assistant sales manager, and sales manager prac-tically cornered me and gave me a panic attack. I cried all the way home”