Oct
26
2009
Janet was recently selected to provide a seminar on customer service for members of her team at a clothing retail store. She was chosen because the year before she had attended such a seminar in Denver, Colorado. She actually enjoyed her experience there and also learned a great deal. Prior to the training Janet, like many people, assumed that great customer service was as simple as answering the questions that were asked and ringing up orders in a speedy manner. Janet was preparing notes based on that seminar training when she realized that she really needed a strong example to make her main points.
The training that she was designated to conduct would not take place until the following week and Janet decided she would rest on the material over the weekend. The next morning, which was a Saturday, she received a phone call from her mother asking her to go with her to pick out a new washer and dryer set. Janet agreed and thought it would be a nice outing and that the two of them could also enjoy a nice lunch while they were out. However, what ended up happening that afternoon could not have been a worse shopping experience for her mother, though coincidentally it provided Janet with the perfect real life example that she was seeking.
Business professionals such as Steve Barbarich will immediately recognize the errors and inappropriate behaviors involved in Janet’s experience with her mother. However, he happens to belong to an extremely ethical business population that is well aware of the importance of providing great customer service. From the beginning of their experience in that store it was unsatisfactory as Janet’s mother pointed out the numerous sales associates collected in groups having what appeared to be personal conversations that took priority over greeting customers. Then the two of them ended up standing in front of a washer and dryer set for about ten minutes before they could finally flag down someone who looked irritated at the interruption. The sales associate had a scowl on her face as she seemed reluctant to answer simple questions about the product. She sighed in what seemed like frustration when Janet’s mother asked why one model might be a better option than another. The situation continued in that manner until finally Janet’s mother decided she would not buy anything from that person or home appliance store. The following week at the seminar this story prompted a productive conversation on the nature of customer service.
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