I have always been a stalwart for customer service. The truth is that most South African retailer’s fall way short of their customer’s expectations. They have lost sight of basic “Best Practices” and have only succeeded in creating a mire of complaints and unhappiness. There are those few who strive to do their utmost to keep customers happy, but, sadly they are few and far between. These are the great retailers that this post refers to.
The other side of the coin is also true; there are customers that go out of their way to terrorize sales staff and cashiers. There are those who have little or no respect for others and they feel that it is their right to belittle and degrade sales staff and cashiers.
Off the bat, it has to be said that retailers would make a hell of a lot more money if they were honest with their customers rather than lie to make the sale. The very simple principle to under promise and over deliver has also been lost. So HOW do we repair the relationship between retailers and their customers? This question, you may not believe, is a very simple one to answer!
H – Honest
O – Open-minded
W – Willing
The problem with retail in South Africa is that we don’t have enough competition. For example – Wetherley’s don’t really have enough competition, so it’s difficult to threaten them that you’ll go somewhere else if they don’t meet your expectation. Not that I have ever bought anything from them, they are too bloody expensive. So what are your other choices? Go to Osiers, maybe? What if their service is also bad? (Disclaimer – I haven’t had bad experiences with either store, I used them purely as an example).
There are, however a few retailers that are fanatical about service and I don’t believe they should be painted with the same brush as those who aren’t. I have worked at various levels of retail for the last 15 years. My experience is that the manager sets the tone and this will always filter through to junior staff. Retail isn’t easy. Most people who end up in retail as a cashier or sales assistant really had no other choice.
Let’s look at bad service versus good service. Believe me if I don’t get what I ask for then I get seriously annoyed. I have found the one thing that annoys me more than anything else. The inability of managers to make a decision and the barrage of red tape that corporate retail make customers go through to get their problem resolved. The long and short of it is simply –“don’t inconvenience the customer because ‘it’s our policy’”. Vodacom is a prime example (No Disclaimer). If you have ever had to deal with these clowns you will know what I’m referring to. Nothing is urgent for them. Good service is when you have your wallet emptied and you are ecstatic about it! We all want value. Good service is to stop asking, “What do our customers want?” and to start asking “What do our customers do with what they buy from us?”
I have seen some very scary situations in stores when a customer is unhappy. I thought it pertinent to give a few pointers on how to deal with bad service.
1. Don’t raise your voice at the sales person or cashier, speak to their manager, he/she is to blame. Don’t scream and shout at the manager either, he/she will be less likely to help you if you do. If you want to shout at a manager do it in the office, you don’t risk making an idiot out of yourself.
2. If the product is defective it is the fault of the manufacturer not the sales staff or the cashier. Take it up with the manager, let him/her deal with it, managers are paid to make decisions.
3. Don’t swear at or threaten anyone, all this achieves is a rise in blood pressure for you and an unwillingness to help from whoever the swearing and threats are directed at. If you are inclined to this sort of behavior, take a rescue tablet before you go to the store.
4. Always keep your till slip! Most retail stores will refuse to exchange or refund an item without a proof of purchase.
5. If you don’t get any joy from the manager speak to the next in charge. I promise, if you do this you will never have to speak to the CEO (who is never available).
6. Don’t be unreasonable.
7. A little decency and respect goes a long way.
Remember that not all retailers will respond to the Seven points above, this is in reference to great retailers. Some large retail chains have a simple formula – “Sell volume and we’ll take the knock for the few customers who bother to bring their defective product back”.
There are a selected few who value customers and will always go the extra mile, but sometimes even they make mistakes.
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