By Nancy Friedman, Customer Service Keynote Speaker; President, Telephone Doctor Customer Service

Just in time for the holiday rush, but really “any time” – retailing woes easily fixed.

There’s still time to make your customer’s holiday better.

Some companies blame their customer service problems on part-time help. Saying that the part-timers are just that – part-timers. They don’t want to take responsibility. They don’t want to take ownership. They just want to take the money and run. They can’t wait to get off work.

No matter how your customers come to you, in person or on the phone, ask yourself what type of customer service training you have. And if there isn’t one, think again.

“Gee, Nancy, we’re so busy doing other things. There’s just no time for customer service training. We’re just too busy to stop and train.” Too busy to be nice? Too busy to teach your employees customer service? Best you think again.

It’s up to each and every owner or manager to provide some sort of customer service training. Just putting them out on the floor or telling them to pick up the phone and “be nice” or “tell everyone to have a good day,” is NOT customer service training.

Whether your customers walk in or call you, following these Telephone Doctor customer service ground rules will help make your company the one the customer wants to come back to. It WILL give you the competitive edge.

Ground Rule #1 – SMILE – A Condition of Employment

It’s that simple! Make smiling on the job a condition of employment and not smiling grounds for termination. Tell your staff that in the interview process. “We smile here.” It’s a simple statement and a powerful sales tool. Don’t relent on this one – ever! I recently heard about a young man, about 17, who quit his job 2 weeks after he started. When his parents asked, “Why?” his answer was, “They drove me crazy; they wanted me to smile all the time.”

Ground Rule #2 – GREET CUSTOMERS FIRST

Make it a game. If a customer says “hello” first, you lose. It’s amazing how often you can go into a store, any store, walk around – touch things – look at prices – and walk out. All without anyone saying anything to you. The minute a customer walks into the store the sales staff needs to be the one to say hello first. It’s their job to say hello first. It’s not the customer’s job to do it. That first friendly hello sets the stage; sets the tone to make sure the customer is IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

Ground Rule #3 – ENTHUSIASM COUNTS

Dale Carnegie said it first. And my father said it second. He used to tell me, “Enthusiasm is a disease – let’s start an epidemic.” And how true that is. When a customer brings something to the counter for you to ring up, or even tells you what they want on the phone, get excited. “Good choice” is a great statement. Let them know you care. When the customer sees, feels and hears your enthusiasm you’ll ring up a lot more sales. And your enthusiasm is a great setup for up-selling or cross-selling.

Ground Rule #4 – DON’T POINT – GO SHOW

Whole Foods has it down pat. They WALK you to what you want. How many times have you walked into a store, asked for something, and the salesperson either just nods you to the item or points to the direction without saying anything? When and if possible, WALK with the customer to the area they need. If that becomes impossible, cheerfully direct the person to what they need and give clear, easy and, most important, friendly directions. “Aisle 3, on your right” is fair, but not very friendly.

Not able to walk them there… Try this:

“The New widgets? Sure, we have them. They’re great. You’ll find them right past the flower section in aisle 3. It’ll be on your right-hand side right next to the elephant display. (Using LANDMARKS really helps.) Let me know if you’re not able to locate them and I’ll get someone to help you.”

That’s clear, easy and FRIENDLY directions.

Pointing is plain rude. (Ask ANY waiter where the restroom is and 99.9 % of the time they point. Clear directions can be given without pointing to that area, too.

Ground Rule #5 – PLEASE, THANK YOU AND YOU’RE WELCOME

They will never go out of style. NEVER. And yes, still favorite words to customers. I used to be embarrassed to remind my program attendees to use those words. But I’m easily reminded that it needs to be taught. There’s probably not a 3-year-old that hasn’t been told, “Tell the lady thank you, Bobbie. Go on Bobbie, you can say it. Tell her thank you.” Some folks don’t let the other person go until the child has said “Thank you.” We spend hours teaching our kids those words and then at age 16, what happens?

Ground Rule #6 – PRETEND IT’S YOU

Ask your staff to make-believe it’s them walking into the store trying to purchase something. How would they like to be treated? Tell them every customer will go away thinking one of two ways. Either, “Hey those guys are great” or “Hey, I’m never gonna go back there again.”

And if your employees think that’s not their problem, tell them to think again. Because if the customers don’t come back, you close up and they’re out of a job. Then it is their problem. Simple.

Ground Rule #7 – MAKE IT FUN

It’s difficult out there for a lot of folks. Most people want to laugh. It helps make whatever problems they might be going through a little easier. So if you have the opportunity to have fun on the job, do it! Make their day!

Consider posting this article in an area employees see often. A bulletin board – in their paycheck. Read this aloud in a meeting. They need to know you’re serious about customer service. It’s NOT just a passing fancy.

These are demanding times. Be extra good to your customers. Have a training program for your staff.