London, February 2009. Woolworths: gone! Adams Children's wear: defunct! Zavvi: going!
Many people in the UK have been surprised to see such institutional retail names disappear
From their high streets and shopping centres forever!
The crunch of credit, of course has a lot to answer for,but
Retailers big and small must consider the shopping experience
They offer to their bread and butter,you and I,the consumer.
Although somemay miss certain shops from their town centres and the
Likes, it is very unlikely that they will miss the service they received.
I am sure they are fed up with the unhappy faces that greet them from
behind counters; fed up of being followed unnecessarily around stores
by bored security guards; fed up with shopkeepers rushing and guesteri
For payment with cupped hands and fingers moving rapidly back and forth
As if to say "hurry gimmie money".
Sales assistants are supposed to assist you, not tell you all
Sizes are on the shop floor and the store room is absolutley empty
(I know you are too lazy to check, I used to work in retail too).
So if you work in retail take note of a few of my dos and don'ts:
1. Do not slam change on the counter. It is just rude especially if the
Consumer has their hand out stretched in plain view;
2.ifca consumer greets you be polite enough to greet them baCk.
Fake smiles do not cut it. It is just bad manners.
3.try to give all customers equal service. I cannot count the amount
Of times when the person before me in a queue was treated impeccably
And immediately after that customer has been servedcwith a smile
I am greeted with a dropped smile. What did I ever do to you?
4. Do not be difficult for difficult's sake. We know when you are
Doing it.
5. Don't assume that small tips are always left by stingy customers.
Before you point the finger think about the service you gave. Did you
do any one or more of the above?
I am teaching my primary school aged daughter
what i feel is a very valuable lesson: if you do not get the service
You deserve as a paying customer, they do not deserve your custom.
Retails and their staff must remember who pays their wages. The
Pound is becoming very difficult to come by for many of us. Do not take
us for granted. The collapse of Woolworths has shown just how much
Power the Customer has. Be careful who you employ and the training you provide.
If you do not want to give good customer service, do not work in the service industry.
MsAnthrope
Well, all that is true; however I must point out that some customers are absolutely rude, ignorant, loud, messy and disruptive. Be a polite and friendly customer to get good customer service.
When my children were little and we used to eat out I would always leave a larger tip than the recommended 15%. (I think it is now 20%.) I told them that the waitperson was there to make a living and did not make much money and that if one couldn't afford to leave a good tip one couldn't afford to eat out. Years later my younger son worked as a bartender and always got great tips; however, when he relocated he took a temporary job as a waiter in a family restaurant and called me to bewail the total selfishness and thoughtlessness of his customers. He said that he now completely understood what I had taught them so many years ago. (He quit that job after slightly more than a week. It was that or attacking customers and their rowdy, dirty children with a salad fork.)
And may I also say that I would rather be treated rudely than blown off. I have frequently requested info or lodged a complaint and all my information has been taken with promises to get back to me, but no one ever does.