Diner “Can I have the bill please?” Waiter “No geddit ya self!”

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January 23, 2012 by alextalksdirect

How often have you been out for a meal…Ordered wine and then been asked to taste it?

I often think to myself how many diners actually say…”Yuk, that wine is disgusting, take it away and bring me another bottle”.  OR

“Do you want help packing your bags?” How many of us actually say “Yes, Please”?

Is this customer service at its best, or merely employees being forced to conform to a standard set of procedures in each customer encounter, which ultimately hinders the very foundation of  ‘Customer Service’?

As a Marketer I have been the one to set the parameters for my colleagues on the shop floor, ensuring that they a) Sign them up b) Sell them a Magazine c) Get an email address d) e) f) g)…Blah blah blah.  I use my experience of working for a National Ladies retailer to write this post, and looking back I can now apologise to my colleagues on the shop floor.  At the time however I had an answer for each of their procrastinations…when they said “We don’t have the time to ask all of those questions” my answer was “just drop it into the conversation”.

When they said “The ladies don’t respond well to being pushed” my answer? “Don’t push them then, advise them of the benefits”.

Looking back I can honestly say that I was foolish, and focusing only on our ‘strategic business targets’ and not at all on the customer. Major faux pas.

Customer Service should be exactly that…Serving the customer. Being able to understand and adapt to the individual needs of the customer making your businesses service second to none.  The check out assistant that asks me if I want help with packing my bags when I have my arms full with my son and my daughter is pulling on my coat to get my attention would be much better received than merely asking me in that pre programmed robotic manner that we are all equally accustomed to.

Marketing is all about putting the customer at the heart of the business, sales centres on the skills to empathise and customer service is the fulcrum to all of these activities.

Try and have a think about your business, and how you have told your employees and colleagues to deal with customers, do you fall into the pre programmed robot trap???

Let me know…I’m honestly interested…..

Oh and the next time you are at the checkout and someone asks you “Can I interest you in any stamps or a phone top up today?” please suppress the desire to laugh…Yesterday, I didn’t ha ha ha