Creating good will with good customer service seems to be a lost
art. Clerks seem to be in a rush, not able to answer a customer
question, and sometimes are even rude or non-attentive. The day
of caring about a customer seems to be gone, but maybe just a
little training can bring the word “service” back to the retail
shopping experience. Many people will go out of their way to
frequent a store that has a great customer service and shows this
in the way the business is conducted.

The old saying still holds true: “People do not care how much you
know or what you sell, until they know how much you actually care
for them and their opinions and ideas.”

Even when the customer is seemingly wrong, the clerk should be
trained to say, “Our store does certainly apologize for the
mistake and please give me a chance to make it right for you.” A
caring clerk can keep a customer and give them the opportunity to
shop at the store again by acknowledging what went wrong and that
the store does listen to their problem. If a clerk does not have
the authority to make the problem right as the customer desires,
he should be trained to contact his supervisor so that the
customer knows that the problem is serious from the store’s
standpoint as well.

Some good sentences and thoughts for the training sessions are:

1. “We appreciate your business. Please return when you need
our services again.”

2. If a clerk is not sure about something, train the clerk to
acknowledge that they do not know, but they will find out and
then go to someone that knows the answer. It is the clerk’s job
to find information to make the sale, not the customer’s job.

3. “What is most convenient for you?” This could be a delivery
time or how they are paying for an item, maybe offering them an
interest free time period. This makes the customer feel
appreciated and maybe even surprised that the clerk does ask
about what is convenient for them.

4. “What can I do to help you today?” This shows that the clerk
is ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to update the
customer on items in the store and shows courtesy.

5. Feedback is often overlooked. If a questionnaire is
available, have the clerk present it so that the customer has an
opportunity to give ideas and suggestions on how to improve
customer service.

6. A smile goes a long way to letting the customers know that
the store’s personnel are glad they are shopping in that
particular store. No one wants to talk to a clerk that is
frowning and seemingly bored in helping showcase the store’s
merchandise.

7. A basic “Thank You” is critical and often overlooked in the
rush of retailing products. That customer helps keep the store
alive and prospering, and that means the clerk’s job and many
other jobs as well.

8. Good customer service always starts with a “Yes” attitude.
Clerks need to have this attitude and know the management will
back them up as they try to make the customer’s shopping
experience a good time.

If these simple ideas and suggestions could be carried out in
every retail store, this would create a much more fun and
interesting experience. We all have to shop, so why not make it
as pleasant as possible, thus creating good will, and that will
flow into more profits for the retail establishment.