Don’t Let Bad Customer Service Slide

While customer service has and always will be a top priority for you, have you considered whether your store really has the best customer service around? Are your customers getting excellent product knowledge, plus prompt service, friendly interactions and respect?

These questions are extremely important to ask because bad customer service is expensive for your company.

“Bad customer service is costing the average company $54,511 annually per employee,” according to an article from the National Retail Federation.

To offer the best customer service, you need to create a work environment where employees feel empowered to speak up when they see a co-worker giving bad service to a shopper.

Here is some sobering data from a study by VitalSmarts:

Applied to Retail: Workers’ failure to hold fellow employees accountable for the service they offer could result in big sales losses for your business.

To ensure this is not the case in your store, create an open environment, where employees feel part of a team and want to hold each other accountable so the team as a whole does not underperform. In addition, encourage employees to share any customer service concerns with an owner or manager.

Beyond that, ensure your employees are well trained. Use weekly meetings to role play or refresh your team on the elements of excellent customer service.