It has been an epic week of service transactions between me and frontline representatives. I wish I could report that most all gave a positive first impression and that my customer experiences were optimized. Hell to the no...
Let's strip all other mannerisms and professional behaviours away for a moment and focus on one simple, basic "must-do" as a service professional: MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER. As a paying customer, there is nothing quite like walking into an organization to see a string of frontline employees looking oh so busy - eyes glued to the computer, backs turned away while on the telephone while others seem fully engaged in what appears to be a personal conversation with someone. For me, a couple of seconds may pass without eye contact but anything longer than that and I immediately start to assess that this service experience is likely to be suboptimal. Now I'm the type of customer that won't lean over the counter and shout out, "Is somebody going to help me!?" - not at all. While I stand within close proximity to the counter or frontline individual, I allow and expect them to invite me into their workspace with an offer, smile or at the very least - eye contact. When that doesn't happen for me, anxiety begins to rise. I feel ignored and as times passes (let's be clear: for a customer, 30 seconds feels like 10 minutes) I start fantasizing about spending my money somewhere else - and I have done that many times. I've walked out and gone to the competitor where they valued the customer and appreciated our choice to give them our money. Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking: what if those frontline workers are truly busy and are trying to multi-task, chronically under the pressures of short-staffing and other systemic issues? I get it. Been there, lived through that myself. Here's the reality though. Customers don't care about that so much. Customer's perceptions are reality and reality during these moments are that paying customers are not a priority and that we are not important enough to be recognized. "Hello competitor, can I give YOU my money?". Owners/managers take note: There is a very simple solution/tip to this ridiculously common problem. During your routine observations of your frontline staff's interactions with customers, look for that "delayed greeting" issue I'm talking about. This will give you relevant, recent scenarios to address. The solution – regardless of how overwhelmed, busy, distracted or justifiably maxed out, true service professionals can continue their current task, turn to the waiting customer, MAKE EYE CONTACT, give a quick nod, SMILE, and raise a hand with the index finger extended upward. This simple, half-second movement sends a clear message to the customer that you’re aware of their presence and are waiting to be served, that while you are currently in the middle of something, they are on your radar and that as soon as you are able, you will assist them. I can’t stress enough how this basic gesture directly impacts your customer’s perceptions of your service within a few seconds of stepping foot on the premises. Part of my service professional workshops help frontline crew understand the power they hold as far as customer perceptions and experiences are concerned and that often times they are the only rep from the company that the customer will ever meet. The workshops contain a number of simple, basic tips to ensure the interaction between your service staff and your paying customers is optimized; minimizing the risk of losing dollars to the competitor. |
AuthorImproving customer relationships, driving sales, increasing worth-of-mouth referrals and building customer loyalty through service professionalism training is my passion. Archives
June 2016
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