In this “wee burg” of mine, we have this idea of “Shop Local” that has been dreamed up the local Chamber of Commerce and a few business owners; and every year there is much hue and cry that people are not supporting their local businesses.<\/p>\n
To that end, I would like to offer a few observations as to why that may be happening:<\/p>\n
1. Just because you are a local business does not mean that I owe you my loyalty. If you want my hard earned dollars, I expect to be treated as your most important customer, not as someone who has interrupted your smoke\/coffee\/whatever break.<\/p>\n
2. I realize that I may be looking for something that you may not currently carry in your store\/place of business; instead of just saying “we don’t carry that” and giving me the brush off, offer to find out if you can bring the desired item(s) in. You may be surprised, I might be willing to cover your shipping costs for bringing those items in. Not only that, I will be a repeat customer, and I will tell everybody (and I do mean EVERYBODY) how helpful you were and what a fine establishment you have to shop in.<\/p>\n
3. Appearance counts for everything. When I arrive your establishment, your windows should be clean; the sidewalk in front of your store free of trash; I do not want to see you (the owner) or your staff standing around having a smoke, or hear you gossiping about people that I may or may not know.\u00a0If you must smoke or gossip,\u00a0use the back entrance where customers are not exposed to your filthy habits.<\/p>\n
4. Be knowledgeable about all of the products that you carry. Nothing is more annoying than having a sales clerk say “I know nothing about that, sorry.” Find out, quickly. You can’t sell something you know nothing about.<\/p>\n
5. While the customer may not always be right, the customer ALWAYS pays your paycheque. If you have no customers, you have no reason to be in business.<\/p>\n
6. Always, always remember: you may be the only store in town that carries “X” product, but there is a large city just an hour’s drive south of us that will be more than happy to take my hard earned money, and make me feel good about doing so.<\/p>\n
I offer these points as someone who has worked in the public service industry for nearly 30 years, and as a customer who has received both poor and excellent service from businesses in this “wee burg”.<\/p>\n
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In this “wee burg” of mine, we have this idea of “Shop Local” that has been dreamed up the local Chamber of Commerce and a few business owners; and every year there is much hue and cry that people are not supporting their local businesses. To that end, I would like to offer a few … Continue reading Customer Service, Eh Wot?<\/span>