Have you ever been to a store and not found what you were looking for?
This happens all the time and it even happens to your customers.
On my last visit to JCPenney the cashier asked me, “Did you find everything you needed today?”
You’ve probably heard this question a few times yourself as you checkout at various retailers.
I answered yes and asked her, “Does any one ever say no to that question?”
She quickly responded, “Yes. Senior Citizens. They’re never happy.”
Yikes. Bad mouthing other customers isn’t a good idea but aside from that, this example highlights a problem your business may be having: different customers are having different levels of success with your business.
Have a plan in place on gathering customer feedback at the point of sale. Answers to the “Did you find everything” question can be extremely valuable in identifying problems customers are having.
Know How to Find Your Stuff
If you ask customers “May I help you?”, they expect that you can help them. You better know where your products are and how to help the customer find them.
At Lowe’s, whenever I ask an employee where I can find a certain product, they stop what they are doing and walk with me across the store to show me where it is. My wife reports the same type of customer care at Hobby Lobby. Every time. Wow!
This is a great example of not just asking if you can be of help but actually being helpful to the customer.
You Can’t Find What You Don’t Sell
Customers will occasionally ask you for a product you don’t sell. These situations give you two great opportunities. First, you can get information on why the customer thought you had that product. Perhaps this will indicate some consumer demand that you can meet.
Second, you can provide great customer service, even if they aren’t going to be your customer. Directing a potential customer to another store that has the product (when you don’t) builds goodwill and leaves a great impression on the person.