THIS IS WHAT THE CUSTOMER HEARS!!!
I startled my partner when I took off running towards our pharmacy’s cash register! I noticed Fred had taken 3 steps towards the exit after completing his purchase (through a very lackluster interaction with my brand new cashier) and was turning around. This meant that he was going to become a flamethrower, and Nancy was about to get melted.
“You have to be the rudest cashier I’ve ever seen!! I’ll be damned if I ever shop here again!!” Fred shouted as he started lighting into Nancy who was completely shocked by his outburst.
“Hey Fred!” I interjected quickly upon arrival. “I was about to go on break. How about if I buy you a cup of coffee at the Subway Restaurant within our store? I want to get your opinion on a concept I’m working on for my new DVD home study course!”
Fred is a tenured professor at the local college and loves to hear himself talk about HIS OPINION on anything. As we sat down for coffee, he mentioned the “new girl” and how she did not appreciate his business at all. I assured him that he was a valued customer and that I would share with her my thoughts on their interaction. Then I quickly changed the subject.
When I got back to the pharmacy, Nancy was terrified that I was going to chastise her. So, I got the nod from my partner, and I took her for coffee as well. I LOVE COFFEE!
“WHAT DID I DO WRONG? Are you going to yell at me?” Nancy blurted out in nervous excitement.
“Oh Nancy, I never yell at anyone I’m not married to.” I said with a smile. “It wasn’t what you did. It was what you DIDN’T do! You didn’t do anything to show Fred that you TRULY appreciated his business.”
I shared with her the three big mistakes that she made while working with Fred:
- Fred explained to her how frustrated he was that he had tried to call in his order in advance, and how he was left on hold “FOREVER”. Because she was now the FACE OF THE COMPANY it was up to her to to APOLOGIZE, and to PASS ALONG HIS FRUSTRATION. Instead, because she is not responsible for the phones, she blew it off as inconsequential.
- When Fred expressed frustration over the price of his medication, she dismissed his frustration by stating “It’s only $22.50. It’s not like it’s a hundred dollars…”. This clearly showed that she did not feel his financial pain.
- Worst of all, she never thanked him for his business. “Didn’t I say THANK YOU?” she asked, obviously trying to play back the conversation in her head.
“In point of fact, you did not! What you said was ‘THERE YOU GO, YOU ARE ALL SET!’ and if you smiled, he was too put out to notice it.”
After 30 seconds or so of sitting there in stunned silence, she asked what I would have done differently.
I revealed to her my three step plan for becoming a customer service genius:
- ALWAYS thank the customer for waiting in line as soon as they get their turn at the register. This acknowledges and validates THE EFFORT THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN to do business with you.
- WHATEVER their concerns regarding price or service, TAKE 100% RESPONSIBILITY for the acknowledgement of those concerns and for the advancement of the feedback they have given. NEVER dismiss their concerns as trivial.
- ALWAYS say “Thank you for your business!”. There are NO ACCEPTABLE SUBSTITUTES FOR THANK YOU!! The customer views their business as a special gift that they have GIVEN TO YOU and just like any other gift, the appropriate response is THANK YOU!
Nancy looked at me and said: “Wow, there is a lot more that goes into being a cashier than I ever imagined.”
“Nancy,” I said with a confident smile, “being a cashier is just like anything else. You are successful to the degree that you create value. Since you cannot control the ‘value’ of the pricing of their medication, you MUST, if you want to be successful, control the VALUE OF THEIR EXPERIENCE at the register. It’s as simple as that.”
I sent Nancy back to the pharmacy so I could take my real break and eat my lunch. When I returned to work, I was delighted to hear the words “THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS” several dozen times that afternoon.
If you want to become a Customer Service Genius, the little things really are the big things.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION!
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—Photo Credit: Flickr/Ellen Forsyth