I've worked in retail for most of my working life and have found that one of the biggest obstacles that all shop assistants find from the ground floor up to management is their relationship with the customer.
There are plenty of television programmes which tell consumers that they should make sure they get what they want from their purchase. That they have certain rights, that they can argue their point, that they can ask for discounts and the age old saying of "the customer is always right".
There are also plenty of television programmes which teach businesses and staff how to give good service. That customer service is the utmost quality that they should possess in order to sell their product, to make their company a success. Take any of Mary Portas' shows. Customer service customer service customer service.
These programmes have contributed to developing a misunderstanding of the retail industry. As a sales assistant you are given endless training in order to give excellent customer service. And as a manager you are sent on week long training courses to make sure you understand the importance of customer service. There is nothing, anywhere that helps a customer or a consumer to understand, in return, how to be a good customer: how to interact with staff in any store. In essence, how to be a good consumer.
There are many bug-bears of customers and like-wise staff members have the exact same irritations. One of the initial ones and possibly the most apparent is greeting a customer.
As a staff member we are taught to greet
every single customer no matter what. This may be a hello, a good morning or if you are already speaking to someone, a smile. Any acknowledgement of the customer is vital. This is the same no matter what area of the shop you are working in. If for your shift you are on the front of the shop, by the doors, you have to spend between 4 and 8 hours greeting customers with a smile on your face. From my experience I would say that only 60% of customers will say hello back. 20% will completely ignore you. 20% will be down right rude to you.
However, as a customer, every shop you go in, you will greeted by a happy, smiley person who says hello to you.
The second you walk through the door. Slightly irritating yes? You have just walked in and already they are trying to sell you something. In every shop you go in.
Personally here, I think there has to be some kind of give and take. Staff members, who are told they have to greet every customer due to the loom of Mystery Shoppers (more about this later) are often treated poorly by customers. The same customers who are annoyed at being hounded the second they walk through the door.
It is important that customers need to understand that staff are only doing what they are contractually obliged to do. I also think that head office/management should understand that it doesn't always create the right impression. As a customer if you are walking through a large shop, there are maybe 3 or 4 sections to the shop floor with different staff members. That means that a customer will be greeted 3 or 4 times in their journey through a store. Annoying. But the staff are only doing their job.
While being taught good customer service (and how to adhere to Mystery Shopper rules) the staff member is also told that they must approach every customer and ask if they need help, if they are ok, what they are looking for etc.
So while the customer is on their journey through the store, being greeted in every section of the shop, they are also being asked in every section if they need any help. That's possibly 6 or 8 questions throughout the customers journey, while they may just be browsing. Is it any wonder that customers begin to ignore staff or be rude to them.
As a consumer myself, I too find it irritating that every shop you go in, you are approached. You are not simply left alone to shop on your own terms. However, if I go into a shop and I am not greeted, if no one says hello to me, if I am simply ignored, why would I want to give them my money? If they can't even give me a simple hello, why should I bother? I'll just go elsewhere.
So where is the balance?
The simplest way to rectify this would be a casual hello. Imagine walking down the street and saying hello to every single person you pass, pretty quickly you would look crazy (and it would be exhausting). This is what is expected of you as a staff member, again, its in your contract. If you were on that same walk and only said hello to the people who caught your eye, you would look polite, friendly and approachable.
This is the rule we should adopt in retail.
There are plenty of other things I have experienced as a sales assistant but they are too lengthy to go into. Mainly, the way staff are treated if you don't agree with or don't like the policies of a shop. It is not the fault of the staff member. They are doing a job. They can't break the rules for you, as there will be repercussions for them. Every thing is checked. And double checked. Every transaction. Every receipt. Every discount. There are cameras on the tills and every staff member has a number/ID/log on/username so their sales can be tracked. They can't simply give you discount just because you are spending over £200. They can't bend the rules when your receipt is out of date. It doesn't work like that.
I have experienced plenty of not very nice things as a sales assistant, from being verbally abused, physically threatened and someone has even 'called the police,' all because they couldn't get a refund on a product that didn't fit them, that they had worn or that they just changed their mind about. Not nice.
I have also, as a consumer experienced extremely bad customer service from rudeness for no reason, pure attitude for no reason (in Lush no less!) and have also been refused my statutory rights as a consumer.
Luckily my experience in retail has taught what I am and am not allowed as a customer. It's also taught me how to get it.
Here's what I know,
- If you are buying something, anything, always check the returns policy. As the staff member, look for signs behind the till point. Stores have to display a returns policy. If you are asking a staff member what the returns policy is, do not, ever, just say 'can I bring this back?' their answer will always be yes. You may interpret this as, 'I can get a full refund'. That's not always the case. Instead, ask them 'can I get a refund?' 'Can I only get an exchange?' 'How long do I have?' Always repeat their answers back to them to make sure you understand it. As a sales assistant, I always try to explain the full returns policy, 'yes you can get a refund but the item must be unworn, with tags, with a valid receipt in 28 days.' Lots of staff members don't do that. As a consumer it is your responsibility to find out the returns policy of that specific shop. It is not the shop or staff members responsibility to tell you.
- Refunds. Contrary to popular belief, it is not against the law to not offer a refund or even an exchange. If you buy a product that you do not like, does not fit you or if you change your mind, too bad. (this does not apply to online sales). You have the opportunity to try something on before you buy it. You can consider whether you like something or not. Stores that do offer an exchange or a refund are doing this out of good will. As a kindness to you. The only laws that apply to returns are when something is faulty due to a fault by the manufacturer.
- Faulty items. This is a bit of a grey area. And even I am bit hazy on this. If you have an item that is faulty, that is not considered wear and tear*, you are entitled to an exchange, refund or repair so long as the item is in generally good condition, that it is a manufacturers fault and it is within a reasonable amount of time. If you have a receipt, fantastic. If you don't have a receipt (and this is the bit I don't agree with**), you are still entitled to something. This may just be a like for like exchange or repair. Some places may (see above) give you a refund or credit, but if you don't have your receipt, don't expect to get the price you paid. The item may be in the sales or be reduced. If you can't prove how much you paid, how can you expect to get that back? (likewise above)
- If you are returning something, for whatever reason, never lie. We can see right through you. Just tell the truth. If something is faulty, don't treat the assistant like its their fault, they didn't make the item. Be polite, tell the truth. bring your receipt. You would be surprised at how many customers are rude to you, a part time member of staff, because the seam on the top they bought isn't finished properly. I understand it's a pain, that you have had to come all the way back to the shop to sort it out, but it's not the fault of the cashier. They have to inspect every item and in most cases, get permission from a manger to return the item. It's not that they don't trust you, its that H/O don't trust their staff. Most people have a huge issue with returning items and so immediately adopt a defensive demeanor. They assume that they will not be given what they want or are entitled to and so the only way to get that is to be forceful. Not the case. There seems to be an impression that shops will do/say anything in order to keep your money. Not the case. If you've got your receipt and the item is unworn - what have you got to worry about?
*for example if you have a pair of shoes that you have worn every day for 4 months, expect them to get holes in them. This is your fault, not a manufacturer fault. If you shrink something, tear the seam etc.
**If you do not have a receipt, if you cannot prove when, where, how and how much you paid for something, in my opinion, you should not get anything in return. There are plenty of other places, other than the original store, in which to purchase something. Ebay is a great example. Buy something on ebay for £20 and take it back to the original shop when its faulty for a full refund/credit at maybe £80. To me, that's fraud. But that's what not having a receipt allows you to do.
Mystery Shoppers.
Personally, I blame the mystery shopper reports for the majority of things that both consumers and staff dislike about their shopping/working life. These reports are the reason that customers are approached too much, that they feel hounded. Mystery Shopper Reports (MSR) and the rules they bring should be the tools used to bridge the gap between businesses and consumers. A way of giving customers what they want, of excelling at customer service and overall creating a pleasurable experience where customers will be loyal to you time and time again. Instead it has created a set of stringent rules that staff members are afraid to break and that alienate your customers.
Here's what I know about Mystery Shopping rules,
- You have to greet every customer. Every single customer. You also have to say goodbye and thank you to them when they leave. To everyone who leaves.
- You have to approach every customer. Ask them if they are ok. If they need any help. Are they looking for something specific. Do they need another size. Even if the customer may just be looking at the item to see if they like it, just browsing. However, like I've highlighted before, each staff member on each section must do this, so the customer is approached everywhere they look, at every item they pick up.
- When serving customers, obviously you must be polite, helpful and friendly. That's a given. But a MSR dictates that you must ask specific questions and do certain actions. In one store I worked in we had to ask the customer to take a seat, get the item they wanted, if we didn't have it, we had to ask if they wanted a different size or a different colour, basically any alternative. While trying the item on, we had to offer a piece of knowledge about the product and generally chit-chat to them. After trying the item, we had to ask if they would like to try anything else on, or if you could help them with anything else. Once at the till point, the cashier would also repeat this, just in case the assistant forgot. The cashier would also have to engage in some kind of conversation with the customer. The cashier would also have specific questions they needed to ask. Have you got everything you need, would you like the receipt in the bag and finally thank them. If you didn't do any of these things, you would lose a point.
- These questions had to be asked to every single customer otherwise you would lose a point. They would also have to be asked in a certain order. What people don't know is that MS questions are worded in a certain way. The cashier may ask if they needed anything else but the question may read, "did your assistant ask if you needed anything else" the answer must be a yes or no response, so the answer would be no. In order to make sure this doesn't happen, customers will be asked the same questions over and over again, by various different people so that they don't miss out on a point.
- Any score less than 90% is considered unacceptable. But the system is entirely flawed. There is no leeway. There is no acceptability for the circumstances on the day. There may be staff sickness meaning there isn't that person on the door to greet you (-1 point). There may be a manager meeting meaning that there is only one person on the shop floor to serve, meaning you aren't approached (-1point) and so it goes on.
If the general public do not know of or understand the existence or implications of MSR then how can they begin to understand their journey? Yes, I find it annoying that you are approached every five minutes in a shop, but I also understand why and am therefore never rude to a sales assistant.
To be a good customer, you must use the same rules that sales assistants adhere to. Always say hello, smile, be polite. Treat the assistant the way you want to be treated. Understand that they are just doing a job. Know when to complain. Complaining doesn't need a raised voice or poor language. It should be a polite criticism. If you are annoyed that you cant get what you want, if you get in a heated debate ( it happens), don't expect them to still be nice to you if you aren't being nice to them. It may be their job, but they are only human and they don't deserve it. If you raise your voice or swear at them, they will ask you to leave and then have you removed. A common misconception is that shops are a public place. In fact they are private property and you are invited there out of good will, in the understanding that you will act appropriately.
The relationship between business and consumer is a shared one. While retail businesses have spent millions on MSR and customer service training they have missed what it is to give great service. They are creating a huge divide with their customers. They have taken simple rules way too far.
If the retail industry is to survive there must be a massive overhaul. A back to basics attitude. Why do you think people love shopping with independent stores so much? A personal, no fuss service that is casual, that is not forced.
If retail companies can take a step back and understand their customer more, if they can take the pressure off their staff by abolishing the use of Mystery Shoppers (in the way they currently use them), they will create a more pleasurable shopping experience.
Likewise if consumers can have an insight into the way stores are run and the reasoning behind their behaviours, a stronger relationship can be created.
The same television programmes that teach good customer service and how to get what you want as a consumer should also be teaching companies what consumers want and the rules of retail.
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