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March 31, 2008 Leave a Comment

What Do Retail Sales People Do?

Consistently, the post on my blog that has been read the most is “Short-Circuit” City Admits Defeat.

I criticized Circuit City for their decision to lay off their most highly compensated sales staff. I was assuming that they paid their staff a combination of salary and commission. So my conclusion was that they were laying off the sales people who earned the most commissions. Rather short-sighted in my opinion.

Last week I was speed-reading through a stack of old magazines and I saw an article praising Circuit City’s new “24/24 Pickup Guarantee.” You order the product on-line and Circuit City promises that you will be able to pick up your order at the local store within 24 minutes. If they do not fulfill their promise, the customer will receive a $24.00 Circuit City Gift Card.

OK. Fine. “Bricks and Clicks” in action. Order it on-line and pick it up in the store. Order it on-line and return it at the store, No hassle. No big deal. No need for salespeople.

I was passing by a Circuit City store over the weekend and so I stopped in for a visit. I wanted to see if the “vibe” in the store had changed. Not much. The store was better merchandised. But one thing remained the same:

All of the sales people were milling around. Either walking aimlessly or chatting with their associates. Not once, in the twenty minutes that I spent in the store, did one sales person approach me. I tried picking up some product (pretending that I was interested in purchasing it.) I tried my best to act like a customer in need of assistance. No luck.

No sale!

I left with this question: “What actually is a front-line” sales person employed to do in a retail store?”

  • Stock the shelves and re-merchandise the product?
  • Greet the customer and answer their questions?
  • Pretend that you are helping a customer on the telephone?
  • Actually, help customers to make a purchase?

For the most part, I never expect any help from the “front-line” staff at a retail chain store. Not just Circuit City. This also applies to Best Buy and Barnes & Noble, etc. When I go to Costco I know what to expect. It is a warehouse / members-only store. It is set up for self-service and this is reflected in the lower prices that they offer.

Why do we need sales people? If a store does employ sales people, what do they tell them to do? What is their goal? How do they train them?

Personally, if I ran a consumer electronics store, I would imitate The Apple Store concept of “The Genius Bar.” – The place to go for advice, insight and technical support. Brilliant! Simple! Valuable!

I think that you could have a variation of this in a book store as well. Have a few knowledgeable and personable staff members share the advice and insight about a variety of books with the customers. Go beyond having a selection of “Our Staff Recommends” books. Actually interact with your customers. Make it memorable. Make it an experience! Make sales!

When I do have a positive experience with retail sales people I make a point of writing about it. Here is a short list of positive posts. See if you can find the common element!

What experiences have you had? Please share your stories. Write your comments below.

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Customer Service, Sales Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
March 9, 2008 2 Comments

WOW Your Customer! – The Power of One Front-line Employee

customer-satisfaction-book.jpg My birthday is this week and that always brings back many memories. I like memories. I like to tell stories of memorable experiences. And I like to hear about the memorable experiences that other people experience. Memorable experiences in customer service are rare. That’s why I like to celebrate them when I hear about one.

I was re-reading Jeffrey Gitomer’s book, “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless. Customer Loyalty is Priceless,” and I want to share a personal story that ties both my birthday and this book together.

About 15 years ago I was flying home from a convention in Germany. I presented my passport to the ticket agent at the Frankfurt Airport. After the usual pause, she looked up at me and said, “Mr. Rocks – may I be the first person to wish you a Happy Birthday today!”

I thought that that was a nice gesture. It put a smile on my face and I walked away from the counter feeling better than usual. I like to be noticed. I enjoy being recognized. I like it when the hotel operator calls me by name. I have come to expect it. The hospitality industry trains its personnel to recognize people by their name. This has become standard operating procedure.

So back to my story. I was making a connection in London and had about an hour between flights. I checked in at the front desk of the Airline Club at Heathrow Airport and got my second surprise of the day. The concierge said, “Welcome to London Mr. Rocks. We are delighted that you can spend part of your birthday with us. Would you like a bottle of Red or White wine? German or French? Happy Birthday!”

How did they know it was my birthday? I did not present my passport; only my membership card. Did they have this information flagged in their computer system? I had to find out, so I asked.

No, they were not able to capture that information in the computer but they thought that that would be a nice touch. Rather, they told me that they had received a message from the lady who ticketed me in Frankfurt. She sent a computer message to the club alerting them that I would be stopping by while in-transit and that it was my birthday.

WOW! Now that was something special. That caught my attention! What a fantastic gesture from the lady in the Frankfurt Airport!. Front-line service at its best!

Why did she take the time to send this message? What made me special? What made me stand out? Is this something that she was trained to do? Or did she just take the initiative to do something out of the ordinary? Regardless, she really made me feel special! Continue reading “WOW Your Customer! – The Power of One Front-line Employee” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Communications, Customer Service, Main Page, Sales, Training Tagged: , , , , , ,
February 27, 2008 Leave a Comment

Starbucks – This is Not About Training

starbucks-closing-stores.jpgI applaud the leadership of Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. As you may know, Starbucks closed all 7,100 of their stores yesterday for a 3 1/2 hour training session. Here is a short excerpt from Mr. Schultz introductory remarks:

“This is not about training,” he said to his employees, looking somewhat somber. “This is about the love and compassion and commitment that we all need to have for the customer.”

I like to remind myself that “A business without customers is not a business.” Customers define your business. Attracting and retaining customers is the number one job of every employee. Starbucks is selling much more than coffee. It is selling the “Starbucks Experience.”  And recently, customers – as well as the CEO – have found that experience to be lacking.

Mr. Schultz and others had a mission and a vision to elevate coffee from a commodity (10 cents a cup and free refills) to a lifestyle choice. He wanted to recreate the experience he enjoyed on a trip to Italy, sipping espresso in a cafe. He wanted to create a sensual experience for customer when they visited a Starbucks location. He wanted to create a sense of theatre as the barista prepared each special beverage. He wanted the exchange between the barista and the customer to be personal.

This is what Mr. Schultz had to say  (in a recent memo) about the present state of Starbucks:

…one of the results has been stores that no longer have the soul of the past and reflect a chain of stores vs. the warm feeling of a neighborhood store. Some people even call our stores sterile, cookie cutter, no longer reflecting the passion our partners feel about our coffee. In fact, I am not sure people today even know we are roasting coffee. You certainly can’t get the message from being in our stores.

Definitely time to wake up and smell the coffee!

I promised to go out to my local Starbucks first thing this morning in order to observe any immediate changes as a result of yesterday’s training. It’s now time to go … I’ll report on my experience later today.

Let me know what you think on this topic. Share your experience with our readers.

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Customer Service, Leadership, Main Page, Small Business, Training Tagged: , , , ,
March 16, 2007 Leave a Comment

The Full-Service Mentality

I had a very pleasant experience yesterday – at a Gas Station, of all places!  When is the last time that you ever pulled into a full-service pump?  Rarely, I am sure.  Like most of us, you probably couldn’t afford to pay that premium price per gallon.

So imagine my surprise – shock, actually – when I saw two service attendant rush out to my car when I pulled up to the pump!  I quickly said, “Oh, I must be at the wrong pump, I want self-service.”  One attendant said, “No, you ARE at the self-serve pump, but would you like us to check your oil, water and tire pressure?”

By the time I recovered my composure, I saw that the other attendant was washing my windows.  Gosh … I haven’t experienced this level of service at a gas station since the price per gallon was well-below $1.00.

Why were they offering this premium service at the discounted price?  “Because it is our pleasure, sir!”

Expect the unexpected!

Now, this particular Gas Station is one of several along along side Interstate 5 in Oceanside, CA.  The station next door is undergoing a renovation – so the closest competitor, isn’t – for now.  So why are they offering such great service now?  When they don’t have to.

Simple!  Great service is a mind-set.  It is an attitude.  It is a habit.  You can’t just turn it off and on when competitive pressures build or let up.  Companies who deliver great service do so consistently.  It is their DNA.  They work hard at it.  Yes, they train their employees to deliver great service.  But, more important – they live great service.  Their actions – how they treat their customers, how they behave when no one is observing – that is the model.  A model for success.

You can bet that the next time I am down in Oceanside, CA I will choose the Gas Station that gave me the great service yesterday.  I want to reciprocate – I want to give back in return.  And return I will, again and again!

And I will tell others to patronize this gas station – they have earned my referral. They deserve the business!

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Main Page, Small Business Tagged: , , , ,
January 17, 2007 Leave a Comment

Hone Your Message

I participated in a teleconference yesterday led by Jaynie L. Smith and William G. Flannagan. They are the authors of a very important business book, “Creating Competitive Advantage.” I reviewed this book on my blog a few months ago (Click here for the review) and so I was intrigued to receive an e-mail solicitation to dial in for the teleconference. I’m glad that I did!

As many of you know, I worked in music publishing for 30 years. So, I am well attuned to watching how authors and publishers produce and promote their products. Most of the really good business books that I have been reading lately have a few things in common:

1) The have a very sharp, clearly defined message.

2) The have excellent websites set up to offer support, extended content, multimedia features and the opportunity to interact with the author(s).

3) An author who truly is passionate about their subject and is excited to communicate their message.

Jaynie L. Smith is a perfect example of this need breed of media savvy authors. The website (and now selective teleconferences) that she offers in support of her book “Creating Competitive Advantage” is first rate. Click here to check out her website – www.smartadvantage.com.

Okay – back to the teleconference. Ms. Smith talked about interviewing David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue Airlines. Mr. Neeleman is a great leader and a remarkable innovator. Check out his personal blog – or flight log as he calls it – to see what I mean! I LOVE his introduction:

Hi I’m David Neeleman, Founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways.

Each week I fly on JetBlue flights and talk to customers so I can find out how we can improve our airline. This is my flight log.

WOW! How many CEO s or Senior Executives of any company – of any size – actually seek out their customers or experience their products as the customer experiences them? Very, very, very few.

How about you? When is the last time that you rolled up your sleeves and worked the floor? Or went out on a real sales call? Or asked your customers, “How are we doing?”

Try it – you may find that you like it. And… you might find your “Competitive Advantage” in doing so!

On the teleconference, Jaynie L. Smith mentioned something that David Neeleman said to her during the interview that had stuck with her:

“Each week, key managers and I have a three-hour conference call to discuss what are we doing, what they (competitors) are doing, and how can we do it better.”

That is a terrific strategy and it helps to pinpoint why JetBlue Airline stands out from the other airlines. Southwest Airlines also stands apart from the rest. It is worth pointing out that David Neeleman once worked for Southwest Airlines – he learned a lot during his short stay there!

1) What are we doing? – (that makes a difference for our customers)

2) What are our competitors doing? – (that is attracting some business that we would like to get)

3) How can we do it better? – ( to attract those customers now shopping with our competitor to give our product / service a try)

These are three powerful points that I am incorporating into my own consulting practice and will be sharing with my clients.

After the teleconference yesterday, I picked the book out of my bookcase to find the interview with Mr. Neeleman. It is interesting to note that when I originally read the book, I did not underline or circle these points. It took a teleconference to point them out to me. I’m glad that I responded to the invitation to participate!

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