Even though I have been involved in customer service for 20 years, I am still surprised when I experience poor service at the most basic level. With all the training dollars and hours spent to train service workers who have immediate contact with customers, it is disappointing to find that some service providers fail to deliver.
I went to Publix supermarket in Savannah this evening on my way back from completing an errand at the mall. It was going to be a quick in-and-out trip and as usual, I ended up getting a few more items than I had expected. Even though the lines were not long, a check-out clerk saw that I was waiting and motioned to me to come over to the next checkout line and he would open up and check me out. I regarded this as an example of excellent customer service since he anticipated my needs and exceeded my expectations. Instead of letting me wait, he provided service that was within his power to deliver, even though there was no great pressing need.
I emptied my cart of the few items that I had onto the conveyor belt. I had a couple bottles of wine, and he properly asked me for my ID. I never fail to be flattered by that gesture, even though I know there is no way that I could be mistaken for someone under 21 unless it was during a total eclipse of the sun. It’s the law, and even though it takes a few more minutes, it is impressive to the customer to know that the business complies with the law and has instructed their employees well. It also gives those obviously over the age of 21 a bit of an ego boost.
The clerk scanned my items, bagged them, and then just left them on the counter. I supposed since there was no separate bagger, he felt it wasn’t necessary to put them in my cart. OK, that’s no biggie, though picking them up, walking around to my cart and putting them in would have been a nice service. After completing the card scanning process to pay for my groceries, he committed a serious service offense. He tore off my receipt, looked away from me across the room and with the back of his head facing me, he flung his hand out behind him with my receipt and said, “Thank you.” To whom? He violated one of the cardinal rules of service. Eye contact. How can you possibly deliver a sincere “thank you” without even looking at the person you are thanking? I don’t know what he was looking at or what distracted him, but it was almost insulting to be handed a receipt when someone’s back in facing you.
As I was walking out, I passed one of the managers. Smiling, he said thanks for shopping with us as he passed me by. Yeah, I thought. Tell that to your check-out clerks. Eye contact is one of the first rules of sincere customer service. Without it, other efforts fall short.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a freelance writer, blogger, and workplace consultant. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in "Training" magazine, "Training & Development" magazine, "Supervision," "Pulse" and "The Savannah Morning News." You can read her blogs at www.skirt.com/savannahchick, www.workingsmartworks.blogspot.com/ and on the web at www.mjnhconsulting.com.
I went to Publix supermarket in Savannah this evening on my way back from completing an errand at the mall. It was going to be a quick in-and-out trip and as usual, I ended up getting a few more items than I had expected. Even though the lines were not long, a check-out clerk saw that I was waiting and motioned to me to come over to the next checkout line and he would open up and check me out. I regarded this as an example of excellent customer service since he anticipated my needs and exceeded my expectations. Instead of letting me wait, he provided service that was within his power to deliver, even though there was no great pressing need.
I emptied my cart of the few items that I had onto the conveyor belt. I had a couple bottles of wine, and he properly asked me for my ID. I never fail to be flattered by that gesture, even though I know there is no way that I could be mistaken for someone under 21 unless it was during a total eclipse of the sun. It’s the law, and even though it takes a few more minutes, it is impressive to the customer to know that the business complies with the law and has instructed their employees well. It also gives those obviously over the age of 21 a bit of an ego boost.
The clerk scanned my items, bagged them, and then just left them on the counter. I supposed since there was no separate bagger, he felt it wasn’t necessary to put them in my cart. OK, that’s no biggie, though picking them up, walking around to my cart and putting them in would have been a nice service. After completing the card scanning process to pay for my groceries, he committed a serious service offense. He tore off my receipt, looked away from me across the room and with the back of his head facing me, he flung his hand out behind him with my receipt and said, “Thank you.” To whom? He violated one of the cardinal rules of service. Eye contact. How can you possibly deliver a sincere “thank you” without even looking at the person you are thanking? I don’t know what he was looking at or what distracted him, but it was almost insulting to be handed a receipt when someone’s back in facing you.
As I was walking out, I passed one of the managers. Smiling, he said thanks for shopping with us as he passed me by. Yeah, I thought. Tell that to your check-out clerks. Eye contact is one of the first rules of sincere customer service. Without it, other efforts fall short.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a freelance writer, blogger, and workplace consultant. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in "Training" magazine, "Training & Development" magazine, "Supervision," "Pulse" and "The Savannah Morning News." You can read her blogs at www.skirt.com/savannahchick, www.workingsmartworks.blogspot.com/ and on the web at www.mjnhconsulting.com.
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