Customer Service: A Lost Cause?

I was very happy to be quoted several times in this article about the recent GlobalShop conference.  Interestingly (and we've heard this complaint about most of the industry events!), while the consumer is talking about customer experience and the overall shopping experience, I don't think we give it enough real coverage to creating better experiences at retail.  And although I love technology, it needs to be put to much better use to help create a better shopping experience for the consumer, not just an easier time for the retailer.  As an example, take a look at this post about a recent technology experience I had at Best Buy!

I knows it's my soapbox, but at the end of the day, it will be your experience that matters!

"The sobering picture: Customer service marks nationally are dismal, shopper loyalty has evaporated, and many retailers are struggling to please customers whose expectations have been raised sharply in this age of instant Internet information...

It's far beyond online shopping, which after 10 years is less than 5 percent of merchandise sales. Rather, the Internet has become an immediate source of product information and communication for the two-thirds of shoppers who have a computer. On the Internet, they are in charge. In a store, they are at the mercy of clerks whose employers left them ill-equipped to cope with the new reality.

A BIG Research survey found 88 percent of shoppers blame the store for the sin of a single employee. And 86 percent quit shopping there after a third offense.

Sixty-eight percent of shoppers in BIG's survey yearn for knowledgeable, helpful, courteous, friendly and caring staff. Only 5 percent see a need for faster checkout."

--David Polinchock

Comments

[Maria Palma]

Some retailers are beginning to realize that customer service is the key to keeping their customers, but it's been a slow process in their efforts to implement a program. Everything costs money and some don't know that it's an investment in their future! But they'll get it soon enough...