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First, customers like to think they’re getting away with things. If you can make them think they’ve just gotten a deal or avoided certain disaster, their entire mood changes. For example, occasionally you may be asked for an item, and required to walk away and return with said item. When you come back, tell the customer you found one. This is not a lie, and they think they’ve arrived just in the nick of time to claim the last before other greedy shoppers get the chance. Another example is during the checkout process. If a customer is paying with a credit card, grab the card and swipe it upside down. Hand the card back to the customer, and as they’re about to put it away, ask for it back, saying “it didn’t go through”. The customer gets nervous about a possible declination, but of course everything works out fine and they feel a little extra special for beating a system of some kind.
Also, an important thing is to remember that the customer is not always right. I’ve sat through many an orientation video that says just the opposite, but the fact of the matter is, no one is going to fire you for being frank. (The main obstacle in dealing with customers is getting them to see you as a human being, not some lowly idiot whose only purpose is to agree and cater to their whims. It’s not always easy, particularly if the customer can’t find what they’re looking for, but speaking to them like a friend always gets me farther than putting on a “nice” facade.) If they’re mistaken about something, tell them, just don’t make it sound like you think they’re stupid. And of course, leave yourself open to the possibility that you are the misinformed one in a disagreement.
Thirdly, silence is golden, but it can be a time waster. There are many times when you will be walking a customer through the store to the location of the item they need. Often times the customer will thank you, and you can leave them to investigate further. Some, however, will stand there staring blankly and not say anything, leaving you to wonder if they require further assistance or if you can get back to whatever menial task you were doing. I give the customer a five second window. Then I ask if there’s anything else I can help them find, or if they need any other help or something like that. If I’m met with more silence, I just walk away. No one has ever chased me down to tell me how rude I am.
I’ll make additional posts in the future on this subject as other things occur to me. Even if no one gains any useful knowledge, hopefully it’s a fun read.
