Being unable to see their business through customers eyes can lose more business than the recession. The main cause of revolving door customers is the loss of goodwill caused by badly trained or de-motivated staff.
As fast as business owners generate business they lose it because of poor staff training and sheer bad management. The average customer can reel off a dozen businesses they no longer frequent. When asked why they no longer shop or dine at a business the reason given is they have been offended by poor staff service. It is a self-inflicted recession.
The chairman of a leading U.S. car manufacturer was the first to see the light. He could not understand why Far Eastern competitors were outselling his company’s equally good products. Delegating members of his staff as pretend customers, he sent them to his firm’s dealerships.
When team members reported back he was shocked by the culture of complacency in his firm’s showrooms. The customer-friendly ‘can do’ service provided by Far Eastern competitors told him all he needed to know.
The company chairman aimed to identify the causes of clients’ discontent and to address them before customers defected to the competition. Setting up a team of mystery shoppers, their mission was to identify poor service judged from the customer’s perspective.
He then added a complaints department that actually listened to customers, acted on complaints and identified and dealt with problems so they did not recur. The head of another corporation agreed, “Today there isn’t much difference in products. It is service that counts.”
Business Owners should heed the wise words of the Scottish poet, Robbie Burns: “The greatest gift that God can give us is to see ourselves as others see us.”
I invite business owners to invite their staff to write down the number of services they no longer support. I can think of a dozen businesses I no longer visit.
The main complaints are incompetent, inattentive or surly waiting on staff and poor value for money. Other offenders are town hall and local authority administrative staff. Being a monopoly does not justify an attitude that would not be tolerated in the private sector. If their salaries are sourced from customers’ bank accounts, they have a duty to work to the highest standards of customer service.
Business owners can help build and retain custom by inviting friends, unknown to staff, to give their honest opinion after using their services. By all means, tell the staff of your intentions. In my experience, they respond well when they are involved without threat but are offered rewards for helping to build a customer base and add to their shopping experience.
Michael Walsh has been a sales professional and journalist for 40 years. During that time, he managed regional sales teams and provided sales training for sales recruits.
Author of The Business Booster, during 20-years spent with the Guild of Master Craftsmen, he identified, assessed and successfully recruited over 4,000 companies. He is the Business Tips columnist for online media Typically Spanish. Michael Walsh for perfect English and Russian language marketing and website translations. quite_write@yahoo.co.uk