Pasta Perfect!!

I was in my local Italian restaurant the other day and it suddenly occurred to me that all retailers could learn a thing or two from your friendly local pasta parlour!

Despite the continual ‘warnings’ around the recession, this eatery was full to the brim and people were actually queuing outside for a table.

So what does this restaurant have, that keeps it not just surviving, but a full, thriving, exciting and busy business, despite the doom and gloom warnings from the government and financial papers?

Well, as always, it comes down to customer service!

Is the food fantastic? Well, it is good traditional Italian comfort food. The best I’ve ever eaten – I would have to say - No! So why do we keep going back?

As I watched the waiting staff glide between tables, smiling, flirting, bearing outsized pepper grinders and real parmesan, it occurred to me that they were almost ‘putting on a show’ for us. The flair and speed with which they were serving their happy customers was almost theatrical. Most retailers talk about ‘the experience’ that they want to give their customers – but I had to wonder if they do it in the same way and with the same passion.

The other thing I noticed, as I observed them dealing with a busy Saturday night, was that every single one of them seemed to be really enjoying themselves. It was a great example of giving 100% whatever you do. Many people that work in the service industry seem to do so with an attitude or a lack of willing to actually serve their customers. All basic skills you might think – but a visit to most High Streets’ on a busy Saturday would show you a different picture.

So – they acted like they wanted to be there and they were giving ‘service with a smile’, but what else made this casual dinner such a treat?

They were managing to serve a busy restaurant, with what appeared to be minimal staffing and yet, no one was waiting for their food and everybody’s drinks seemed to be overflowing.  What was their secret?

My conclusion was that the restaurant was – very simply – well managed! It was staffed with people who wanted to be there and who all took a huge pride in what they did and it was managed by someone who seemed to believe the customer was king! In short – it was a recipe for success!

So next time you are looking to deliver some training to your team and hopefully inspire them to demonstrate some service skills and passion for what they are doing – perhaps a quick trip to your local Italian may have the answers?

Serve the one you’re with!

Everyone has heard the expression ‘love the one you’re with’, but I think it is high time that retailers started to ‘serve the one you’re with’.

I am talking about the age old irritation of being put second when you are in a store or restaurant, by the person that WAS serving you.

It can be something as small as a phone call and sometimes (and in my opinion far more worryingly) a request from a senior manager – but each interruption is not just annoying, but incredibly rude!

The other day I had queued for some time in a well known fashion retailer. Arms filled with clothing, I waited patiently until I finally reached the front of the queue and then suddenly....the phone rang. I had expected the Sales Assistant to ignore it – but to my horror she picked it up! I then waited a further 5 minutes whilst she responded to what appeared to be a product search from another store in the chain. Whilst I appreciate the ‘other’ store was trying to help THEIR customer – it did not exactly ‘enhance’ my experience!

As I stood there – waiting and wanting to give my hard earned cash to this retailer and feeling more and more that maybe I should ditch my purchase and go elsewhere – it made me wonder why we, as consumers, put up with this kind of behaviour?

Why are so many people in the service industry so quick to forget the person actually standing in front of you? I was always taught that the person in front of you – who is actually waiting to give you money and is also known as the ‘Customer’ is the most important person that there is. I am not sure if it is today’s digital age, with the increases in technology and ‘now’ culture, that means everyone seems to forget the old fashioned style of ‘serving the one you’re with’ rather than chasing potential custom of the future.

Likewise on a recent trip to the Country’s biggest Supermarket, I was somewhat bemused to be unable to get to some fresh produce, as a group of suits (a swarm? a stampede?) talked to each other about the visual look of the stand and the best selling lines it contained. As a customer it continually frustrates me that I am ‘sidelined’ for a store walk through by the management team. I cannot be alone in feeling like this.

When I was an Area Manager, I remember, on a store visit, talking to one of my Managers at the Till Point. To my horror, as a customer approached and she started to ring through their purchases, she continued our conversation. I immediately cut her off and saying, “I will let you serve your customer”, I walked away. When I spoke to her about her behaviour after the customer had left, she seemed to think that OUR conversation had been more important?

So – it seems to me that putting the customer first, is an attitude and culture that NEEDS to come from the top. In other words, don’t answer the phone when you are serving, don’t talk to other staff and ensure that you ALWAYS make your customer feel that they are your Number One priority!

If more retailers can remember that the customer is the person who pays their wages and is the reason for their job and if Management can create a business where they train their teams to maximise face-to face sales – we may just get there!

So remember – If you don’t ‘serve the one you’re with’ – they may choose to be ‘served’ by someone else...

The Plump Pound!

The terminology of the ‘Pink Pound’ is well known, but I wanted to speak out in defence of the ‘Plump Pound’ a far lesser known phenomenon!

As a larger lady, it has always been an enormous frustration when shopping, that so few retailers have anything to offer anyone over a size 14!

It seems to be assumed that anyone bigger than a stick insect only wants to wear a sack and has absolutely NO interest in fashion. I am here to tell you (very) short sighted retailers that this is far from the case.

Tanya Gold in the ‘Daily Mail’  writes ‘Clothing shops don't cater for me. In fact, they detest me. In Bond Street, I am literally waved away from the racks of precious clothes.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1088455/In-defence-fatties--Let-eat-cake.html#ixzz0Q9nH9yLF

Unfortunately, Tanya is not alone.

All retailers are currently in a battle for survival and with the news this week from ‘BDO Stoy Hayward’, that a further 5,000 retailers will go bust next year, it seems astonishing to me, that this larger (in every sense of the word) area of the market goes so unnoticed. Surely having a full range of clothing up to a Size 18 or 20 would be a canny move for any business and would only help to increase your market percentage.

It may be news to retailers; however people over a size 6 are fully able to have a career and therefore a pay packet, along with a life! Like everyone, they also like to spend – so why is this area of the marketplace constantly ignored?

I have always worked in fashion and could tell you about numerous occasions when new product has come into the store and I have been unable to actually wear the clothes, as they seemed to be designed for people with no curves at all. Yes – certain outfits are better on both the slim AND the young, but the prevailing attitude that anyone a little bigger can’t look good or fashionable is a myth!

When I recently lost weight, I remember the BIGGEST pleasure was being able to walk into any store and be able to find clothes that fitted. Shopping suddenly became about buying something you loved and that made you feel fantastic, rather than just about finding something that fitted! Retail therapy indeed!

But surely this is a massive opportunity for stores to start widening their appeal and broadening their customer base and therefore, by default, ensuring their continued survival?

There are some stores which do cater for the 16 plus customer, and I would mention Evans, as a retailer who, over the last couple of years, has made big inroads into both fashionable and wearable clothing. www.evans.co.uk

However, as a woman, I don’t always want to ‘have’ to go to a specialist retailer, particularly when I look around me and see that as a nation we are getting larger and larger. How ‘special’ are we, when over 40% of the female population is a size 16 plus? Maybe we should look upon the tiny Size 6 girls as ‘special’?

I would also address the Sales Assistance view of the more curvaceous Customer. A recent study by Bianca Price, of the University of South Australia found that many Customers were put off by ‘pretty staff’,  She concluded that ‘The key for retailers was to hire “women of all shapes and sizes - someone for each of your potential customers to relate to”.’www.retail-week.com/retail-sectors/fashion/pretty-staff-may-put-off-shoppers/5005419.article.  Added to this, as Tanya comments above, the attitude of your average Sales Assistant can also be stumbling block to sales.

So what can you do to ensure that you cater for EVERYONE that comes through your doors? It is more difficult to have a massive impact on what sizes your business stocks, however, I was always a big champion of improving this and did manage to have some influence in a well known fashion chain, who finally accepted that their product range could go up to a Size 18. So you can make a difference!

Training your team on product knowledge and having a good understanding of how your clothing fits and looks is also a key driver and is only delivering the basic service that any client might expect. Also spending time with your team around understanding body shapes and nurturing in them a strong desire to send your customers out of the store feeling great is another good start!

Don’t forget – the ‘Plump Pound’ pays your staffs wages just as much as the next persons.....

Maybe this could be the key to many retailers continued success and an opportunity to prevent some of those predicted retail insolvencies?

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Why “The Detail” is not just for Retail!

How does any business know when they have delivered a ‘wow’ customer experience?

B2B Customers may initially seem to have a different set of requirements to a retail environment, however, isn’t customer satisfaction, loyalty and return business what all industries should be striving towards?

In these challenging times when all customers have a lot more choice and potentially less money to spend – it is vital that you look at what you offer and how you can do it better. The retail business talks a lot about ‘The Detail’ and most of us experience a level of service in the retail/hospitality sector on a regular basis and could easily describe what equates to both good AND bad service. I believe that when ‘The Detail’ is applied in the right way it can be equally relevant to B2B.

When trying to improve service it is important to review each and every area where you and your team come into contact with the customer.

The phone can be an extremely beneficial tool and is often the first contact you may have with a B2B prospect, it is however, an often overlooked and undervalued device. Smiling when answering the phone, showing that you are really listening to the person on the other end and re-capping any information or future actions are all basic and easy to do things – so why is this not always the case or what the actual customer experiences?

Face to face contact also utilises many of the same skills and it is always worth remembering the old cliché that ‘first impressions count...’ Though this may at first appear trite, remember, it is far easier to start a business relationship the right way, rather than spending huge volumes of time struggling to change or improve an initial perception.

After spending some time in the USA I saw how even the most simple service experience can be enhanced and, as always, it seems to be the small things that are the most memorable. When you visit a supermarket – someone brings a trolley over to you and the American consumer would be deeply shocked to be expected to return this after they have finished their weekly shop – instead it is either taken from them or left by their car to be picked up. It all makes the shopping ‘experience’ far more enjoyable or at the very worse less hard work!

How does this relate to B2B service – well, it is a great example of ‘delighting’ the customer.

When asked what attributes contribute to customer service, it may seem deceptively simple – but the best description I can give is ‘... give the customer what they want, when they want it and do better than anyone else’.

How do you get your whole team to do this? Well, the key to this is training, developing and honing some simple skill sets within your organisation and ensuring that everyone in your business delivers this time after time.

Delighting the customer is the fundamental difference that you can offer your end user and it is what can set you apart from your competitors. Look at ‘The Detail’ that your clients require and realise that this will be different for each of your customers, however if you use the above skills set to really understand and recognise what your customer wants – you are half way to be able to deliver it!

After all, all businesses know that retention is less expensive than finding new customers!


This article was originally published in 'Tomorrow's Cleaning' September 09 Issue.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a0eeda79#/a0eeda79/70

The ‘Tick Box’ Trainer

When you have a large amount of staff to train it can often seem an enormous and uphill struggle. Many retailers today have a dedicated ‘Training Program’ that staff go through in their first 13 weeks of Induction, to support and aid them in this task. So it would seem that this should easily deliver an effective and competent team with great selling skills?

Sadly, this doesn’t always seem to be the case and it made me start to think about why not?

Having worked for many retailers – all with highly comprehensive training programs - it seemed to me; that what you saw the team doing on the sales floor didn’t always match the level of training that the in store Management team felt (or told you) had been given.

As an Area Manager, it was often part of my role to go through stores ‘Induction & Training Workbooks’ and review what level the individual staff members had reached. I would often, initially, be pleased with the level of ‘training’ that seemed to have been presented. Crucially this would differ vastly from my experience whilst out on the sales floor.

The best way of really finding out the skills set of anyone in your team tends to be the old fashioned way – and by that – I mean to actually have a one-to-one conversation or to observe their behaviours whilst working.

I remember reviewing the effectiveness of a companywide training program that had been rolled out to the entire business. In order to ensure that every single member of staff within the whole business had received this training, there was a form at the back for the management team to get their teams to sign and date when their training had been received. Pleased that the Manager at one of my largest stores had implemented this very quickly, I eagerly went onto the shop floor to see the new ‘scheme’ in action. It was quickly apparent that either the quality of the training had been compromised or, even more worryingly, had not happened at all.

When I began to probe deeper and started to question the team around their view on this new initiative, I found that my initial suspicion had been correct. The majority of the team had been rushed through this, with no time to really understand the key messages. Worse still, I soon discovered that several of the staff from that store had not even attended the session, but had signed the piece of paper that their ‘Manager’ had popped in front of them.

This brings me back to the ‘Tick Box Trainer’. Many Managers view training programs as a ‘chore’ or something that needs to be done to keep the Training Department or company happy. I believe they are doing themselves, their teams and their stores a disservice!

With today’s ever discerning customer having much higher expectations of service in an increasingly competitive market, the levels of service that you and your teams can deliver can be the deciding factor in a purchase. Customers are talking (and walking) with their feet and are simply no longer prepared to purchase if they feel the service is not there.

Training your team – and by that I mean, really giving them skills, confidence and knowledge – is the only way you can really deliver a serious service proposition and have any chance of also retaining your staff.

Rushing through Workbooks and deciding that your staff members have ‘passed’ a level of competence, when they obviously haven’t, is compromising your business at every level.

Slashed staffing budgets and ever increasing tasks make training and development more and more challenging.  Experienced Managers will use a combination of utilising other team members and prioritising training, mixed with sales floor training to ensure that their team fulfil their potential and are able to ‘serve’ their customers in every way.

But remember - If you become a ‘Tick Box Trainer’ – no one is a winner!

When Tasks can Torment your Customer...

Today’s busy retailers are ever more challenged to achieve amazing sales, a fabulous visual proposition and deliver exceptional customer service – and all on a shoe string budget.

As more and more retailers fall by the wayside in today’s harsh climate, the watchword has become more and more about saving costs. As the old saying goes...’Sales for Vanity and Profit for Sanity’

The workforce is the biggest cost that any retailer has and is also the key cost that can be really influenced and controlled by a good Store Manager; however this has led to a severe slashing of staff and is now being keenly felt by most Customers that walk through your door.

We all accept that tasking is a necessary evil and Customers would sometimes be staggered by what goes on behind the scenes in order to ensure a shop is ‘customer ready’. Indeed, when I was a Store Manager, I remember one of my friends asking me if I would be finished at 5:00pm. I can still see her amazement, when I told her, that firstly we did not close until 5:30pm and that then we would need to recover the sales floor, do a small visual move of the product, cash up and prepare for the following day. Therefore escaping at 5:00pm was highly unlikely!

With the current cull of staff, this is becoming more and more apparent to the Customer and we are beginning to create a culture where the Customer can be ignored when staff are so busy and tasks have become a priority.

Whilst I appreciate that there is an enormous amount of work that needs to go on ‘behind the scenes’ to get a store ready for business, I am sometimes left wondering, ‘how high on the task list is Customer Service?’

I recently visited a store at lunchtime, only to find them in the middle of preparing for their sale. The whole team was fixated on identifying the sale product and starting to move the sales floor around and separate sale from non-sale. Whereas I understand that this needed to be done, this was at the expense of the customers that were in the store and wanting to buy something there and then. They were 'tormenting their existing customers' and potentially losing sales...

So what is the resolve?

The simple answer would be to increase staffing to ensure that both service and tasks. This isn’t always an option – so what else can you do?

Well, firstly it is always important to try and task in your quieter timeslots – review your traffic and ensure that when Customer footfall is at its highest – that you are maximising all opportunities.

Secondly, is to try and prioritise your tasks into what is and isn’t business critical. Also be mindful about what tasks can disrupt your sales floor and be overly obvious to your Customer. The analogy of the swan is a good one – the customer should never be able to see all the frantic paddling which is going on under the service.

Think about who is best suited to a particular task and can therefore do it the best and also the most efficiently. Matching the right people to the right job is one of the keys to effective management.

Finally and most importantly, it is always critical to remember that the Customer is the real reason why you are there and they should ALWAYS be the priority! If that is not the case in your store – perhaps you need to review this.

And try not to ‘torment your customers by tasking’???