I'M SORRY,
I CAN'T HELP YOU
I was
talking to a young fellow the other day who had just started a job at
a petrol station. I asked him what he did (I knew it wouldn’t be
pumping petrol that’s for sure!).
“I spend the entire shift behind the counter taking money from customers,” he
sighed. Then his face brightened up. “But when I get some training, I’ll
be able to fill the gas bottles, stock the shelves and cash up at the end of
the shift.”
Now, doesn’t that say a lot about what today’s managers think
is important? The brand new employee, who has very few commercial skills and
knows nothing about the business, is put in front of customers. But when they’ve
learned a few things, they get to work in the backroom away from the customers.
Perhaps that’s why retailing today is in such a shocking state.
In preparation for a road show I’ve just completed for the New Zealand
Retailers Association, I asked over 100 people what they considered to be the
three main components of good customer service. Sixty-five per cent said product
knowledge. They expected that the shop assistant would have a good understanding
of the products and services they were selling. I then asked people to rate
how well the three components of service they had just identified were being
delivered in the New Zealand marketplace. Eighty per cent of those who had
mentioned product knowledge said it was poor or fair.
The sad thing is that most salespeople do not know how to operate or use the
products they are selling. In my experience, it’s quite common to ask
a shop assistant for information about a product or service only to be told
they know nothing about the products in their department because they are new,
or only temporary workers or are just relieving for the regular employee (who’s
probably out the back somewhere). I’ve even had occasions where, when
I’ve asked a straightforward question, the salesperson has taken out
the manual and started to read it!
Of course, the blame for this lack of product knowledge doesn’t lie
with the employees themselves. It is management’s responsibility to ensure
that those serving the public have the skills and knowledge necessary to be
able to assist their customers in making the right purchasing decision and
in getting the maximum value out of the product they have bought. Some business
owners understand this and have training programs in place for their staff.
Some even require staff to sit exams and reward them for what they have learned.
But sadly, they are few and far between.
Perhaps I’m naïve but I don’t understand the point in having
expensive buildings in costly locations full of stock that’s worth a
great deal of money only to have staff (who also cost money) who don’t
know how to sell the merchandise. The best-case scenario is that the customer
will see you as being a common or garden supplier of commodity items. In that
case, price will be the main determinant of where they shop and what they buy.
The worst-case scenario is that the customers will stay at home, believing
that coming into your store is simply not worth the effort.
Of course, if you had no customers in your store, you wouldn’t need
any staff who knew anything about what you are selling.
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