I was on a mission to do a few things at the Mall the other day. I was what's called a motivated buyer. I dashed into one of the optical chain stores, and there at the reception counter was a middle-aged woman talking on the phone to a friend about being reprimanded or something. After seeing me, she continued to discuss her career with her friend. Well, my fuse is short, so I gave her the look, which she caught and said, "I'll be with you in a minute," and continued to chit chat. Ready to pop, I looked to the right and to the left in an effort to restrain myself.
Meanwhile another sales lady finished up with a customer and noticing my irritation and said, "Can I help you?" Relieved, I started explaining that I'm looking for some cool prescription sunglasses. That being said, two of her colleagues approached. One sat at her little fitting desk and the other stood to her right, and all three started discussing something. Since there was no "Excuse me sir" or no "Sorry for the interruption," I said in an irritated tone, "So what part of 'Can I help you' did I miss?" The young lady looked at me and said "Well sir, we're busy."
So I huffed and puffed back to Lady #1 and by now, she's hung up the phone and is starting to fill-out a form on a clipboard. I sigh, "Can you help me now?" To which she pleasantly says "Just a minute, I'm not good at multi tasking. Besides, wasn't the other lady helping you?" So I quip, "She blew me off!" "Well," she says in her put-out manner, "Let me finish these and then I'll see if I can help you."
At that point I'd had enough and growled, "I'll come back another time." To which she retorts in a rude voice, "Well sir, we're busy." Now here's the killer. There was not another customer in the store and I left totally frustrated. My eyes will bake naked in the desert sun before I go back to that store again!
So why did this happen? Management, Management, Management.
Somehow these people were never told to make customers welcome and happy. Nor was their behavior monitored, corrected or rewarded to reflect "Make the prospective customer feel welcome." They never got the message that customers come before filling out forms or talking to colleagues or friends. And don't ever say, "They should know better." They don't unless someone tells them.
Theses employees, like most employees, probably feel they are doing their job, and are overworked and under paid. They are not concerned enough to change because nobody in authority ever says anything. They feel they have lots of customers - maybe too many. "So what if we lose this guy whose looking for some help? Who cares?"
Get a Clue
The front-line sales people and those working around the store are there to help customers to buy. They are not there to fill-out forms, answer phones, stock shelves, chit chat, eat lunch or be busy. The only busy is when they are with a customer-face to face. Everything else (including answering the phone again) is a distant, second priority. How annoying and rude is it when you've finally got someone's attention and they answer the phone and ignore you? If you can't handle this, then you need to rethink your reason for your Design Center. If you're hung up on the people doing nothing, then you have to give the message that all "busy" comes to an end as soon as a prospect (a motivated buyer) enters.
And now I invite you to learn more.
Bonus Tip: FREE E-Book "Guide to Retail Selling for Store Owners, Sale Managers and Retail Sales People". Just click this Retail Sales Link.
Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to be effective and feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.
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