What do we want? Decent customer service! When do we want it? Always! Or is that too much to ask for?
When it comes to product reviews, we automatically pass judgement based on the quality of the product itself. Do these glasses make me appear suave? How delicious was the pizza? Are these shoes hurting my feet?
It’s only the service industry that we seem to consciously acknowledge passing judgement based on customer service. Was your internet provider characteristically unhelpful? Was the plumber typically late? Was that waiter rude to me?
While this might seem logical, it does beg the question: Does customer service in retail really matter?
Why should I be investing in training my staff when customers only care about the contents of my store? The truth is that people – including you – do care! We just don’t always mention it.
If you experience bad customer service in a retail environment, the majority of times, the majority of people will not return to that store. As a retail outlet, you can’t afford to lose repeat business. On the flipside, returning customers often return with friends, which is a big win because gaining a new customer is far costlier than retaining an old one.
A US based study by Ebiquity (2014) published a series of statistics on customer service that may shock you.
- 74% of consumers spend more money at a single store due to excellent customer service.
- 60% of consumers pulled out of an intended business transaction due to poor customer service.
- 60% of consumers share their negative experiences with others.
The Customer Experience Report by RightNow (2010) also published these interesting facts:
- 86% of consumers will pay more if they believe they’ll receive excellent customer service.
- 89% of consumers who experience poor customer service take their business to a competitor.
- 54% of consumers’ top suggestions for ways in which companies should improve include overall customer service.
Clearly, it’s not just me who prioritises customer service. So why do so many businesses fail to prioritise it too?
Maybe they disagree; maybe they have a monopoly in a niche market with no competitors within a 100 mile radius; or maybe they simply don’t know how to do it and the thought of having to train their staff to provide outstanding customer service is so daunting it’s just easier to stick their heads in the sand!
That’s exactly why we’ve created Canity.
Canity is an online staff training program that offers customer service modules in a series of short, engaging and practical video lessons. It’s easy to access, easy to learn from and even easy to enjoy. Providing outstanding customer service is more important than ever before and Canity has now made it easier than ever before. Let us do the training, and you can just sit back and watch your staff and customers smile!
Why don’t you live chat with us about getting started today?
-Aaron Posner
