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How rude!
According to STORES/BIGresearch, 19 percent of shoppers say rude employees are the linchpin of poor customer service. The bad news is that the percentage could climb, particularly as Gen Y takes its place on the selling floor. Say what you will about the waves of youth that preceded it, but this over-indulged, overly-praised generation has real issues with the concept of serving others, and too many behave in ways that threaten to cause a customer service train wreck.

Shoppers’ complaints about rude employees get to the heart of how difficult it can be for retail companies to manage the human element of their business. Systems can measure progress on most fronts, but when it comes to quantifying the continuity and consistency of customer service, technology is useless.

How great would it be if front-line staff could be outfitted with an application that delivered data to the store manager in a dashboard format? When an employee uttered a rude comment, the needle on the rude-ometer would swing into the danger zone and the manager could rush out to the sales floor to rectify the problem.

Clearly, employees are not robots (nor would you want them to be), but finding ways to stave off “rude” comments is a must.

“The people that work there are really rude and treat customers like they’re not there.”

“Most of their employees are too young, too rude and too snooty. They also always seem to approach shoppers who look like they have more money.”

The challenge becomes finding employees who are generally upbeat, engaged and interested in what they’re selling, rather than sullen, punch-the-clock types that are just marking time until their next paycheck. That’s not an enviable task by any means.

Policies and presentation
Store policies were cited by nearly 10 percent of those surveyed, with most grumbling over returns policies. Lenient policies instituted by some retailers have created a situation where consumers have come to expect a “no-questions-asked” approach to returns. The climate has shifted, however, and retailers are not quite as easygoing about returns as they were a few years ago. The study suggests shoppers are none too pleased with the change.

“Their policies regarding returns are too rigid and they always give you a hassle,” wrote one respondent. “They do not give you cash back on your returns; they give you a store credit. God forbid you don’t have a receipt; they won’t accept the items even if the tag with the store brand and price is still attached,” adds another.

Finding ways to communicate policies is one thing; getting shoppers to pay attention is another game entirely. Years back, Paco Underhill did a study which found that shoppers don’t read more than three or four words of a sign – a serious detriment to retailers trying to communicate a return policy. Including the policy specifics on every receipt will help, as will consistency within and between stores.

An underlying theme of many shopper comments is the disconnect between the image projected by the brand in various forms of advertising and the experience they have when they visit the store. It may be time for marketing and HR to get on the same page.

When ad-fueled expectations aren’t met, good will quickly fades. As such, training and monitoring front-line staff can no longer be viewed as a cost; it needs to be a priority.

Delivering good customer service may actually be more difficult than figuring out what shoppers will buy. One day the shopper’s definition of customer service is being left alone to roam the aisles, then getting to the register and finding there’s no wait. The next time they shop that very same retailer, they’ll measure good service by how quickly someone approaches them offering help and how knowledgeable they are about the item they’re looking to purchase.

To say it’s arbitrary would be an understatement. But shoppers do have retailers on a short leash: if they experience sub-par customer service, they’re quick to cut them loose.

Still, retailers need to remain vigilant about training and committed to coaching the sales associates on the tenets of good customer service. In an industry where differentiation is vital, customer service can truly become a competitive advantage.

And the last thing retailers need or want is to fall victim to negative word of mouth. In today’s multimedia, blog-happy world, shoppers are quick to spill the beans about a negative customer service experience, and damaging word of mouth ripples out quickly – often doing more damage than can reasonably be measured.

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