According to various surveys on customer service, one of the top five pet peeves that customers complain about is associates who are missing in action. If your place of business is supposed to be open for business, then staff need to be present and ready to greet and help customers. It’s really that easy, not rocket science. Duh! The following story from a colleague of mine is a great example.
Real World Story: “I loved my car mechanic! He knew me by name, was always professional, did great work, and was ALWAYS on the job. I don’t ever remember him not being at the shop when I showed up for car service. He eventually changed jobs and moved out of town. The auto service shop wasn’t the same without him for a variety of reasons, so I recently started looking for a new auto service shop to service my two trucks. I needed the works: brakes, tire alignment, oil change, tune up and air conditioning service. I started to shop around and found a national chain service shop that looked promising just down the street from me.
“The next morning, I showed up to the new shop with my first truck. I noticed two vehicles inside their bay area as I walked into the office. A bell sounded off as I walked through the door. No one was at the service counter, but since the bell had sounded, I assumed someone would be showing up to help me at any minute. I waited for a while. Still no one. I shouted out a few times, ‘Hello? Hello?’ No one called out in response. I waited a little longer but then decided to walk outside to see if I could find someone in the bay area since I had seen two cars with their hoods up in there.
“I came around to the bay area. The two cars still sat there, hoods up, lights on the two cars on, and I could hear the engine running in one of them. I called out, ‘Hello?’ Nothing. ‘Anyone here?’ Still nothing. At this point, I started to feel like this was the opening scene of a Dateline episode. I was now creeping myself out, so I hurriedly walked back to my truck. As soon as I started driving away, I saw someone walking inside the bay area. I slowed down and continued to look, but the person didn’t bother to flag me down or make any other attempt to catch my attention. At that point, I had decided the shop had already wasted enough of my time, so why would I reward them by bringing in two trucks for full service? Later, No-Shows.”
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Show up. You can’t do your job if you’re not there to do it, let alone do a great job. After all, just showing up is half the battle!
- Cover your bases. It’s understandable that once in a while you may run late, or you may need to step away for an emergency, but you should cover your bases. Ensure someone else can cover for you. At the very least, post a note or sign to let potential customers know you’ll be back in 10 minutes, 15 minutes—however long you’ll be.
- Go fetch! If you’ve been away from your designated area and see a customer walking or driving away, chase them down. Get their attention, so they don’t leave without spending money with your business. After all, that’s why you are there, is it not? And if you do catch them, apologize—profusely—for having them wait for you.
Remember: Customer have many choices of where to spend their money. Why make it difficult for them to do so with your business? Whatever your business’s posted hours of operation are, always make sure staff is present and ready to help customers. Who knows, you may lose a customer who was ready and willing to give you $2,000 in exchange for your services.
How does your organization ensure that your staff are not missing in action and losing you money?