When The Chips Are Down
We have all heard someone say that being a friend is easy when things are going good but to really find out who your true friends are the test is who will be at your side when things aren’t going well. What does friendship have to do with sales? Well one, it is National Friendship Week and we should always appreciate those that we call friends. Secondly, I believe that customer service can be a lot like friendship. It is easy to display a high level of customer service when everything is perfect but what about when times are tough.
I would like to share an on-going experience with you that brought this topic to the forefront of my mind. We shop at a local store at least once a week, sometimes more, and in the past few weeks, this store has and continues to undergo major remodeling. Now because this particular store is 24 hours, they are doing the remodel while still serving customers. It has been very confusing at times trying to find a product that is no longer where it has been for years and could have led to frustration on our part. The employees, however, have done a great job of making themselves available and helping to ease any concerns that customers may have during the construction.
One example that comes to mind is when we were trying to find a simple box of trash bags and just had no luck. We asked one of the employees and they did not tell us where they were, but rather went, got them, and brought them back to us. The employee explained that there was no sense for us to see where they were at now because in a day or two they were going to be right back where they had always been. They had just moved them so work could be completed on that area of the store.
So the point is simple, even average salespeople are able to provide quality customer service when the conditions are “perfect.” It takes a professional and dedicated salesperson to continue a high level of customer service when those conditions are less than ideal. More to the point customer service is a little like “an ideal friendship,” meaning it will be there even when the chips are down. Happy National Friendship Week!
FINAO – Brad Huisken, President – IAS TRAINING
