Well it happened again, just as it does every six months or so. The screen in my electric razor got a hole in it. So, it is time to go to the nearest major superstore to buy new screens and blades for my razor.
The store I went to has a name that starts with a W and ends with a T. I went to the department with the razors and found the package I needed. It was in a locked case. I guess they need to keep the small packages that sell for nearly $30 locked up to prevent shoplifting. Anyway, I needed it so I could shave the next morning so I started to look for somebody in uniform to help me.
Luck seemed to be on my side that day because there was an employee in the very next aisle and she was just around the corner from the locked case. Wonderful, I must have a horseshoe in my pocket.
I politely excused myself for interrupting her shelf stocking and explained that I needed a package out of the razor case. Her reply was “This is pharmacy, that is health & beauty. You’ll need to find somebody else, somebody from health & beauty. Try by the back wall.” And she went back to her shelf stocking.
Well, I sort of lost my politeness after the way she treated me, the customer, with an attitude of indifference. She couldn’t care one way or the other if I got what I needed or not. Apparently it wasn’t her job to help customers find what they are shopping for. Her job was to stock the shelf and not be concerned about customers.
As I walked away, toward the back wall as I was instructed, I repeated the directions she provided to the friend who went to the store with me. I repeated the directions a bit louder than I needed to. I was actually upset and felt that my business with that store was not important. It was a 45 minute drive to get to the store, I really needed the razor parts, so I was not willing to just leave and shop elsewhere.
I did find a very nice lady who even asked about my health as she walked with me to unlock the case. After spending a minute with her I felt much better. The first woman, as part of her service to a customer, should have said she was sorry and she does not have the key for that case. It would have been better had she offered to find the person who does have the key. It would have taken her one and a half minutes at the most to find the nice lady and go back to stocking the shelf. And think how much better I would have felt about shopping at that store.
Customer service is doing small things that make a big difference to the customer. It doesn’t have to be extravagant displays of going out of your way to provide outstanding feats of service. All it takes to provide excellent customer service is kindness and showing you care about the customer. Just do a small thing that will make life just a tiny bit better for the customer. That’s it. Do that and you will be a service champion.
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