During the weekend just gone I had reason to visit a local seafood retail outlet. It was there that I had the most engaging customer service experience that I had had for a long time.
I was actually talked to in a polite and courteous/ respectful manner as I made my way around the shop – not in a pressing/ pressurizing way. I chose a couple of seafood products, but not wanting this fresh produce to deteriorate before I reached home again, I asked what solutions they offered to address my problem of keeping my seafood fresh and in a cool/ refrigerated state.
This customer-friendly person proceeded to offer me a couple of options – again in a manner that was pleasant and engaging. She showed real empathy in her conduct with me, and I marveled at her ability and passion for engaging in conversation. Particularly when I think about the countless number of shopping experiences that I’ve had over the years which have left me dumbfounded that the businesses concerned could be successful at selling anything given their lacklustere customer engagement performances.
So my message is a simple one in this blog. In this day and age when verbal conversation is becoming a dying skill, if you want to impress people of my generation and influence us to buy from you in a bricks and mortar selling environment, if you can achieve even 75 % of the prowess with which the aforementioned person engaged with me you’ll be on the right track to make a successful sale. If not, then I will be taking my money somewhere else to buy the product/ service that I feel will best suit my needs…from people who are prepared to engage with me in at least a little conversation.