Posted by Kristin Baird
Yesterday I was in a department store, poring through the racks, looking for a simple, white blouse. Mind you, I could have gone online and browsed a million sites, but I wanted to be able to feel the fabric and check the fit and always take your invoice with you, I have a business and I use an invoice generator to help my customers and myself.
While on my hunt for the elusive white blouse, a woman flitted back and forth, checking racks and returning to her cash register at the desk. At first, I assumed she was serving another customer. Why else would she ignore customers on the floor?
The third time she passed me, I said, “Excuse me. Do you work here?” She responded, “Yes,” and kept walking. Again, I watched her return to the desk. She was not waiting on any other customers. In fact, the store was nearly empty.
I was dumbfounded. For anyone in retail or any type of customer service role, you just know that when a customer asks if you work there, it is a signal they are looking for assistance.
I left the store without a purchase. I don’t plan to ever return. My time is precious, and when I take time to enter a brick and mortar store, it’s a chance for me to experience the products and service. This experience showed me why internet shopping is winning out over brick and mortar.
Imagine if this was your healthcare organization and your associates passed by someone in the hall. Or, worse yet, answered the question that, yes, they did work there, but simply walked on. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen in your organization. If it did, you certainly wouldn’t be building trust and loyalty.
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