Take Charge: Personalized service doesn't always guarantee better care and higher sales. Learn from this case, submitted by one of our readers and resolved by a quality specialist.
QUESTION:
I have furniture stores in the State of Mexico and, considering that the ideal is the personalized treatment, I made sure that all the clients require the help of my vendors to get to know the furniture and its prices better.
However, many times, when sellers have contact with buyers, they show a bad attitude; In fact, on one occasion a client complained to me because a seller informed him of the price of a piece of furniture in a very bad way.
What did I do wrong? Isn't it true that all clients want personalized treatment? How can I solve this situation so that my clients do not complain about poor service?
Daniel Campos, Puebla, Pue.
REPLY:
Your idea is correct. The vast majority of customers want personalized attention, however, their mistake is to force that personal interaction.
Remember that, frequently, a customer must compare several options to decide the most convenient purchase. Many times, they prefer to collect this information themselves and it bothers them to have to continually go to the seller.
Imagine that you are attending a restaurant for the first time that does not have a menu available. The waiter, very attentive (if you are one of her first customers of the day, of course), would begin to recite a long list of dishes, with their respective prices. Would you as a customer be able to learn the characteristics and prices of all the dishes, before ordering the one you want most? Most don't. Then I would have to ask several times.
'Sorry, what does the salad you mentioned three minutes ago include…?', 'How much did you say the flank steak costs?… Now imagine the number of times the waiter would have to recite the same litany. How many customers will pass before you despair and lower your service level? The sensation of the waiter would be that she wastes time offering such information, without the possibility of serving other customers.
Avoid these problems
We have detected that some clients leave businesses because they get tired of asking (or they feel sorry or despair); But of course, without having completed the necessary comparison process to decide on the purchase of your product, which drastically reduces the sales possibilities of the shops.
Worst of all, you may also have problems with your customers for not respecting their time. Surely, on the days when your customers are more busy with your business (weekends, perhaps), you lose potential sales because your salespeople are not enough.
When sellers have to give all the information, they often sulk at times when there are a lot of customers. This is how episodes of customer abuse occur.
Although there are many clients who want a personalized treatment, there are also others who prefer to have the information at hand and decide without the coercion of any vendor. We call these independent clients.
SOLUTION.
Leave the prices and characteristics of your furniture (as much as possible) in a visible way so that your customers can compare the information, without taking time and encouragement from your sellers. This will increase the chances of selling to both types of consumers.
If a customer who wants a personalized treatment arrives at your business, even when the information is available, be sure to ask or request advice for the purchase. Don't worry, the client who requires special attention will ask you; and those who do not will find it on hand and it will be easier for them to encourage them to buy from them.
Do not force personal interaction, as it is not a guarantee that you will improve the service or that your sales will increase. Give your clients more information without being asked and you will gain more clients (the freelancers you lose today). It will improve the attitude of your staff and the perception of customers about your service will increase significantly.
