1)Thou Shall Greet Every Customer, Even When Thou Art Busy
Customers shall be greeted within 30 seconds of entering the store. If the sales associate is with another customer, she shall acknowledge the customer’s presence with a wave and smile.
2) Thou Shall Answer Thy Phone Promptly and Politely
Every phone call shall be answered within 3 rings. The employee shall answer with the store’s name and her name: “Scrapbook Shack, this is Janice. How can I help you?” Never, ever shall the phone be answered, “Scrapbook Shack, can you hold?”
3) Thou Shall Act Professional
Keep thy personal problems off the sales floor. Do not socialize with thy co-workers or work on thy scrapbook in favor of greeting a customer. Thou shall not eat, drink, chew gum or baby-sit children on the sales floor. Thou shall dress in a manner that identifies you as an employee, not a customer.
4) Thou Shall Treat Every Customer as an Individual
Thou shall evaluate every customer and serve them accordingly, adapting thy service style to fit the tempo and personality of each customer. The teen girl scrapping her cheerleading pictures will appreciate a different service style than the husband buying a gift for his wife or the working mom who’s pressed for time.
5) Thou Shall Place Special Orders
When a customer asks for an item you don’t carry, thou shall not shrug and say, “No, we don’t have those.” Instead thou shall make a sale by offering to special-order the item.
6) Thou Shall Avoid The I Don’t Know Syndrome
The “I Don’t Know” Syndrome and the “Not My Department” Disease shall not be a part of the employee’s dialogue with a customer. Try the “Let Me Find Out For You” Remedy instead.
7) Thou Shall Be a Customer Consultant
Thou shall NOT think of suggestion sales as a pushy, high-pressure sales tactic. Thou shall NOT say, “Let me know if I can help you”. Instead, thou shall ask questions and match the customer’s needs with the store’s products—with every sale!
8) Thou Shall Honor Thy Customers’ Complaints
Thou shall take complaints seriously. Thou shall let the customer tell her story while you listen without hurrying or interrupting. Show sympathy for the customer (“I can see why you’re upset”) without sacrificing the store’s reputation (“I think it’s a stupid rule too”). Thou shall find a course of action to remedy the situation, then ensure the solution is carried out.
9) Thou Shall Invite Every Customer to Join the Store Community
Every customer shall be invited to the next cropping party, signed up for the mailing list and made aware of upcoming classes and special events.
10) Thou Shall Take Advantage of Thy Competitive Advantage
Customer service is thy competitive advantage. Don’t send your customers elsewhere when you can provide the service they want.
Follow these Ten Commandments and you shall rise to Customer Service Heaven!
