Five Steps To Improving Customer Service In Retail

​Frustrated customers aren’t happy customers. Displease your customers one time too many times—and no one can predict if that takes only one time, or multiple times—and they probably won’t return to your establishment. When checkout lines are too long, when store shelves or displays are in disarray, when it’s seemingly impossible to find someone to answer a simple question—your patrons, who are the lifeblood of your store, will walk out. And wouldn’t you, if you were in their shoes?

The first step seems very simple, but far too often it’s done incorrectly. Make sure your staff is scheduled properly, according to store traffic patterns—because that one small change can make a huge difference in customer satisfaction.
Second, consider visibility, organization, and store layout. Can products be seen easily on well-arranged shelves? Is your aisle signage easy to read and understand? Do your customers have sufficient room in which to navigate the aisles? Are you moving your products around too much, so that your customers never know where anything is located from week to week? Answer those questions, and you’ll be on the road to happier customers.
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Third, if you’ve ever traveled abroad, you probably noticed that stores often have only one checkout line—called a queue—which leads to multiple checkout stations. But a 2016 study showed more people actually prefer several, shorter waiting lines over one really long one. In that scenario, each cashier takes responsibility for how efficiently he or she performs—another benefit.

Step four is all about security. Both inside and outside your customer’s building, patrons want to feel safe. Security guards and cameras help, but also make sure to include cybersecurity—because if your establishment suffers a security breach, customers might write your store off as unsafe, never to return.

Lastly, make sure to consider how payments are managed. Those handled correctly and accurately allow checkout lines to move more quickly—meaning fewer cashiers are needed. Your staff can then do what it does best: interact with customers, to provide the best possible shopping experience.

When you’re ready to implement the five steps above in your or your customers’ stores, make sure to contact us. So we can show you what Evident Business Solutions have to offer. We has everything you need to start creating a total, point-of-sale solution.

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