Does the sterile anonymity of Internet-commerce and 1-800-BUY-THIS leave you a little cold? In this document, Emily Huling reminds us not to lose our human touch when conducting business in person. Her observations provide useful insights for anyone in your firm who interacts with clients.
It seems that all I hear about these days is e-commerce. Every product and service imaginable is available with a click of the mouse.
My attitude doesn’t mean that I wish I hadn’t jumped on the e-commerce bandwagon. I have a Web site that struts my stuff and offers my wares. My frustration is with real world p-commerce transactions — 'people commerce.' You know, those face-to-face interpersonal business exchanges we have? Sometimes I feel like yelling 'Hey, don’t forget about me, standing here with cash in hand ready to buy something!'
I offer these recommendations for your p-commerce transactions:
Smile. I’m encountering more frowning, unhappy people these days. Why is it that service representatives at one rental car company never smile and those at another are the happiest and friendliest in the industry? Smile at your customers.
Provide your service enthusiastically. I assume that people with nametags are there to help customers. Why is it that with so many businesses, from grocery stores to airlines, I feel I’m imposing on the service person when I need assistance? Cut the employee-to-employee chatter and focus on the customer.
Remember that you are the company. Taking responsibility for your company’s performance is high level professionalism. I overheard a waitress at a family restaurant chain say to a customer dissatisfied with his meal 'Hey, I didn’t cook it!' I laughed but the customer involved didn’t. The proper action would’ve been for the server to apologize and ask the customer what they would want to make it right. If everyone at the table had almost finished their meal (and they had), the decision might not be to re-cook the meal, but to offer a free dessert. Good customer service people always take responsibility for a problem whether they caused it or not.
If these tips aren’t needed in your business, congratulations! But if some of these situations ring true for you, start internal conversations about improving customer service standards now. P-commerce is here to stay.