Mary Portas, the so called Queen of the UK’s retail consultants, has embarked on a new television crusade for better customer service.
‘Mary Portas: Secret Shopper’ surveys the British retail trade looking at the poor, and often misleading, customer service offered in mobile phone shops, the high pressure sales teams working in out-of-town furniture sheds and fashion emporiums with their piles of crumpled clothes strewn willy-nilly across the shop floor.
The message is clear: retailers need to stop putting profits above customer service and shoppers need to stop putting up with it.
Hopefully a visit from Queen Mary will provide a much needed fillip to help these companies sharpen their lackadaisical performance. It’s not only about how they deal with existing customers but how they deal with the public at large.
But many other companies, who do not have a public and easily accessible showcase on the high street, could also benefit from the visit of a mystery shopper to assess their performance.
Telecommunications and utility companies call centres would undoubtedly be high on Portas’ hit list for their long waiting times, confusing instructions and general lack of service. Surely if you are in the business of selling phones you should at least offer a top notch call centre service.
Also, if Mary Portas chose to apply for a job with a myriad of British companies she would undoubtedly find out how poorly HR departments communicated with her if she didn’t catch the selector’s eye. Anyone could be a customer of the future so always best to leave them with a favourable lasting impression even if they didn’t get the job. It’s even more important given the vast number of people that are currently out of work and are applying for jobs that appropriate procedures are in place. They could be the procurement manager who one day seals your fate.
We all receive lots of unwanted cold calls from organisations trying to sell your company a product or service. Again, all these calls could be from potential future customers so best to treat them with patience and politeness – they are only doing their job.
The way companies operate their new business tendering process can also send important signals. There always has to be losers but how you deal with this disappointment is important. Dealing with the pitch process in a decisive manner, with a level playing field for all as well as giving constructive feedback will go a long way in ensuring that your company leaves a lasting good impression.
A high standard of customer service should be vital to all companies. Treat people in the same way that you want to be treated yourself should be an important maxim. Try becoming a mystery shopper for a day and see how your company shapes up. It could be a shock.
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