I agree with the rater who said, "The front office staff is in great need of either a swift kick in the ass or a crash course at charm school."
Here's my advice to the OWNERS on training their staff:
1. Always acknowledge people when they walk in the door, *especially when it's obvious you see them.* DON'T obviously see someone and then quickly look away so you don't have to deal with them.
2. If you're busy, tell them you'll help them as soon as possible and THEN ignore them. We all understand busy. Personally, as a customer, I have no problem waiting for up to half-an-hour or coming back another time when it might be less busy. Treat customers with consideration. Give them a heads up. Ignoring them in hopes they go away means they will go away.
3. When you finally do turn your attention to the person that's gotten tired of being ignored, gotten tired of politely pretending to browse, AND has by now decided to position themselves in front of your desk staring at you, your first reaction should be an apology. Treating them as if you are trying to get rid of them as soon as possible is probably the worst thing to do at that point.
*** Older lady, I would have had better service if, while standing in front of your desk, I had used my cell phone to call your store number.***
4. If you don't have enough staff to answer the phones and help the customers at the same time (and it's not just poor labor division/poor time management), please create a voice message that says, "We are busy with customers right now, but please leave us your name and number and we'll get back to you as soon as we can." Let the the fifteen calls a minute go to voice mail and help the customers standing in front of you. Return the voice mails promptly and apologize. Explain how busy your store is. Doing this will actually make you look good.
5. If you examine the goings on in your showroom and find things efficient and well-managed, consider that you might be understaffed. IF the attitude of your reception is scaring off customers, consider whether the attitude comes from job dissatisfaction or ignorance of repercussions (i.e., loss of business).
***Owners, you do not sell five dollar trinkets. You sell medical devices costing hundreds of dollars. Each customer represents several hundred dollars plus recommendations to friends. Your selection of glasses isn't great. If people walk in, it's likely to do business, not to browse.
You will not get my business. If your front showroom is so ineptly managed, what's your back work room like? You will not get my recommendation to friends and strangers. Your front office staff are perhaps poorly chosen, perhaps poorly paid, perhaps poorly trained--who can say, but I blame you. read more