Retail Customer Service Tip
Tip #400 - An A For Attitude
(3/2/10)
Dear Tip of the Weeker,
Wow... 400 WhizBang! Tips for retailers. That's a pretty cool milestone.
Over the past eight years we've given you our best retail ideas, advice, reflections, stories, tactics and, of course, tips.
Thanks for reading!
Last week Bob spoke at the Water Sports Industry Association "Summit in the Snow" in Park City, Utah. Susan and the boys tagged along for a couple days of skiing.
One of the most amazing things about the trip (aside from the gorgeous mountains and the spectacular snow) was the attitude of all the people we met in Park City.
You might imagine that near the end of the season in a town overrun by flat-landers and tourist-types the retailers, restaurateurs, and service providers would be getting burned out, testy, even downright cranky.
But you'd be wrong.
Without exception the folks we met exhibited the always welcome and often elusive "Good Attitude."
They were friendly, yes, and cheerful, too. But it was more than that.
In reflecting on our experience, there were two characteristics that made us give Park City an "A" for attitude...
Authenticity. These people were real, genuine. They spoke from the heart, not merely going through the motions giving us a canned, corporate line. Their comments and recommendations were personal - just for us!
Caring. We got the feeling that the lift operator actually cared if we were having fun on the slopes, that the wait staff actually cared if were were having fun and enjoying our meal, that the guy who fitted our skis actually cared if he got us the right package so we'd have a great ski experience. It felt great.
So how do you get 100% of your retail employees to have an "A" attitude?
Retail training for attitude is tough - the results usually lack the "authentic caring" that we experienced in Park City. Here's what works for sure...
Hire it. Better to hire someone with a great attitude and teach them skills than to hire skills with a bad attitude. There are lots of recruiting and interviewing tricks that can help you attract and select people with a naturally great attitude.
Model it. We like to say, "They watch your feet, not your lips!" If you model a friendly, cheerful, caring, and authentic attitude your retail employees will automatically start to adopt that attitude as well.
