The way staff speak to customers

[hardwareguy]

To what extent do people think it's acceptable to "manage" the way my staff speak to my customers or in front of my customers as they work?

Sometimes I cringe when I hear staff grumbling in front of customers, for example a member of staff just grumpily apologised to one customer for taking so long in fulfilling his order and that it was because he had been delayed by another customer. "Some people don't even think", he sort of said through gritted teeth.

Other times I get annoyed by staff having 'joke' arguments in front of customers. I know they're joking but do the customers?

How do I address this? Or should I? I don't want to be the thought police or remove people's freedom to be who they are...or do I?!

 

[The Byre]

It's called staff training. Without it, you are going to have this problem all the time!

 

[myfairworld]

As a fellow retailer I'd say yes you must address this! It is exactly the sort of thing which loses you customers.

Some shops train their staff in set responses for set situations. Personally I hate that as it leads stupid stuff such as endlessly being told to 'have a nice day'. I prefer to talk to staff about having the right attitude and taking a genuine interest in the customer and I try to model the right attitude so that they pick it up from me. A little grumble behind the scenes out of customer hearing is quite natural and even good for you, some customers ARE very difficult but never in a customer facing situation.

Are you certain you model the right behaviour to your staff, in the sense of being pleasant and polite to them and taking some degree of a personal interest in them? Sometimes when you encounter bad customer service you notice that the staff themselves are treated ungraciously by their managers.

Tip: If you want to have a shall we say 'difficult' conversation with your staff, it is a good idea to start the gathering with tea and a nice packet of biscuits. I had to have a VERY difficult conversation with my staff recently about a business problem (none of it their fault either which sort of makes it worse) and I called in at the local coffee shop on the way and got some rather scones to pass round. Sweet high carbohydrate food may be very bad for your health but it also makes people calmer and more receptive to new ideas!

 

[myfairworld]

Oh and another idea. Do you have a policy about what to do if shop staff are interrupted by another customer while serving someone? The idea that is endlessly trotted out is that 'the customer is always right' but there are situations where both customers can't be right at the same time. My policy is that unless the 'interrupter' is asking for something which can be dealt with in a second e.g. 'Oh yes, you'll find them just behind that stand' sort of thing, you have to say pleasantly but definitely, 'Sorry I'm just working on this customers order, I'll be with you as soon as I'm able'.

 

[RPower]

Having worked in retail for a few years at Uni, it's absolutely vital that you treat customers with courtesy, politeness and respect. My boss used to enforce this by giving us training and a telling off if we didn't speak to customers politely. This is absolutely appropriate, as staff are the front line of your business and if they're not treating the customers right, chances are they won't come back!

Maybe some formal or informal training about what is and what isn't appropriate language and ways of speaking in front of customers might be a good idea. You can set the standards, being the boss.

A tip I was given if a customer was being less than polite with me was, stay calm, stay neutral and be polite. Always offer to escalate their complaint by allowing them to speak to the manager, etc. They will eventually realise how irrational they're being and calm down. Do make sure to destress afterwards by having a vent in the stock room!