Recently I was in a store,
waiting in a long line
for customer service.
The employees manning the counter
would answer phones
as soon as they rang,
leaving the customers
who were actually IN the store
to wait in the line.
Finally, I called the store’s
customer service number.
I watched as the employee
picked up the phone
and answered my question.
Ridiculous, isn’t it?
Yet this happens ALL the time.
As Jeff Mowatt,
author of
Becoming a Service Icon
in 90 Minutes a Month,
shares in
March/April’s The Costco Connection
“Walk-ins take priority over phone-ins.
Don’t interrupt a visitor
to pick up the phone.
That’s what voice mail is for.
If you must take the phone call,
ask the visitor’s permission.
Then tell the caller
that you are with another customer
but will look into his or her request
and call back.”
Service the customers
IN your store
first.