Understanding the Customer Experience
Understanding the customer experience is a key element to the sales process that is often overlooked by management. I am confident that if one were to gather a hundred managers in a conference room and ask them if the customer experience matters, they would all agree it does. Gallons of ink have been used in business press and business books to explain the virtues of managing the customer experience to maximize profits yet still so many businesses fail to do so.
I visited Pep Boys on Monday to purchase a fuel additive for my car which is having trouble running on the 10% ethanol gas some gas stations are forcing on me. Not to digress but I have a direct correlation even though I admit I am not a mechanic or automotive engineer. As I was saying; I found my fuel additive for $12.99 and proceeded to the checkout. Several employees were chatting amongst themselves in various parts of the store, although none offered to help. I was okay with this since I knew what I wanted and am capable of finding it myself. As I approached to the checkout I could see that it was not being staffed so I turned and went to the service desk where a clerk was waiting without a customer. I am not a regular to Pep Boys so it seemed plausible that the service desk provides checkout services during slower periods of the day. This is how Circuit City now operates. I placed my $12.99 bottle of fuel additive on the counter and smiled reaching for my wallet to pay. The clerk obviously not amused asked what I wanted and seemed annoyed by my suggestion that he accept my payment. He redirected me back the the checkout counter and paged another employee to attend to me, then proceeded to shuffle paperwork. The paperwork of that employee and the conversations of the other employees were far more important than selling me the products on the shelves of the store. I may have had a small purchase but it was 100% more than the next customer behind me (there were none). Realizing it might be awhile for a clerk to come take my money I was trying so hard to spend I left my bottle on the counter and left politely. As Patrica Seybold explains in “The Customer Revolution
I ended up making my purchase at Autozone up the street from Pep Boys where I was greeted by cheerful service and promptly checked out amongst many customers. My positive experience at Autozone will surely lead to increased sales and thus profits. Providing quality customer service is just one element of the customer experience but it is a vital ingredient that is the easiest to control. Employees work at your direction, train them to be great customer service agents and they will be.
