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RCEES retrospective: Why are we settling?

August 5, 2010 by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Customer service is such a broad term and so very, very beige. Or grey. Too many businesses talk about customer service but don’t know how to measure, train, deliver or measure it. They are happy puffing themselves up how exceptional they are yet, when we come into their stores, we are met with below average.

Retailers who do not observe this disconnect, or shrug it off as a one-off are in danger of ending up like Circuit City. Where once Circuit City excelled, they fired their best salespeople to save money, loaded the store with young workers, poured money into revamps of tired stores and waited for the money to flow in. They kidded themselves salespeople were a cost, not the engine that drove the company. So too are those championing their "culture" while disregarding average transaction and number of units per customer. The very lifeblood of a sales force.

My session at the recent Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit was simply titled, "Why are we settling?" When all the statistics show high turnover in retail, 50 percent more than the next industry. We have a problem.

When we know from the National Retail Federation for example that 50 percent are in college, have been to college or graduated – we can’t blame it on employee stupidity.

When we know the average worker in retail is 38, we can’t blame it on Gen X.

No, the problem with customer service falls squarely on who we allow into our stores, who we allow to hire those people and how our training often tries to make automatons out of individuals. Is it any wonder bored employees text or chat on the phone? They are not being challenged!

Retail must be the mechanism to rebuild our country. To show that people matter. As employees and as customers. That only happens when we get past settling to "fill a schedule" and instead do the really hard work of training. But many who read this won’t take it to heart – it’s much easier and sexier to put money into mobile shopping or web interfaces or social media.

The problem is, like a poor marksman, you’re doomed to keep missing the target. My clients who understand this and have looked in the mirror are on the upswing. Are you?

About Bob Phibbs

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