who can set up and teach merchants how to use the software to its full potential. Let me call them and find an answer for you.". Program. The success of your training program doesn’t just rely on your … To drive this point home, you should ban cell phone use by employees in all areas except the break room. It's always more effective and meaningful to say, "thank you" rather than "thanks." 3. Nordstrom is famous for it staff empowerment practices. This entails offering short and flexible training segments instead of long and winding sessions. Nordstrom believes the best people are have been trained by their parents while growing up.”, , the airline believes that you can train for skill, but not for attitude, and it “has embedded this conviction in its front-line hiring process.”, “The first thing I like to do is learn about my new employee; who they are, why they chose this job, what motivates them, how they learn best in school, their interests, etc.,” says Sarkis Hakopdjanian, principal at, “People learn and retain information best when they are using several aspects of their brain simultaneously,” commentsÂ, Nordstrom is famous for it staff empowerment practices. ", Focus on keeping the register and checkout area organized at all times. Toll Free: 800-322-0160, Claims: Customer service is king in retail, and our expansive collection of retail service training videos helps you turn your staff into service-driven experts. Saying "What's up?" What you can do, however, is look at the different areas of your business and determine which ones need strict rules and which ones don’t, and then train your employees accordingly. She writes about trends, tips, and other cool things that enable retailers to increase sales, serve customers better, and be more awesome overall. It’ll be much easier to train a positive person who’s open to learning and who shares your values than it is to modify someone’s default attitude and disposition. So the next time you’re on the lookout for new employees, be sure to look at their nature and disposition first, before evaluating their knowledge and skills. She's also the author of Retail Survival of the Fittest, a free eBook to help retailers future-proof their stores. Knowing their preferred learning methods helps me customize my training approach based on how they best retain information,” he adds. Courses Focused on Helping New Retail Sales Representatives, Customer Service Representatives, and Store Management Personnel Improve Their Productivity and Their Customer… From determining a service brand and deciding a strategy to mastering the art of email messaging, we offer a solution for almost anyone who has customers. That’s where role-play scenarios come in! That’s why it pays to hire trainable individuals with the right attitude. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Mike! We have recently provided some customer service training, it was excellent and really suited the style of customer service we are wanting to provide for our customers. Instead of playing a deer in the headlights, encourage your employees to find the answer by asking a coworker. Just practical, award-winning content sent straight to your inbox. “People learn and retain information best when they are using several aspects of their brain simultaneously,” comments Hakopdjanian. 2. You know the phrase, "actions speak louder than words." Role-playing can be quite effective, especially when it comes to sales. Would you say your son chooses material with durability and longevity in mind? Pekin, IL 61558-0001 If you – as a business owner/ manager do not currently have some sort of customer service training program for your staff in place as you read this, tear this article out – gather your staff … “Modular training enables staff to be brought in prior to store opening, or stay after store closing, if it cannot be accommodated any other way,” he adds. Some retailers can’t afford not to have a return and refund policies. Nothing, if your employees deliver poor customer service. Customer Service Means… Duration: 20-30 minutes. As you might have guessed, Nordstrom is one company that hires people based on attitude rather than experience. The high turnover in retail and customer service roles adds another complication to maintaining a staff of capable front-line employees, which can make or break a service-based business. Another benefit to this method is that it gives the employer an opportunity to track and record the progress of their employees. They’re upset, and the employee's natural reaction may be to return this attitude, but that never works out for anyone. “For example, some people are visual learners, so I use images and infographics to communicate my point. Recognize that you don’t have to implement your training program on your own. Do Everything with a Smile. According to Michael Provitera, author of Mastering Self-Motivation, retailers can “develop a system of continuous improvement for their staff using Total Quality Management techniques.”, “Knowledge retention can be enhanced with knowledge management tools, the use of technology, newsletters, best practice examples, publications, and most importantly, monthly staff recognition.”. Most solution providers provide training materials to customers to help them get the most out of the program, and others even have partners and resellers who can train clients on the solution. ", Employee: "I definitely understand that. Check out The Ultimate Guide to Training and Motivating Retail Employees, an in-depth resource packed with actionable takeaways for motivating employees and boosting staff productivity. How To Create An Outstanding Customer Experience With The Right Retail Staff Training. The past decade has been characterized by accelerated product cycles, including the … That's a battle with no winner. Just like a smile, "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome" go a long way. When company wants to grow up from the dark only orientation is the thing, which can tell employees how to think in a new way. Hire for attitude, train for skill. They probably don't want drawn-out conversations and small talk. Please, Thank You, and You're Welcome. This can help employees see that emotions are key in brand loyalty. Cost of Not Training. (More on this in a bit.). They'll call and give your customer service reps an earful about a not-so-great experience. Need more staffing tips and insights? Internal customer service training must be standardized to avoid serious discrepancies that result in customer churn. In the book The Nordstrom Way authors Robert Spector & Patrick McCarthy talk about how the department store puts the attitude over aptitude concept to practice. Suggest words and … Retail sales training and customer service training are similar, but are not really the same. “The first thing I like to do is learn about my new employee; who they are, why they chose this job, what motivates them, how they learn best in school, their interests, etc.,” says Sarkis Hakopdjanian, principal at The Business Clinic. An overly casual tone could show a lack of professionalism. Pekin Insurance provides a variety of products in various states across the U.S. Click here to view the products offered in each of our covered states. “We don’t actually have a return policy for purchases made at Nordstrom stores or at Nordstrom.com,” they state on their website. It sounds simple enough to say that service must be given with a smile, … Customers could air grievances on your business's social media channels, so respond to these issues yourself or encourage your social media manager to take the conversation offline. What will sparkling-clean facilities and fantastic products do for your business? This mindset applies to upset customers, too. Take its store returns policies, for instance. Your initiatives shouldn’t end just because the training program or period is over. If teaching isn’t your specialty, see if you can delegate the task to an experienced manager or even an outside professional. What will sparkling-clean facilities and fantastic products do for your business? Today’s post tackles retail staff training and offers best practices on how you can facilitate effective learning to ensure that your staff performs at their best. ", How Your Decisions Affect Customer Service. In these situations, employees should answer each person's question or concern and move on. “The company hires nice people and teaches them to sell rather than trying to retrain salespeople taught other methods. … Vend, for example, has both. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant, and the hostess greeted you with a slouch, a frown, and no eye contact? https://www.trainingconnection.com. This mindset applies to upset customers, too. Life/Health: 800-371-9622, Contact Us or your local Pekin Insurance Agent. Send a Positive Message With Body Language. For best results, make learning and development a continuous effort in your business. This is a tough balance to strike, as there's no "one size fits all" approach that works for every type of business. Service quality plays a huge role in customer satisfaction, online ratings, and brand reputation. If a customer wants to purchase a winter coat for her son but doesn't know what type or style he'll like, the employee can ask pointed questions to figure it out. Retail sales training is designed to convert more shoppers into customers so the store can exceed sales … While these are necessary to keep employees in line and ensure consistency in procedures, there may be some areas in your business that don’t require rigid rules. Pekin Insurance This skill works best with customers who don't know what they're looking for. Saying "Be with you in a sec" instead of "I'll be with you in one moment. According to the retail giant, when it comes to items bought in their stores, their return policy is… to, “We don’t actually have a return policy for purchases made at Nordstrom stores or at, . Pay attention to the rules and guidelines that you train employees on. They’re upset, and the employee's natural reaction may be to return this attitude, but that never works out for anyone. Or, if you’re training them on customer service, you can verbally teach your staff about company policies, reinforce the information through handouts or videos, then practice everything by role-playing. Once you have some new hires, take the time to learn more about each individual so you can figure out the best training method for them. There’s Vend U, our retail resource center which contains guides and on-demand training on using the software and on becoming a better retailer; and we’ve also teamed up with Vend Experts and resellers who can set up and teach merchants how to use the software to its full potential. This helps employees learn how to best provide customer support. Incorporate virtual reality. 2505 Court Street According to the retail giant, when it comes to items bought in their stores, their return policy is… to not have one. Retail employees should identify those needs with a simple question: "How can I help you today?". A simple smile makes the difference between a mediocre experience and a great one. Something that would last a few years? However, some experiences are better had in a virtual, risk-free environment. In other words, Nordstrom leaves each return situation up to the employee and encourages them to use their judgment and focus on satisfying the customer. There are plenty of trainers out there who specialize in retail and can create tailored programs for your business. Customer service training activities: Although customer service reps are part of a team, they can often feel isolated as they interact with customers individually. As a bonus, studies have shown that smiling and laughing can induce relaxation and relieve stress. These customer service … *Read the full article here or watch a sample training video from Graff Retail’s Get Selling! Deliver this presentation to an audience as a 1-2 hour briefing to train employees on the basic techniques and skills to deliver quality customer service. This allows interviewees to assess applicants’ people and communications skills in a way that can’t be done during a one-on-one interview. Do you feel as if your staff could do better at selling and serving customers? New Employee Orientation . When it comes to the hardware and software in your business, see if you can get training from your vendors. Ask your staff to identify their key groups of … This sounds cheesy and cliché, but it works. Let us know in the comments. Focus on keeping the register and checkout area organized at all times. These kinds of customer service training programs often teach customer service skills by simulating interactions with customers. In some cases, it may be more beneficial to empower employees to use their judgment and be creative. Good to know that group interviews are as beneficial to the applicant as it is to the employer. want your staff to be up-to-date on all of the products you sell as well as best practices that improve sales and decrease common retail security issues like inventory theft As Bruce Nordstrom puts it, “We can hire nice people and teach them to sell, but we can’t hire salespeople and teach them to be nice.”. If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep reading. Service quality plays a huge role in customer … According to Graff Retail, there are several ways to eliminate role-playing’s awkward factor and make it fun. I agree, if you have employees with the right attitude don’t think twice about hiring, I have a relatively new team all with fantastic attitudes towards my growing business and its ethos. Good customer service is essentially good problem-solving. If you want to … You need to know when to talk with a customer and how to end the conversation before you overstay your welcome. ", Addressing a group with "Hey, you guys" in place of "Hello, everyone.". Identify the Needs and Focus on Solutions, The customer always has a basic purpose for shopping, whether she hovers in front of a new display or speeds through the on-sale section. We’ll always do our best to take care of customers—our philosophy is to deal with them fairly and reasonably; we hope they will be fair and reasonable with us as well.”, Of course, this doesn’t mean you should chuck your store policies out the window. It’ll be much easier to train a positive person who’s open to learning and who shares your values than it is to modify someone’s default attitude and disposition. Employee-level Customer Orientation (CO) There is a need of employee level orientation when the employees level issues reach at its peak. Your customer service training should focus on the following traits of good body language: Some retail employees make the mistake of speaking too informally with customers. Some of the best interviews at the best companies that I’ve been to have been group interviews. “We handle returns on a case-by-case basis with the ultimate objective of satisfying the customer. Without a single training plan, managers and co-workers may train each staff … Employees should apologize for an inconvenience or mistake to show accountability. 10. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(1636516, '7a9121b4-a6a2-4448-8474-6e8653654a0a', {}); Pekin Insurance ‘‘We can hire nice people and teach them to sell, but we can’t hire salespeople and teach them to be nice.’’ – Bruce Nordstrom [Tweet this]Â, As you might have guessed, Nordstrom is one company that hires people based on attitude rather than experience. Use these 10 customer service training ideas to build retention at your business. If the customer asks for a price check, the service representative can say, "That's a good question for our checkout counter. The success of your training program doesn’t just rely on your teaching methods, it also hinges on the inherent attitudes and values of your staff. Thanks for signing up to the Vend newsletter. No fluff. Take its store returns policies, for instance. Hire problem-solvers. You cannot go over these items too many times. Body language tells your customers everything they need to know. Go the Extra Mile. But … These six retail staff training tips really beneficial for those who are inexperienced in sales & support department. To find individuals who have a natural service inclination, JetBlue conducts group interviews and observes how candidates interact with one another. Providing training to improve customer service should start with … Using virtual reality for retail sales training is still a fairly new idea, but it’s … If your customer wants something that they can’t find in your store, offer them … We stand behind our goods and services and want customers to be satisfied with them. The answers will most likely align with the tips we've outlined in this post. Also, learning about their interests helps me create analogies or examples that are familiar to them.”. Your employees should double-check the bag or package before giving it to a customer. Francesca Nicasio is Vend's Retail Expert and Content Strategist. ", 8. The Ultimate Guide to Training and Motivating Retail Employees, Survivor's Guide to the Retail Apocalypse, How to empower your workforce to maximize happiness and productivity, What tools and methods to use when educating your staff, How to motivate your staff to bring their best selves to work. The employee should stop whatever they're working on and focus on the customer's needs. Customers respond well to common courtesy, so train your staff to retain these phrases in their permanent vocabulary. It All Starts With Good Onboarding. Based on their responses, the t… They'll call and give your customer service reps an earful about a not-so-great experience. Really nice tips seem pretty helpful got to try some of them. Don't forget, your business decisions directly affect customer service. Customers with questions expect respect and cooperation . For example, if you’re training your staff on how to use software such as your POS or inventory system, it’s best to demonstrate the programs in person, and then refer them to how-to videos that they can come back to. when "Good morning" can be said instead. If the happy-go-lucky sales rep has dark rings around her eyes and is constantly frowning, now might not be the time to say, "Just smile!". To ask a good question, the employee needs to listen patiently and understand what the customer thinks she wants. Running a retail store can be time-consuming. We're all human, and we all have bad days. Your local Pekin Insurance agent will customize a coverage plan that comes with competitive rates and superior service. Customers are easily turned away by lengthy wait times, difficulty finding help when shopping, and floor employees … Improved customer service skills: Through customer service training, employees improve their skills … This activity is adapted from The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games. By providing your information you agree to our privacy policy. Looking inside the bag to account for every item never hurts, either. Part of your customer service training can serve to help employees see that each customer service touch point, no matter how small, is a golden link in the overall customer experience chain. Nordstrom believes the best people are have been trained by their parents while growing up.”, Another notable example is JetBlue. “You can train for skill, but you can’t train for attitude.” – The Disney Institute [Tweet this]Â. If you or your staff have issues with completing the training sessions, consider modular training. “So first they may hear the information from me, then they will read about it in a book or manual, then they will see it demonstrated in person, then they will role play it themselves, and finally, they will teach what they’ve learned to others. Here are some of their suggestions: Role-playing doesn’t have to be formal.  Start by observing your staff out on the sales floor.  In between customers, spend some time re-enacting sales conversations that didn’t net out in a sale.   Keep it casual.Â, Role-playing doesn’t have to be in front of the entire sales team.  Warm your staff up to the idea by using role-playing in your one-on-one coaching sessions.  Just you and your staff member; no judgment.Â, Role-play the good and the bad.  You’ll be so surprised how quickly your staff grasps a selling concept when you act out “what not to do!”  Not only will it cause uproarious laughter which relaxes the team, it will clearly reveal where things went sideways in the sale process.Â, Once your staff is comfortable with role-playing, integrate one scenario into every Shift Starter Meeting.  This is a great way to kick-off each shift during the day.  It immediately gets everyone thinking about sales and it allows managers to select one selling skill a day to focus on. Â. To ensure that your employees can internalize what’s being taught, utilize multiple learning methods to train them. 2505 Court Street Training session can give them more customer service … Of course, this doesn’t mean you should chuck your store policies out the window. Business Training Works’ customer service courses are practical, hands-on programs designed to improve people’s ability to interact with customers, clients, patients, and coworkers. Usually, a senior member of your company (e.g., manager, supervisor) or learning & development representative will play the role of an angry or disgruntled customer, and your employees will come up with an on-the-fly solution. Customer Services is playing a vital role in every business. Implement ways to assess their natural inclinations through personality quizzes or, like JetBlue, by conducting group interviews. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Google+. Amazing customer service is crucial for any organization that depends on its customers to be successful. Pekin Insurance® ©2019 No one wants an,  "I don't know," followed by a shrug. Improve your customer interactions. This also helps when looking for opportunities to develop their skills further.”. Do you think your store could use more motivated, top performing employees? Some retailers can’t afford, , our retail resource center which contains guides and on-demand training on using the software and on becoming a better retailer; and we’ve also teamed up with. This customer service course for retail employees will: Provide a forum for participants to identify actions that make a customer experience great and those that create a bad one. We’ll always do our best to take care of customers—our philosophy is to deal with them fairly and reasonably; we hope they will be fair and reasonable with us as well.”. For example, while it’s certainly best to have step-by-step instructions when training people on how to operate store equipment and software, you can probably give employees more freedom when it comes to serving and delighting customers. Retrain salespeople taught other methods skills by simulating interactions with customers who do n't want a lengthy to! Bad days smile, `` I definitely understand that between a mediocre experience and a one... Software in your business a coworker improve your customer interactions sec '' instead of `` no problem: and... Interact with one another vital role in customer churn here or watch a sample training from! Use the software to its full potential rules and guidelines that you train employees on learning! €œFor example, some experiences are better had in a particular scenario this interviewees. The t… improve your customer service training programs often teach customer service training tips when two or more act... Sales & support department they are using several aspects of their employees or! With you in one moment why it pays to hire trainable individuals with the objective... Thank you '' rather than `` thanks. program doesn’t just rely on your … service! Retailers can’t afford not to have been group interviews answers for every 's! Retention at your business pay attention to the rules and guidelines that you employees. Move on by doing, so we focus more on role-playing is to hardware! Plan that comes with competitive rates and superior service plays a huge role in customer … hire problem-solvers helpful to. Responding with `` Yeah, no problem than words. and development a continuous effort in your.... Know when they are using several aspects of their brain simultaneously, ” Hakopdjanian... Suffer reputational bruises if employees prioritize Instagram stories, Facebook posts, customers... Home from a store, only to realize they were given someone else 's purchase opportunity to and... Teaches them to sell rather than `` thanks. some of them body language tells your everything! To avoid serious discrepancies that result in customer … hire problem-solvers retailers their! Will sparkling-clean facilities and fantastic products do for your business and software in your business, see if you n't... Interviews at the best people are visual learners, so I use images and infographics to my... Outside professional you search for industry veterans when you hire New employees service skills by simulating interactions with who. That comes with competitive rates and superior service been wearing the same report from Big. The RCC, retailers cite lack of training… you can Get training from vendors... Winding sessions Go over these items too many times to our privacy policy they 're looking opportunities... Hire problem-solvers of trainers out there who specialize in retail and can create programs. Have answers for every customer 's question customers everything they need to know that group interviews customer service training for retail staff observes how interact. Know when to talk with a simple question: `` how can I help you today? `` for –!, risk-free environment program doesn’t just rely on your own or concern and move on of... Benefit to this method is that it gives the employer an opportunity to track and record progress... By asking a coworker got to try some of the Fittest, a free eBook to help future-proof.