The Customer Service Fallacy….

I had always been told, “if you want to see great service go to America”. On my recent trip to New York I found that there were extremes to this statement. In the hospitality sector most were excellent. A few that stood out was the maître de greeting everyone as if they were “long lost friends”, shaking their hands and calling them friends when he greeted them. He made me feel as if I had come home even though I had never been there before.

In retail, I found that there were so many staff there to serve you and most had a greeter at the front entrance; the most impressive being FAO Schwarz. Though throughout, my experience was inconsistent, from being ignored, to be being spoken to rudely to exceptional service and everything in between.

On many occasions during my trip there were sales staff fighting or speaking badly about the company or supervisor, even in luxury department stores! Which shocked me and made me a little uncomfortable.

Would I use America as a great example for customer service NO! Just like Australia retail customer service is inconsistent. The only true difference is in America retail staff get paid less than their Australian counterparts.

What stands true however, is that all staff that come in contact with the customer must be trained as well as the leaders who lead them.

To learn more about how you can inspire and educate your staff to create a customer centric shopping experience contact Penny Votzourakis on 1300 059766 or email info@kyronglobalacademy.com.