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Recently my husband and I made a big-ticket purchase that we had been considering

for months. You may assume we did a lot of shopping. But given time restraints, we

made a decision quickly. Although we did compare prices via the internet, we wanted to

purchase the item from one store because of their obvious commitment to service.  

The store is in a busy location, where teens often shop in groups. One day, our

daughter came home after being out with friends and made a comment that got our

attention.  

“He was so nice to us, and we were just a bunch of teenagers. He talked to us, laughed

with us, and let us hang-out! You should shop there just because of him!” Our teenage

daughter took time to tell us about her experience. Though she and her friends went

into several stores that day, she came home talking about only one. 

With our busy schedule, we felt she did some investigative pre-shopping for us, making

our decision easier and less time consuming. Our brilliant conclusion? Any store that is

nice to a group of teens is bound to offer superior customer service.  

You never know when someone else will share about a positive encounter. A merchant

should give shoppers a great experience, giving them a story to tell. And, the great

experience shouldn’t be limited to those shoppers with check books in hand. The most

beneficial practices that can help businesses the most don’t even require much affect on

the budget:  

• Get up and greet: When we made our first visit to the store, we were greeted warmly. The store manager, the same one who was nice to our daughter and her friends, came over and offered a handshake. We’ve done plenty of shopping recently where someone looked up from behind a computer screen yelling, “Can I help you?” 
• Confidence: Being an expensive item, we visited the store several times, each consistent in superior service, being called by our names by the second visit.   There was no pressure, but a quiet confidence they could meet our needs. 
• Integrity: We had trust early on as we felt they really cared about everyone who entered the store. If we were going to spend a lot of money, we wanted to be confident that there would be service after the sale. Never did we doubt their integrity. 
• Closing the sale: They recognized when we were ready to make our decision, and then closed the sale. There was no pressure, but they recognized our readiness to make a decision at the appropriate time made arrangements to deliver our item. It was a seamless effort for them as well as for us.