22:32
Shivaram
Mrs. Kumar had seen a special offer in the morning newspaper for a buy 2 Get 1 free from the large departmental store, where she always wanted to buy from. A Sale was on and she wanted to get the best items before the were all "sold" out.
So, she was at the store as soon as the store opened for business. But to her surprise, after she had selected the 2plus 1 offer, when she went to the Retail Sales Associate for a clarification, she found out that the RSA had not even heard about the offer !
We have all experienced service of this kind before, but it has become more and more often these days, especially in large branded stores, often run by employees only...
Why is Customer Experience in retail stores so poor ?
What is the solution :-
In fact, I hear, apparel brands had stopped training 3 years ago, all because of the 100% attrition rate ! Ie, in one year, the whole store staff have changed .
Like the way online retailers are getting the better of physical retailers on price, the only solution for physical retailers is to offer such an "extra ordinary service", the customer is willing to shop at physical stores !
But for such service to be offered, the staff has to be trained. However, a recent example I am aware of shows, that retail sales managers dont have the "inclination" for training.
But, one brand which had stopped training has now begun to train its staff, not only in the store operations, but also exclusive English speaking classes.
The commitment of the staff if training is made available can be seen from the fact, that after working for 6 days at the store, they are going to class on their weekly off day ( 7th day ) for 4 hours to just learn English !
Wish more and more brands wake up to this reality of the poor service levels at the stores and their impact on the Brand, on which crores of rupees are often spent on Brand Ambassadors, Merchandise etc.
Afterall the Brand Ambassadors can bring the customer to the store, but for making the sales, a Retail Sales Associate is required.
Share your experiences in retail shopping with us :-
http://www.retailgurukul.com
http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com
Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin.
Call us on 0 90360 365 24.
So, she was at the store as soon as the store opened for business. But to her surprise, after she had selected the 2plus 1 offer, when she went to the Retail Sales Associate for a clarification, she found out that the RSA had not even heard about the offer !
We have all experienced service of this kind before, but it has become more and more often these days, especially in large branded stores, often run by employees only...
Why is Customer Experience in retail stores so poor ?
As more International brands find the "last big market" is really India, they are coming in and opening new stores in every city possible. Indian Brands are also trying to get the wallet share of the same consumer and are also expanding existing stores, adding new stores at feverish pace to be ready for the real onslaught once the FDI in multi brand retail opens up in the next couple of years.
While Product, Price, Promotion, Place are all possible to be controlled by the Corporate or the Regional office teams, the one challenge that all brands are facing is the acute shortage of "Retail Staff" to man the counters at these stores.
Consumers are experiencing poor service levels, inadequate knowledge of the product, price, latest schemes etc. The problem gets even more complicated with the store staff not necessarily fluent in Hindi or English or even the local language, the brands want them to speak the "brand language" which is typically English and the consumer speaking in his own language, which could be English,, Hindi or even the local language.
With salaries and incentives generally being low, week ends being the busiest days of the week, more and more staff are migrating to Call Centre duties, even if it means night shifts. Atleast the money in call centers are double the typical salary levels in retail stores in India.
What is the solution :-
In fact, I hear, apparel brands had stopped training 3 years ago, all because of the 100% attrition rate ! Ie, in one year, the whole store staff have changed .
Like the way online retailers are getting the better of physical retailers on price, the only solution for physical retailers is to offer such an "extra ordinary service", the customer is willing to shop at physical stores !
But for such service to be offered, the staff has to be trained. However, a recent example I am aware of shows, that retail sales managers dont have the "inclination" for training.
But, one brand which had stopped training has now begun to train its staff, not only in the store operations, but also exclusive English speaking classes.
The commitment of the staff if training is made available can be seen from the fact, that after working for 6 days at the store, they are going to class on their weekly off day ( 7th day ) for 4 hours to just learn English !
Wish more and more brands wake up to this reality of the poor service levels at the stores and their impact on the Brand, on which crores of rupees are often spent on Brand Ambassadors, Merchandise etc.
Afterall the Brand Ambassadors can bring the customer to the store, but for making the sales, a Retail Sales Associate is required.
Share your experiences in retail shopping with us :-
http://www.retailgurukul.com
http://www.retailgurukul.blogspot.com
Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin.
Call us on 0 90360 365 24.
Posted in: Angry Customers, Brand Ambassadors, English, Merchandise, Retail, Stores, Training, Unhappy Customers
2 comments:
Training is an essential even if people are leaving - the idea is to innovate and find appropriate, maybe low cost ways to do it.
And the quality of services in most stores, big or small, have deteriorated!
Hello, Shivaram!
Training is a vital part be it in relation to anything, job, sport, learning English Language or more. Thanks for sharing this article.
Post a Comment