In a recent post, I talked about the disturbing increase in shop rage.
From our readers' comments, it seems others are concerned at this trend too... not just consumers, but shop staff as well. And another thought... just like road
rage, shop rage can be intimidating and frightening to those not directly involved as well.
Quite apart from the unpleasantness of bad manners and rudeness, when shop rage escalates it can be potentially dangerous.
While our readers were not the shop rage type, they had lots of insights and experiences to share.
Evan pointed out the frustrations that come with dealin with "wretched automated call systems" and "rude and unhelpful counter staff."
Karen highlighted the shop assistant who can't be bothered finding out the answer and makes it up. We've all been there. Customer service and building a good business relationship is about going the extra mile. If you don't know, find out. Don't make it up.
Cindy reminds us to remove the emotion from the situation, and where possible have a cooling off period.
LaRene pointed out that how you are treated gives you an insight into the company. First impressions count, even if the person you deal with is not the norm in that company.
Julie talked about the frustration of delays and being treated like a number.
From The Other Side Of The Counter
To balance things from the "other side of the counter", there were some great insights from a store manager of a multi national firm.
One of the main concerns of this escalating problem, was that there needs to be legislation to protect the rights of store staff too, and not just customers.
In my article, I indicated the importance of "dealing with the customer as a person first and customer second". This applies equally to the customer side of the interaction in relation to the staff member.
Customer service and business transactions are about mutual respect as people first.
- As a store owner or manager, what are your thoughts or experiences relating to shop rage?
© Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com
My business is on line, so I don't deal with face to face shop rage (I'm glad to say).
Most troublesome customers on line respond well if treated with courtesy and the situation is explained to them. There do seem a few who just want to vent - thankfully these are very few.
And thanks for the mention above.
Posted by: Evan | March 6, 2008 2:17 PM | Permalink to Comment