The UK is echoing the USA with the use of Greeters to help boost customer satisfaction in many of our retail stores. But the question is, do they work and does the presence of a Greeter make any real difference to customer service?
Before that question can be answered, I think it is essential that the Greeter, their manager and the rest of the retail staff know what the objectives are of the ‘Greeting’. With this, there does seem to be some confusion on exactly what the role of a Greeter is. Even Greeters themselves can look confused and unsure of their objectives. If the Greeter is confused, you can bet the customer is too.
I recently walked into a retail store of one of our London based clients to be met by an extremely tall and muscular chap in a security uniform, who half scared me to death when he said in a husky voice, ‘good morning madam, what’s the purpose of your visit today?’ I wasn’t sure whether he was a Greeter or whether there had been a breach of security and he was there to stop any further foot fall! His being there in the doorway was very confusing and I wasn’t sure what the purpose was. Was it security or customer service? In my mind it cannot be both.
My experience of many retail outlets is that Greeters are often very young and shy, many are not confident in approaching a customer in an appropriate manner and enhancing their shopping or visitor experience, least of all improving customer service.
However, that said, I have seen it work well. One of our clients, a well-known supermarket chain, used Greeters in many of their flagship stores to greet customers with flair and enthusiasm and then to highlight to the visiting customer what products were on special offer that day. The Greeters had been specifically trained to provide help and information, rather than using hard sales tactics. Success was able to be measured in increases in product sales and customer satisfaction surveys showed that customers found the information of use as it saved them money.
Another client, with UK-wide kitchen design stores, used Greeters to help direct customers to precisely the right desk, depending on where they were in the kitchen design process. So new customers, just coming into the stores, were immediately directed to the new sales desks and those who had come in to discuss designs already at the drawing stage were directed to the right designer’s desk. This resulted in less queuing on busy Saturdays and ensured that customers were helped every step of the way. Greeters felt good too, as they could see the benefit of their role on the customer.
So Greeters can help enhance customer service but a few rules need to be followed:
1. First of all, establish the Greeters role and agree clear objectives from a strategic point of view – make sure this really is going to make a difference to the shopping or visitor experience of the customer and impact on the bottom line
2. Consider the profile of the Greeter, what type of personality, experience and skill do they need to achieve the objectives
3. Agree a process that the Greeters will follow with agreed standards
4. Develop the Greeters skills so that they are confident in doing what they need to do
5. Do not underestimate the skills needed to be an effective Greeter. It is not an easy job
6. Role-play as much as possible before going ‘live’
7. Inform all other staff of precisely the role of the Greeter and how it will benefit customers and the retail team as a whole
8. Pilot the process, monitor and evaluate the results
9. Provide feedback for the Greeters
10. Be creative regarding how Greeters can work to improve the customer service levels within your organisation
Ignore the rules at your peril!
By Kasmin Cooney OBE | Righttrack’s Managing Director