Speaking of CS/SA: Is there such a thing as too much help??

jimmyneyugn

jimmyneyugn

ohai.
O.G.
Feb 6, 2006
3,011
61
#1
While on the topic of customer service/associate etc talk.. yesterday we had a big corporate visit with the president of the company and other big wigs visiting our store. we overstaffed the floor (about 25 associates) so that we ensured everyone would be greeted and assisted if need be.

well.. we actually got a complaint from a customer.

she said, and i quote,
there are way too many associates out here, and not enough customers! Look! There are probably 10 customers in the store, and everyone keeps asking me if i'm finding everything okay, and asking if i needed any help, and letting me know if i had any questions/comments that i should feel free to let someone know! It's SO ANNOYING!!
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all i could do was laugh my ass off (after she left) and repeat the same thing to my managers, and they LOLed too. if only all customers had that complaint! or if only that customer would come back and the same number of associates on the floor.. are all busy helping other customers and she'd be left stranded! Hypocrisy at it's best ladies and gents!

There's one thing to be followed by an associate, like a shark and pestered with "are you going to buy that? you should buy this! no this! this! buy this!", but it's another to just offer the help! who knows, you may not have a question in the beginning of your shopping trip, but you may have a question later when you come across something interesting/you like! and when you do have a question, no one is around to help you cuz you told them to bug off! :roflmfao:
 
#3
The only time I get annoyed while shopping is when I have an SA that brings piece after piece (mostly at clothing boutiques - and too be honest, this doesn't happen too often) after I tell them that I have no interest...and then try to sell me on getting their store credit card.

If I want help, I will definitely ask...
 
#4
frozen7313 said:
well.. we actually got a complaint from a customer.

she said, and i quote,
Quote:
there are way too many associates out here, and not enough customers! Look! There are probably 10 customers in the store, and everyone keeps asking me if i'm finding everything okay, and asking if i needed any help, and letting me know if i had any questions/comments that i should feel free to let someone know! It's SO ANNOYING!!

all i could do was laugh my ass off (after she left) and repeat the same thing to my managers, and they LOLed too. if only all customers had that complaint! or if only that customer would come back and the same number of associates on the floor.. are all busy helping other customers and she'd be left stranded! Hypocrisy at it's best ladies and gents!

There's one thing to be followed by an associate, like a shark and pestered with "are you going to buy that? you should buy this! no this! this! buy this!", but it's another to just offer the help! who knows, you may not have a question in the beginning of your shopping trip, but you may have a question later when you come across something interesting/you like! and when you do have a question, no one is around to help you cuz you told them to bug off! :roflmfao:
Click to expand...

I agree with this customer's comments! I walked into a store in the mall the other week, and I kid you not.. there must have been 8-10 associates standing there. EVERY one of them asked me if there was anything they could help me find. It's like they are vultures going in for the kill. I ended up walking out and not buying anything. Too much pressure!

So, yes, I think there is such a thing as WAY too much help in some stores. LOL Interestingly enough, none of these stores I'm talking about are handbag stores. In those stores, I :heart: the extra help. I even look forward to it sometimes. :yes:
 
#5
^ yeah.. haha i notice it too when i shop sometimes. and the only reasonable explaination to me, is the same reason we did it to that lady.. a big corporate visit, and everyone is on their best behavior. after i explained to the lady WHY there were so many associates/etc she then said, "OHHHHHHH!" and left. lol. she bought a ton of stuff though, but she still had that complaint. lol.
 
#6
Most of them are stores who push their associates to offer customers with store credit. Since there is a bit of commission involved and most stores give a certain quota at the end of each month, they need to put it out there. Or sometimes associates are just soooo bored standing and fixing something already pristine that when a customer comes in the store, they immediately rush to her just to be able to do something else.
 
#8
I'd much rather have a SA approach me and ask me just once if I need anything.. I'm more likely to buy something and also to remember their name and that they offered me help. But if you hound me while I'm shopping, I'm most likely going to leave.
 
#9
if only it was easy enough to say that one associate said hi to one customer already. lol. SA's don't know if the other SA said hi or not.. and if we all went under the assumption that the 'greeter' did it, then we skip doing it ever once the customer has gone past the 'entry zone', then we are providing poor service for not greeting the customer.. cuz for all we know, the customer never got greeted because the greeter was on a break, or helping another customer, and that other customer came in suddenly... or more commonly, the customer came in a wave with a bunch of other customers too.
 
#13
LOL! i think you can read body language most of the time and be able to tell which customers prefer to shop on their own vs. those who really need some help. there are quite a few fashion savvy shoppers who just like to do things themselves rather than be hounded by every associate working the floor. i, myself, am one of those customers, but since i've worked retail before, i always try to be polite to SAs no matter what

at the very least, though, i think every customer should be approached at least once to be greeted and offered some assistance.
 
#14
I don't like associates that swarm me, and I don't want to be the type of associate that swarms the customer.

If an associate is singing, it means they are happy at their job. Don't the customers WANT that?

It was a stupid complaint, and it just made me want to jump on the counter and start singing La Vie Boheme from Rent!





If you think THAT complaint is bad, when I worked at Starbucks, a customer wrote to corporate complaining that one of the partners was singing on the floor.
 
#15
hehe. i sometimes sing on the floor, but customers don't mind.

it's getting problematic at our store too but the only way to deal with it is if everyone is aware of their surroundings.

this also helps when an associate is helping a customer.

and another associate approaches the same customer...can you saw *rawr*?

i've actually had customers snub me the first time i say hello, or ask them how they are doing.

i just think some customers are rude

and i think some SAs are too pushy.

at the end, i just tell myself and other associates to let it roll off their backs

b/c what happens is sometimes when a customer snubs an associate like that the SA loses confidence, and doesn't really know how to approach the incoming customers b/c they're afraid to be "too pushy"

guess what, SAs are humans too!
 
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