UNIT 29CHLOE MCVEIGH

Customer

Service

TASK 3MYSTERYShopper

New

PRODUCTS ANDBENFITS

Technology2015

ithin the retail selling process there are five key steps that staff within the industry use on a daily basic with their customers. Firstly they will meet and greet the customer and build up a customer rapport. This could be as soon as the customer

walks into the store or after the customer has been in the storefor a few minutes, this initially depends on the type of store. After this the staff will use different types of questioning in order to find out what the customer wants and also to see if they can offer any product knowledge in order to help them process the sale. The stores staff will constantly be looking out for buying signals from different customer to see what stage they are at and whether there happed is needed or not.

There are different types of questioning that staff members can use to speak to customers. These include open questioning, closedquestion and probing questioning. Closed questioning will be answered by the

customer with one word or just a short sentence or phrase

and so it is not always the best

option when you are looking to find a

quick and easy fact from your customer which will untimely enable you to keep

control of the conversation. This

could be used example when you

are looking to close a sale, you would ask

the customer questions such as ‘how would you like to pay cash orcard?’ it is also extremely effective when you are looking at adding on sales for example ‘ would you like one of these products to add

onto your purchase?’. Open questioning allows the customer to think about the question and respond with their opinion. It allows the customer to take control where the conversation is going togo. The best place where this is used is at the point of sale where you are trying to get to know the customer better so that you are

able to recommend products. It is also extremely useful for personal shopping and stylish who need to know about their

customer needs and problems. Probing questioning is to be used for customers who are experiencing some form of difficulty within the store and you need to be able to find out what the problem is and quickly find a solution. Every question that you should ask the

customer should be relevant so that they answer and you are able to find out more specific information in order for you to ultimately

solve the problem. The questions asked could lead to a solutionfor the customer and turn their problems into a positive

experience within the store. An example of this is if a customer was purchasing an item online and they have come to some

difficulty where they are unable to process the order ‘we are sorry that you are unable to purchase online, however we will send the

tem out to you straight away, fo9llowed by the exact message shown to you when you could not complete your transaction. By

doing this it shows the customer that you are genuinely interested in their problem and that you are looking for a way to solve this.

Good customer service is key and will help the customer think highly of the brand and purchase with you again.

By having staff that are well trained that have good product knowledge they are able to promote sales well as they will be able

to inform the customer fully on the features and benefits of theproduct. If a customer was to enter the store

and is unsure what product to purchase

they are likely to approach a staff

member for help butif the staff member does not know any information it can come across to the

customer as unprofessional and

the customer may be put off all together

and wont shop with the brand. It is

extremely unhelpfulfor both the customerand the brand by not

training their staff members with the up

to date product knowledge that they need, it also doesn’t help give the brand a good image. The product feature and the product

benefit are two different things which the staff members use to promote a product to the customer. The feature of the product isa tangible thing which can be seen and can be pointed out by the

assistant. For example if the product was a MAC lipstick the features would include a good small design which is nice to look at

when in your makeup bag. The features also include long lasting wear on the customer lips and a glossy shine without the need of re application throughout the day. The benefits for the customer

is that they will save money on the product over a long pervious of time as they will not run out easily. This result on the customer

feeling more confident to smile and show their mouth to people which could result in them making more friends and possible

attracting the opposite sex as it will the customer confidence. We can keep up to date with the product knowledge by offering the staff training so that they are fully informed. We can also use the knowledge which we have learnt from the reviews of the product and people who have already purchased the product in the past. So sometime social media sites can be extremely successful for

customers to find information about a product. The manger is able to provide the staff with learning resources which they could then

take home and learn within their own time.

Buying signal are what the customer sends out all of the time while they are shopping and when you see the customer you

should be able to quickly pick up these signals. Some of the signals a customer will send out could be that they are just wandering

around the store with no actual retail interest and no intention to purchasing any products. They could also give out signals that they

are interested in the products but currently they are not very anxious to buy. They could also be signalling to the stand that they are very interested in the product and if they have a few questions

answered they may well buy it there and then. The final signalthat is given from the customer is that they are ready to purchase and they want to buy it now without any questions or help. When

the customer is not ready to buy they will tend to avoid eye contact with staff member as they are happy to look around the

store on their own without any assistance. These type of customer will usually look at a lot of different products in the store without

focussing on anything particular. If the retail assistance was to approach the customer they could probably make an excuse that

they are okay and don’t need any help. When the customer is ready to buy a product their buying signally are very different and they will spend more time looking at individual items. They may

also look around the store for an advisor who could possible help them carry items or hold items until they have reached the till. A

customer who is ready to buy may ask about the price of aproduct and if it is not already labelled or even ask for style

advice. This customer is also likely to ask about return policies just in case they have any problems with a particular item.

Customer service has certain goals to try and ensure that they add an increasing value of the whole- experience for the customer.

Some points that add value include embellishment services, increase convenience and enhance image. Embellishment services

could include body scanning technology to help customers get a better fit when shopping online, as when shopping online it can be

hard for customers to judge whether something is going to fit or not. They could also offer new credit arrangements or loyalty

systems for customer when shopping in store which give customer the opportunity to receive vouchers and offers. Browse hubs

could also be added in stores to enable customer to check stock in store and online. Increasing the convenience of the customer

service is how the store makes their shopping experience easier or possibly faster for the customer. Stores now are looking at

developing hybrid stores that include things such as coffee shops and restaurants. By doing this it adds convince for the customer who may wish to stop for a break or snack. Stores like this will usually offer toilets too so the customer is able to spend a long period of time knowing they don’t have to leave to find a toilet. Department’s stores such as john Lewis offer parking services to

make the store more accessible for customers as city’s can tend to be busy and customers constantly are looking for places to park. If

the customer was to park in john Lewis’s provided car park theydo not have a long walk to access the city centre and will likely

browse through the store when passing through.

Self-service tills have also become increasingly popular within stores and are now seen in most supermarkets. These are

provided for customer who are only buying a small number of items and who do not want to queue at staff tills. You will find

them in ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s but very rarely in clothing stores. When looking for retail brands that possibly are

considering self-service tills within their stores I came across and article from the daily telegraph which stated that ZARA the largest

retail brand, are considering self-service tills within their stores. However ZARA isn’t only trailing the self service checkout tills they

are also looking at new technology which consists of a digital mirror in stores which allows customer to try a specific item on without even having to pull it off the shelf. This technology has

already been set up in ZARA headquarters and so will be in their stores very soon. Another brand, which have been recently

investing a lot of money into their technology within customer service, is Burberry. Firstly the brand increased their staff by 30%, which enables them to improve their click and chat service. They

later provided the sales staff in store with ipads enabling customer to register in store and then purchase online later. With

multichannel transactions increasing the retailer also rolled out three more languages online. All of these changes have suggested that their investment in customers and what they want from their

shopping experience will allow the brand to grow.

However this development in modern retailing is not just happening with high-end brands like Burberry but also on our high

street. Click and chat is a service available online which many brands feel is an essential for customer to experience a good level

of customer service. Just because a customer is shopping online and not in the store doesn’t mean that they will not require staff help it is in fact more likely that they will require a lot more help,as they are unable to see the products in

person. From my own experience I have

found that ASOS click and chat Is very

helpful as you can speak to a human not

and automated system. This gives a personal touch and the advisor also has

access to your account and can give you personalised recommendations based on your previous buying patters. More

languages are being added to websites to allow more accessibility

for customer and can easily be changed at a click of a button. Multichannel are also developing with most retailers having not

just an online website but having a mobile website and apps.Some retailers allow you to purchase in different ways to either bycredit or debit card, PayPal or credit account allowing customers

full flexibility over their transactions. Staff are often seen with ipads in stores which ensure more accurate product knowledge’s

and also allows the staff to check all availability of an item without having to leave the customer. It initially increased the speed of the sales, and is a lot more convenience for both staff and customers. With modern retail unhappy customers must also be given a fast solution to any problems they are experiencing as websites suchas Facebook and trip advisor are easily accessible for customer to

leave bad reviews very quickly. Any bad reviews form and unsatisfied customer who can then reflect badly on the brand and

its reputation so speedy accuracy is key.

For research into customer service and experience I watched a video from London Business forum Mary Portas. She suggested

that in previous years businesses have lost touch with their customer and were only interested in profit!. They cut back on customer service and real people experiences and focused on

profit and growth. Then came the crash with people having less money to spend and business closing down which hit the way

businesses looked at their futures. People started to think about where they made their purchased and businesses had a look for other way to attract the customer over their other competitors.

Now retailers are constantly looking for new ways to connect with their business with people in the right way. Mary Portas suggested that business should stop thinking of the customer as a customer

but as a world customer. Businesses need to understand what people want from a retailer and what makes them feel special.

Whether your brand has online chat or social media they all give off a brand image and at the base of brand image are your staff.

1. Keeping too few tills open2. Mute Cahiers3. Plugging inappropriate offers4. Assistance who don’t know their stuff5. Shoddy fitting rooms6. Too much stock on the shop floor7. It’s a shop not a social club8. Signage overload9. The hard to sell10. Most annoying phrases in retail

An article in the guardian has five suggestions for improving customer service in modern day retailing. The modern retailer

must understand the value of service to a customer. Customer will want to be able in interact with their chosen brand through an

channel at any given time so the role of the retail assistant both online and in store is essential. Staff must create a positive

customer service experience and the best way in order to do thisis to have fully trained staff with good product knowledge. The second suggestion for improving customer service was to meet

the modern service requirements for shoppers. Shoppers can now source products they want and arrange them by price range, review and recommendation. Customer now expects a more sophisticated and flexible set of components that meet their

individual needs when and where it is convenient for them. In order to meet this the retailer must grow the business around the customer by putting them first. The third suggestion is to give the store assistance the right tools that they need to satisfy customer needs. For example real time stock availability, loyalty programme data is the faster way of sourcing the item the customer wants. All of these points are some ways to create better outcome of retail

interaction with customer.

‘’The modern day retailer must understand the value of Customer

service’’

in order for me to see personally how customer service can change throughout different retailers I decided to go on my own mystery shop on a few retailer within the city centre. The first shop that I visited was Moda in Pelle this is a high-street shoe brand for women. On entering the store I was greeted by a staff member who asked me if I was okay just having a . She then went to ask me if I need any help just let them know and they would bewilling to help. The staff member was very happy and cheerful and I instantly felt at ease browsing the store. After looking round the store for a few minutes I picked up a pair of shoes and asked the other staff member if I could possibly try them on in my size. She told me to take a seat and she would get me the pair of shoes straight away. When the lady returned with the shoes I tried the pair on while she waited over me. She asked me how the fit of the shoes where and whether they where comfytable, after looking in the mirror and walking around the store to ensure the shoeswhere okay I handed them back to the assistance and told herthey where okay. She then took the shoes from me wrapped them in the box and placed them on the till where another staffmember put my transaction through. The shoes where wrapped well and the bag was very presentable with a little ribbon on the top to hold them together it looked extremely professional and made you feel valued. I noticed that all the staff in the store all wore black dresses with Moda in Pelle shoes; they also wore accessories and jewellery and was well presented with nice makeup. I didn’t notice much technology in the store apart from an iPhone type of hand held tablet where I saw a staff member checking availability for a customer. Overall I felt it was very released and they encouraged you to take your time. They met the balance well between good customers service and not pressuring you to purchase.

The next store I went into was ZARA that is known for is ‘’fast fashion. When first walking into the store I wasn’t greeted by a staff member as they did in Moda in Pelle but however I didn’t expect this as it is rare that you get greeted in high-street stores. I took my time browsing the products on display and picked up a few items whilst I walked round. There was a sale on and so I found it to be verydisorganized and hard to find sizes. There wasn’t a massive amount of staff members walking around tidying up which I would of expected considering how messy some of the shelves and tables where. I asked a staff member if they had some shoes in a different size towhat was out on display and she told me that as it was a sale item they don’t have any other sizes in the back as they are getting there new spring summer stock in. she did

however asked me if id try online but did not help me in any other way. After I picked up some more items I went to the changing roomsto try them on. I had abig pile of clothing and was struggling to carry all of them, but when I went to the changing rooms the lady asked my how many I had to which I had to count them but she didn’t not help me at all and left

me to stand there and count them for myself. As I was struggling I gave the staff member an approximate number but she didn’t check, as I am sure it was wrong. In the changing rooms there wasn’t a lot of space and no button to call for assistance. When leaving the changing room I waited for a member of staff to ask me what I was taking and what I wasn’t where instead the staff

member was busying doing something else and simply told me to leave them there on the table. She didn’t seem happy in herjob and made me feel as though I was an inconvenience to her. I proceeded to the till which was not a long queue at all with only 6 people in front of me. The speed of the queue was however very frustrating as there was not many staff members on the tills. The staff on the tills also didn’t seem tobe in any rush and where talking in the middle of each sale. There was no effort

made to connect with me at the till as the person and I felt the whole experience was transactional. The staffin the store didn’t wear specific uniform but where dressed reasonable smartly in Zara products.