Get to Know Your Customer

Every single one of us has been a customer somewhere, so we know what we expect out of the customer experience. However, when it comes to serving our customers, we often have a different perspective on what should go into the interaction. We love it when an employee goes above and beyond to help us, makes us feel valued as a customer, and creates a positive experience that would bring us back for more business. For that reason, one might think that every employee would want to get to know the customer and cultivate a favorable professional relationship with them, but that is not always the case.

Many employees lose sight of the customer experience because they are only thinking about the amount of work that they have to put in. Whether it is looking through documents on a computer, making a few phone calls, getting a ladder to pull something down from a top shelf, walking the customer to a specific aisle, etc., it is important to recognize the value in helping customers. Every business exists to solve an important problem and serve customers. The latter is what keeps the doors open and the lights on. While the work we perform may be significant, it is only impactful when it serves the customer. This applies across all industries.

I previously worked in a large retail store, and when I was in training, a few employees shared their tips on how to avoid getting stopped by a customer. They would avert their eyes, walk quickly and with purpose, or they would carry merchandise with them so they looked busy. Truthfully, we all were really busy, but part of the job is to take care of the customer. I started thinking about how I would want to be treated as the customer, and I quickly realized that the mindset we had adopted was the issue and not the customer. They were not inconveniencing any of us by asking us to do our jobs. In fact, I realized that I really enjoyed helping customers and interacting with them. Unfortunately though, many employees still get annoyed when customers ask them for help, and that reflects negatively on the organization.

We have expectations as the customer, but we don’t always meet those expectations as the employee. Instead of getting frustrated with someone for asking us for help or dismissing their concerns, we must take a moment to view the interaction from their perspective. Get to know the customer by stepping into their shoes. How would you want to be treated if you were the one asking for help? What would you want the employee to do? How would you want them to communicate with you? By understanding how much impact we each have on the customer experience, we are better able to drive the mission of the organization forward with every interaction, and we can better anticipate their needs. After all, we are here to solve important problems and serve customers.

-Meghan Slaughter