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Business 56 1 Remember, this is a good thing. Having lots of customers wanting to do business with you is wonderful. It means you and your business are in demand. The obvious solution to juggling multiple customers is to hire more people. Of course, that's oversimplified and may make no economic sense, especially when there may be only one or two rush periods during a day or week. When you see more customers arrive, don't let them see you sweat. Take the professional approach, and broaden your smile (even if it may be slightly forced!). Keep in mind the adage of Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean, who said, "Customers are not interruptions to your work; they are the purpose of your work." 2 Don't make things worse. One of the most frequent gaffs in frontline service is when a customer needs to ask a question but the employees are preoccupied talking with each other! Even more aggravating is when staff members congregate to socialize, leaving customers to fend for themselves. The place for employees to chat and hold meetings is in a staff area—not in front of customers—and then, only when there are no customers in the store! When you're on the floor, make yourself visible and available to customers. This also means not interrupting your employees or co-workers who are talking to customers. If you need to talk to an employee or a co-worker who's assisting a customer, give that person a quick nod, and then let her come to you when she has finished with her customer. If you absolutely must interrupt, excuse yourself and apologize to the customer for the interruption and, as you leave, thank the customer for his/her patience. 3 Prioritize walk-in customers over phone callers. A customer who made the effort to show up in person gets priority. That means you need to interrupt the call by saying, "Mrs. Jones, someone just walked in. May I ask you to hold for a moment while I greet her?" Wait for the caller's agreement, and then greet the walk-in customer, tell her you'll be a moment, and get back to and wrap up your telephone conversation. (Using the caller's name gets her attention immediately without being rude.) If you're alone in the store and talking to customer in person when the phone rings, allow an automated answering system or answering service to answer. Do not interrupt a visitor to answer the phone. If you absolutely must take a phone call, ask for the visitor's permission, explain that you want to focus on her and let her know that you'll quickly take a message and be back with her right away. Then tell the caller that you are with another customer but will call her back right away—within five or 10 minutes. Abandoning in-store customers to answer the phone is rude and a guaranteed way to lose customers. 4 Acknowledge walk-in customers right away. If you are on the phone or face to face with a customer when a visitor walks-in, acknowledge the new walk-in customer immediately with eye contact, a smile and a quick "I'll be with you in just a few minutes" (or however long it will be). By acknowledging the visitor, you convey that you are aware of her and that you are working quickly. And it tells the customer in front of you that you have other people waiting (usually, that customer will get the hint that you need to wrap up!). For new arrivals who have "just a quick question,"—if it is, indeed, quick—ask your current customer for her permission to interrupt your conversation for 10 seconds, and then give the "quick question" customer 10 seconds. If it's going to take more than 10 seconds, tell that person "That's going to take a few minutes to go over, so I'll finish assisting this person, which will take me about X minutes, and then I'll be happy to help you. Meanwhile, if you'd like to sit and grab a coffee …. Thanks for your patience and understanding." 5 Address chronic staffing/ line management issues While hiring more staff may not be economically feasible, when customers constantly get the impression that your shop is disorganized, understaffed or uncaring about their time, that's a problem that requires more than just having staff work faster. Possible solutions include hiring more staff, moving phone calls to a professional answering service and implementing line management practices (take a number, etc.). JUGGLING MULTIPLE CUSTOMERS You know the scenario: Your workday is running smoothly and manageably when, suddenly, you find yourself dealing with one customer in front of you and another on the phone while a third arrives with "just a quick question." November | 2021

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