A patron enters a store and is greeted: "Hey! Welcome to [insert store name]! Can I help you find anything?" At this point, the patron smiles politely and says "No," or "No, I am just looking around" and the worker who greeted will return to whatever task the patrons entrance had interrupted.
This style of customer service is common and expected, which makes it comfortable and normal. However, customer servicing in this detached and lazy manor leaves much lacking for both the customer and the sales associate.
As a former sales associate for a brand that strives to leave customers feeling as if they are a part of the brand's family, as if shopping in our store equates them to a guest in our home, I would like to point out why the customer should use the sales associate to their full advantage.
First off, I have been trained to view the customer as the main aspect of my job, folding t-shirts and organizing the clearance rack are busy-work to be done when the customers have been served to the best of my ability. Yes, keeping the store neat and well stocked was an important aspect of retail, but for my former employers, the customer must remain the center of our attention as employees.
That being said, I want to tell those of you who shop often that the sales associates who may approach you often is not doing so with the intention of annoying you. I am sure you may get tired of being asked if "you are finding everything alright" or if there are "any sizes you cannot find on the floor because we can always check in the back for you!" But please, realize that we are doing our job and that what we are saying to you is what we are expected to do when we clock in for work each day. We are not trying to see how much we can bother you, we are genuinely trying to see how we can help you!
Before you wave us away to hunt through many different styles, fits and colors, think about the fact that the sales associate should know practically where everything in the store can be found. If, like the retailer I work for, the employees are placed in specific sections for hours at a time, the employees are typically experts on that section. The employee is going to have tons of suggestions if you tell him or her a few things you are looking for, or an occasion you have coming up, or even just explain to us a bit about your style. In doing so, we can show you many items most people may overlook due to a lower shelf placement or something you may have just not previously considered for yourself.
Additionally, when you go into a store on an actual mission, if you let the sales associate know what exactly you are looking for your shopping trip would go so much smoother and take much less effort on your part. We can easily help you find what you are looking for, and if that turns out to not be what you thought it would be, we can just as easily suggest a few alternatives! Building a relationship with the sales associates also makes your trip in to the fitting rooms much easier because they are fully aware of what you are shopping for and will know what sizes you need, meaning you will not even need to leave your fitting room because you basically have a personal shopper working with you as you try on clothes.
My favorite customers were the ones who came in and allowed me to create a relationship with them, who bonded with me over their shopping experience. It was those customers who made nine hour shifts fly by because I had people who allowed me the chance to share with them information about the clothes they were looking at, who allowed me the opportunity to do more than just fold clothes for nine hours and who allowed me the chance to ultimately do my job: to make sure they had the best shopping experience possible.
