Customer Service and the Credit Crunch

Yesterday I found myself driving my girls around some of the little villages surrounding Watford. It was a beautiful day and since my daughter is currently on crutches I decided that country lanes were the best thing for us. It really was a beautiful spring day and it got me thinking about my garden and how I could make the best of it so that my summer months were delightful.

I happened across a garden store which was a business run from home. It had some really beautiful plants in that I could see making a real difference in my garden. I started walking down the aisle of plants and was in awe at the different varieties of plants, herbs and trees available. I came across  some heather which I though would be great for my garden as I wanted something that could spread over the boarders but still look pretty. So I embarked on asking the person who appeared to run the centre for some help.

Hmm, well yes he did answer my question but what was missing was good old customer service. In these times of credit crunch you can’t afford to lose an interested customer… well maybe he could… After answering my questions he proceeded to have a chat with his friend and completely ignored me. I decided it was time to leave and continue my amble around the countryside with my girls.

In short he lost a sale, I chose not to buy. He never really engaged with me, he never asked me what I was trying to achieve in my garden, or suggested what could work, he never offered to show me any other alternative to the heather. I had made it clear that I was looking for something that grew quite quickly, unfortunately he never picked up on it. I had asked if he had debit card facilities and he had said yes… My goodness man, that was a buying signal if ever I’ve heard one. Opportunity knocked and opportunity was lost.

Especially in these times it is important to make your customers feel that there business is important to you. You never know who your customer could know or  who and what they are responsible for, for all the garden centre man knew I could have been the buyer for a larger garden centre. When customers are holding on tighter to their money, businesses need to be alert to the clients buying signals and seize on them with care and consideration for nervous buyers.

I’m not sure that I will ever buy from that garden centre, it seems that they were not interested in my custom and as a result I am no longer interested in their business offering. If you run your own business or work within the sales environment, remember that your customers are people who want to make wise decisions and sometimes need help to decipher how your offering fits into their need.