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Every business is only as strong as its employees. If your people are hard-working, engaged, and great with customers, your business will thrive. If they’re slacking off and ignoring your customers, though, it doesn’t matter how well you market your business or how good your products and services are. Bad employees will tank a business.
So, are your workers scaring off your customers? Let’s take a look at some ways your employees might send potential customers running.
An employee who is on their phone all the time, ignoring customers who walk into the store, and is generally disinterested in their job is going to send a clear message to your clients. A store with someone who can’t be bothered to put in any effort is a store that is destined to fail.
Your employees should keep their phones away when they’re dealing with customers and should give everyone their undivided attention when they enter the store. A warm welcome and a smile can go a long way for most customers. This doesn’t mean you should ban cell phones, but it does mean your workers should know better than constantly texting on the clock.
On the other hand, employees can become too friendly with their customers. Your workers shouldn’t follow people around the store, constantly checking in on them and asking how things are going. If they’ve offered to help the customer find something already, there’s no reason to keep pestering them as they shop.
Overly-friendly employees can run people off just as surely as disinterested workers can inadvertently turn clients away. There’s a happy medium for employees – a greeting, a helpful word, and offering help if the customer looks lost.
If you own a retail business or a restaurant, it’s vital that customers enter to see a clean, organized space. It’s up to your employees to keep this space clean! Make sure they understand this is a vital component of their job description. Customers notice things like floors that need sweeping or shelves that haven’t been dusted.
If you see your workers putting other unimportant tasks ahead of cleaning, see if you can implement a plan to keep the business clean with your current workforce. If some of your employees simply disregard cleanliness altogether, it’s probably time to look for different help or impress upon them the importance of maintaining a clean store.
