Sears Hometown Shop Talk Customer Satisfaction
September 14, 2010 Hometown Store 0 comments
What do you think about when you are asked about great customer satisfaction? 1) Were you greeted promptly? 2) Were you able to locate the products or services you were looking for? 3) Was the store neat and clean? 4) Quality of the product? I think the number one driver of customer satisfaction is often overlooked by many store managers, business owners, and service providers.
All of the above are valid drivers of customer satisfaction, but dedicated, knowledgeable associates are the key. Each one of us is a consumer and we all experience frustration with customer satisfaction from a store manager, business owner, or service provider on a daily basis. These frustrations usually end up driving us away from their place of business. Unfortunately, sometimes we settle for the best of the worst in satisfaction because we have no other options.
Imagine if your business had engaged, knowledgeable, and friendly associates! What would that do for your business? Customer surveys attempt to quantify the level of associate engagement, but that responsibility really falls directly on the associates supervisor or manager. Do we really spend enough time every day teaching, coaching, and training our associates? We all worry about sales and getting our assigned tasks done. But, how much energy do we put in developing our number one asset associates?
Food for thought. Every business has had a great associate who decided to leave for one reason or another. When the associate leaves, there is a void, which impacts your business. The question I ask is, Why did that associate leave? How could we have kept them on the team? In most exit surveys, the number one reason quoted is not salary or benefits or work environment or schedule. It is how I am treated by my immediate supervisor. The simple answer to retain associates is to make sure you treat them with respect, listen to their ideas, and teach, coach, and train them every opportunity you get.
I started with Sears in 1971 as a tire installer in a small store in New Rochelle, NY where I was born and raised. A little known fact about me is that I have only received a W2 from one company, Sears! I have had many assignments and in almost every case Ive been fortunate to work with teams that are passionate about our business and care about our associates! When I first started out as a Division Manager, I definitely had different priorities than today. I had four young children involved with lots of activities and a house to maintain on a limited budget. So, I made two requests of my boss. First was to make sure my paycheck was accurate and on-time and second was to have a flexible work schedule (so I can be a part of my childrens lives while working a 50+ hour work week). Obviously, my managers delivered and I, in turn, delivered by working extremely hard to meet or exceed Sears expectations.
If we look at each associate and take the time to understand and meet their needs, we will develop great associates who in turn will keep our customers coming back to us!
Please voice your opinion and leave us a comment and please support your locally owned and operated Sears stores.
About Me
My name is Jim Flynn. I am the Divisional Vice President, Operations and Process for Sears Hometown Stores, LLC.
About Sears Hometown Stores
Sears Hometown Stores are two Sears store formats located away from shopping malls. Hometown Store is locally owned and operated Sears stores and Home Appliance Showroom is the leader in home appliance shopping. Our friendly and knowledgeable store owners and showroom managers proudly serve your local community and offer you largest selection of home appliances, tool and lawn and garden equipment, and home electronics, exceptional customer service, best price guaranteed plus credit, delivery, installation and protection agreements.
Sears Hometown Stores established in 1993
Sears Home Appliance Showroom established in 2007
www.SearsHomeApplianceShowroom.com
Sears in Spanish
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