| "To my customer: I may not have the answer, | | | | money invested to bring that customer in to the |
| but I'll find it. I may not have the time, but I'll make it. | | | | store has just gone to waste. |
| I may not be the biggest, but I'll be the most | | | | According to the late Sam Walton founder of |
| committed to your success." - Unknown | | | | Wal-Mart "there is only one boss - the |
| Last weekend I took my two boys out for pizza to | | | | customer - and he/she can fire everybody in the |
| a new gourmet takeaway pizza place that has | | | | company, from the chairman on down, simply by |
| recently opened in our neighbourhood. My youngest | | | | spending his money somewhere else." |
| son does not like to have pizza sauce on his pizza. So | | | | Would you say no to your boss? The chances are |
| when I ordered I asked the young lady taking the | | | | great that you wouldn't (assuming that the request |
| orders if she would be able to arrange a ½ | | | | was not totally unreasonable). When you say |
| and ½. Half with sauce and half without. | | | | "no" to the customer you become part |
| "No, we don't do ½ and ½'s | | | | of their problem and not their solution. |
| " she told us. She may just as well have said, | | | | When I work with retail store managers, we teach |
| "we don't want your business, it's just too | | | | them that they are the only ones that should say no |
| fussy!" | | | | to a customer if circumstance or company policy |
| Needless to say we left and went to find another | | | | dictates. Did you know that the Norwegian word for |
| pizza place that were more than happy to take our | | | | sale is derived from the word selje, which means to |
| "fussy" order. | | | | serve? It is part of the sales person's role to find a |
| This is an obvious situation whereby I could have | | | | way to say YES! |
| been helped but wasn't. There are times however, | | | | Make a decision that you will never say |
| where the customer comes in looking for a particular | | | | "no" to a customer no matter what. |
| item which we just don't have. What then? What do | | | | Decide that you will always attempt to show them |
| you do when you cannot immediately satisfy the | | | | alternative products or help them find an alternative |
| customer's need, because perhaps your store has | | | | solution, which they may not have known even |
| sold out or does not stock a particular item, or the | | | | existed. When you follow this approach it saves both |
| customer needs the next size up and you don't have | | | | you and the customer time, effort and in some |
| it? | | | | cases money. |
| Lets face it, no customer ever likes to hear the | | | | Never saying no also means that you can manage to |
| word "No"! This is a word that they | | | | meet the customer's requirements and can still keep |
| believe is their exclusive domain. Despite this, many | | | | them as happy customers. When you say no you |
| 'average' retail sales people simply say, | | | | risk the customer finding the item in another store |
| "no" to the customer "No, I am | | | | and thereby losing out on a sale. Remember the |
| sorry but we don't stock anything like that | | | | maxim: "If we don't take care of the |
| here." Saying no to a customer means that the | | | | customer... somebody else will! |