Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/878771
T his year, Waldlaufer sponsored The Waldy Award, presented to the five stores that had the highest scores in the Gold Medal Ratings, including the two stores that scored perfect grades. Here, several of the Waldy Winners share their secrets to customer service success. Toni Budworth, Sacramento Birkenstock What do you emphasize to your staff when it comes to service? "You are us. The customer judges us, the store owners, based on their interaction with you. Follow our example to offer suggestions that will solve and delight." What must staff absolutely do when helping a customer? "Listen actively. Like an actor waiting to respond to their fellow actor, look for the motivation behind their words." What do you caution your staff to NEVER do when waiting on a customer? "Never use the phrase 'no problem' when a guest apologizes for taking your time. It suggests that their request could have burdened us. Instead, use it as an opportunity to reinforce our intent with a response like 'I'm happy to serve you.'" Other language Budworth recommends to her staff: "Your footwear is so important to your quality of life." "We're proud of our selection and happy to share it with you." "The more shoes you try, the better informed I am to know your needs and taste." Bryce Anderson, Walking Comfort Shoes What do you emphasize to your staff when it comes to service? "We have our 'Walking Comfort Customer Service Plan' that we follow with every customer that comes into our stores. Ultimately it boils down to treating our cus- tomers how we would want to be treated if the roles were reversed." What must staff absolutely do when helping a customer? "Every staff member strives to make every customer experience a 'WOW' experience at Walking Comfort. Once the customer experiences this, they become a Walking Comfort customer for life." What do you caution your staff to NEVER do when waiting on a customer? "Instead of focusing on the 'Never,' we focus on the customer. We are not focused on commission, lunch, whatever is going on in our life. Our goal is to be 100 percent focused on the customer and helping them to have an amazing experience at Walking Comfort." Dillon Dardano, Dardano's What do you emphasize to your staff when it comes to service? "At Dardano's we really try to emphasize providing a full fitting experience. It's important to establish a rapport with the customers. Doing so enables us evaluate their footwear needs and provide better suggestions based on category and foot type. In the end, the ability to find the 'best fit' and educating customers about the product, is what helps to differentiate brick and mortar versus the eCommerce market. We feel there is an important distinction between being a clerk, a salesperson, and what we try to be are Professional Shoe Fitters. What must staff absolutely do when helping a customer? "Be true to themselves, and not try to oversell their personality or the actual product. As a retailer, we really stress the importance of greet, seat, and measure the feet." What do you caution your staff to NEVER do when waiting on a customer? "I'm sure everyone can agree on things like never coming out of the back- room empty handed. Something different we encourage people to never do is to never talk down another competitor or a footwear brand that we don't carry. Those types of actions don't make sales and in the end wind up giving a negative impression of the salesperson themselves. Just because one person might not love something doesn't mean that there aren't people that do." O s &OOTWEAR )NSIGHT ^ 3EPTEMBER/CTOBER FOOTWEARINSIGHTCOM HONOREES Editor's Note: How can we make this report card better? Any ideas? Please send them to Mark Sullivan at msullivan@formula4media.com The Criteria: How Stores Were Rated and Scored Waldy Words of Wisdom Criteria Rating System 1 How promptly were you greeted? Thirty seconds or less rated a score of 4. One minute was a 3. 90 seconds a two and two minutes a 1. Longer than two minutes was rated a 0. 2 Were you greeted with a smile when you entered the store? Yes equals 5 points. No equals zero. No partial points on this for friendly nods or smirks. 3 Did the sales associate measure your foot? Zero for no. Five points for yes. 4 Did the Sales Associate ask you what type of shoe or the purpose of your footwear purchase was? Five points for yes. 5 Were you provided a comfortable place to sit while trying on shoes? Three points for yes. Zero for no. 6 Were you offered anything to elevate the in-store experience, such as a drink? Five points for a yes. 7 Do you feel you were offered a fair selection? Rated stores on a 1-4 point scale on this question. 8 Did the sales associate help you try on your shoe? Zero for no. 4 Four points for yes. 9 Were clean try on socks available? Zero for no. Two points for yes. 10 Did the associate recommend a specific shoe or shoes? No quals zero. A range of shoes earned three points and one specific shoe equals two points. 11 On a scale of 0 to 5 please rate the professional- ism of the sales person who helped you. Zero equals rude and five equals enthusiastic. 12 Did the associate discuss insoles, socks, slippers, handbags or other products with you? Zero for no. Five points for yes. 13 On a scale of 0 to 5, how knowledgeable and helpful was the staff overall? Zero equals not helpful. Five points for very helpful and knowledgeable. 14 How would you rate the sales associates on their attire? Was it appropriate? Was the staff easily identifiable? This was rated on a 1-to-3 point scale. 15 Were you thanked and asked to return? Zero equals not thanked at all. One point for a Thank You. Three for a thank you and an invitation to return. 16 Was the store well-lit and easy to maneuver? Mystery shoppers rated this on a scale of 1 to 3. 17 Was the merchandise presented in a way that was easy to understand and shop? Mystery shoppers rated this on a scale of 1 to 4. 18 How inviting and comfortable was the store? Mystery shoppers rated this on a scale of 1 to 4. 19 Were you asked for your physical or e-mail ad- dress? Zero for no. Five points for yes. 20 Rate the assortment of accessory products (socks, insoles, handbags, etc…). Mystery shoppers rated this on a scale of 1 to 3. 21 Was the checkout process easy and intuitive? Good equals two points. 22 Rate the quality of the bag the merchandise was placed in? Zero points was poor. 23 How would you rate the overall experience? Five points was very good. 24 Would you refer a friend to this store? The ultimate question. 10 points was the highest.