Footwear Insight

"Always aim to build rapport and establish credibility. Building rapport starts with giving people a warm greeting, making a formal introduction to learn each other's names, and asking open ended questions. Establishing credibility happens by going through the proper fitting procedures, (measure, assist with try- ons, checking the fit, etc.) and responding to the customer's feedback by providing sincere suggestions or comments. I still love this approach, and we aim to coach it to all of our staff. I also recently had a sales coach teach me a new way of thinking about sales/customer service that we hadn't coached to our staff before. He asked, 'Who is the number one salesperson in your organi- zation?" and offered the solution 'the number one salesperson in your organization is a happy customer.' Although it might sound plain and obvious, I do think the secret to customer service can be boiled down to just that. Doing whatever you can to ensure that your customers are leaving happy. Happy customers consistently share their experience with others and maintain lasting relationships with the organizations that they love!" — Dillon Dardano, Dardano's Shoes "Our secret is to have the knowledge and understanding to ascertain what is going on with the client and what their true goal is even if they cannot. e other secret is really the foundation of a good retail store and that is the ability to communicate and have empathy with our clients. Our goal is to develop rap- port so we can be their trusted advisor as to the proper footwear and accessories to meet whatever needs that they have. We in the brick-and-mortar retail business lots of times miss our true strength which is our personal interface with our clients. Human beings are very social creatures, and we crave human interaction. e internet can never replicate that face-to-face human interaction. " — omas & Laurie Peterson, Foot Savvy "We ask a lot of questions about our customers' needs, their wants and activity levels. en we try to guide them to the shoes that will give them the most comfort. Many customers comment that it is an education on feet and shoes that they have never heard before. We all understand that the biggest challenge is earning the customer's trust. It's not always possible, at least not right away. But keeping the focus on their best interest is key." — Michael Jones, A Proper Fit Reno "If you ask any Esmond's Shoes customer about our secret to customer service success, they will tell you something like, 'Esmond's treats me like family.' Aer all, Esmond's is a family business… Some of our favorite stories include when a parent or grandparent comes into our store and says, 'I got my first walking shoes here and now it's my turn to keep the tradition alive with my children.' e other secret to our success is our com- mitment to being hyper-focused on listening to our customer's challenges and aspirations. We don't rush our customers just to make a sale. We listen to understand first and then we advise on the best way forward. In fact, we rarely mention brands or pricing during our customer interactions because the conversation is primarily spent getting a grasp on their issues and recommending personalized solutions." — Rodger Sieb, Esmond's Shoes "We address our customer as a whole person, we listen to their goals, needs, limitations and expectations. Fitting for lifestyle is very different than fitting for athletics. I remind 'misfitted' people of that daily — you don't need to go longer to get more space, we want the shoe to actually fit you in the arch. Know your stock. is way you can specialty 34 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2022 footwearinsight.com CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT Delivering outstanding service year-after-year is the definition of consistency. These 10 stores have earned Footwear Insight's Gold Medal Service Award for Customer Service every year from 2016 through this year's 2022 awards. Comfort One Herndon, VA Miroballi Shoes Orland Park, IL Reyers Shoe Store Niles, OH Schuler Shoes Roseville, MN So Shoe Richmond, KY Stan's Fit For Your Feet Brookfield, WI e Foot Spot Leawood, KS Tops For Shoes Asheville, NC Valley Sole Huntsville, AL Woldruff 's Footwear Goshen, IN GOLD MEDAL SERVICE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE 2022 Dardano's Shoes, Denver, CO. Esmond's Shoes, Richmond, IN.

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