wommp

I was picking up my food for the week last night in A&P, a large grocery chain. As I was in the checkout aisle, I couldn’t help overhearing a conversation between an employee at the Customer Service desk and a young customer. Apparently the gentleman’s car would not start, and he was going to take the public transit home to get start plugs. He asked if she, the Head of Customer Service, would take down his licence plate number, so he would not be towed while he went home to address the problem. (The parking lot needs to be snow ploughed ever few hours, so if a vehicle is there for a period of time, it is likely to be towed).

She refused. She said she couldn’t take his licence number. It was not her job. The parking lot was not their responsibility as they don’t own it, even though it was built and only used by other A&P customers. She explained that he was out of luck and refused every suggestion he made. She failed to listen to his problem, and failed even more to help him with a solution.

I was appalled. Even if she was right, that is wasn’t her duty was to help him prevent his car from being towed, he is a customer, and customer satisfaction means doing what it takes to make the customers happy, to ensure repeat business. There are numerous grocery stores within a 5 minute drive, and I wonder, after this negative experience, what it woud take to get this gentlemen to come back to A&P.

If that happened in the parking lot at the grocery store where I grew up, it wouldn’t be a question. I probably would have been given a complimentary coffee while I waited for the Customer Service Representative to find starter plugs, or someone who had them, to help me start my car. Or at least help me decide on the next steps to find a solution.

What a difference! I have no desire to go back to a store that treats their customers so poorly. I’m amazed at how many resources a company will allocate to advertising, marketing, product research and development, yet when it comes to people, the heart of many businesses, many cut costs at every corner. Perhaps if the A&P employee was better trained, better educated, felt important, the outcome would be different.

This leads me to wommp. wommp can help businesses identify what their cusotmers want, which will save them money and resources on advertising and unnecessary products and services. But if the business does not take time to focus on what it means to keep a customer happy, including all aspects of customer satisfaction not directly related to the point of purchase, then it’s over. They lose. And their customers will go to another store on wommp who understands them and will provide to their needs. The rules of the game are becoming more complex. And the winners will be the ones who take the time to understand their customers and go above and beyond to deliver a remarkable experience.