A friend of mine stopped by a Mega Holiday convenience store today to gas up her car. When she went into the store to pay, she spotted a cartload of fresh buns being put on display. Since these were her favorite buns, she reached for a package. “No, don’t take one of these, yet,” the guy putting out the buns exclaimed. “I haven’t checked them in. Come back later.”
Pulling back her hand, she turned toward the checkout, waited in line, paid for the gas, and walked toward the door. As she exited, she noticed the guy standing near the door with a surprised look on his face, likely because she did not have the buns in hand. She almost stopped and informed him that his statement had lost a sale, but then she thought, “Why bother?”
When she related this incident to me, I had three thoughts. First of all, why did the guy even take the buns to the display area before checking them in? That was just not smart. As a matter of procedure, merchandise should always be checked in away from customers. If that is not possible and a customer attempts to pick up an item, then the response on the part of the person stocking ought to be cheerfully to hand one to the customer. Never, ever should a person stocking tell a customer to wait to purchase. The result of that directive will be to lose a sale, just as what happened in this case. Very rarely will customers return, especially in a convenience store where customers are in a rush.
My second thought was “How many sales has this store lost due to customers being told not to buy at this time but to come back later?” No one knows, and there is no way to tell. We know the store lost one. I think that is too many. I also suspect that there are many more. Checking in merchandise on the floor is a pattern of behavior. With that pattern, the possibility of encountering customers who want the merchandise is great. With that happening in a convenience store where customers are hurried leads me to believe that this has happened many times.
Finally, I wondered how many customers had exited the store dissatisfied with their experience as my friend did? Mega works hard to get customers. I’m certain that management does not want any customers upset because they couldn’t make a purchase. What a foolish reason to upset a customer.
How can this be corrected?
Management would be wise to set the policy that I suggested, which is not to have items checked in on the floor. If that cannot be avoided and a customer wants an item, instruct the person checking in the item always to hand one gladly to the customer and make note of it on the paperwork. That puts the customer first. That makes a sale. That keeps a customer happy.
How do your employees handle a situation such as this?
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