By Steve Brester for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy blog series
I have two scenarios to present regarding how the customer service level of a happy person versus an unhappy person might be viewed.
Scenario 1 – You walk into ABC Hardware store to purchase some picture frames. You walk through the store but don’t find any frames, so you approach a clerk and ask where you can find them. The clerk does not smile and answers: “They’re in Aisle 7,” and walks away. You go to Aisle 7 and find the frame you are looking for, purchase it, and walk out.
Scenario 2 – You walk into XYZ Hardware store to purchase some additional picture frames. You walk through the store but don’t find any frames so you approach a clerk and ask where you can find them. He immediately smiles and says “I would be happy to help you with that. Please follow me and I will show you where they are.” As he is walking you to the picture frames he sees that you are wearing a Wisconsin Badgers football sweatshirt. He comments, “How do you think those Badgers are going to do tomorrow; it’s so fun watching their games isn’t it?” This sparks a lively conversation on the way to finding the picture frames. You buy the frame for the same price as those at ABC Hardware and you leave.
As you are walking to your car, you think to yourself, “That guy at XYZ Hardware store was a really fun guy. The next time I need to purchase something from a hardware store I am going to go back to XYZ.” Why did that trip leave such a strong positive impression? Because that employee was happy, enjoyed his job, and thereby created a memorable shopping experience.
The same scenarios described above apply to your store every hour of every day. People like to deal with fun people – that makes for great customer service and a positive shopping experience.
People also love shopping at stores with a happy staff. To create this environment you need to allow your employees to have fun with customers and fellow coworkers. You should present a store experience that reflects this fun environment. I recently visited a pharmacy in a small town that had fish tanks full of brightly-colored fish, and on the other side of the store was a bird cage with beautiful little birds. They also had some goofy Halloween decorations throughout the store. I walked out thinking, “What a fun little pharmacy,” and I plan on visiting this store more often just to see what neat things they have next time.
If you or your staff have gotten into a rut and have just been going through the motions, figure out how to incorporate some fun back into your workday. Performing daily duties just to get them done isn’t something to look forward to – make sure to have some fun every day and it will be infectious!
Steve is a member of the Hamacher management team and owner's group, and oversees all activities within the IT department including operations, development, network and desktop support. He works closely with each department to help identify their software and hardware requirements, then makes sure his team provides the necessary support to fulfill those requirements.