Yesterday, I fell in love with a girl who works at REI. I dropped into the store to try on some gloves (as part of my never-ending quest to prevent my fingers from freezing). The girl saw me wandering around and came over with a big smile asking if I needed any help.
I usually avoid salespeople at stores, but REI is different. Their employees are always helpful who provide expert advice without being salesy. When I told her I was looking for winter gloves she said they didn’t have any out on the floor but that she knew they had received a shipment of gloves that were in the back. She told me she had just started at her job, so she wanted to check with her manager to find out when they’d be put out on the floor.
I replied that she didn’t have to do that. I could just stop by in a few days or next week. But she didn’t want me to waste a trip so she ran back to check. When she returned she said they didn’t have a firm date for when they’d be putting the gloves out. So instead, she offered to open the boxes and pull out a selection for me to see if I liked any of them.
I practically had to beg her not to do this. I didn’t want to put her through the effort, especially since I had found one pair of gloves while she was in the back already that were $39! I could only imagine that this season’s gloves would be that price or higher.
So I thanked her and said, it’s OK, I’ll stop by again in a few weeks.
She never stopped smiling the entire time we were speaking. I could tell she was a bit nervous because it was her first day and she was so eager to help me.
I thought about this experience the rest of the day.
I receive stellar customer service from several places:
- My bank and brokerage
- American Express
- REI
- FedEx
- Erie Insurance
- Sweetwater
- Zappos
- Trader Joe’s
The people I interact with at these places are outgoing, enthusiastic and always smiling (even if we’re on the phone, I can tell).
I think that places like these actually look for customer facing employees who have certain unique qualities like:
- Enthusiasm
- Positivity
- Quick to smile
- Extroverted
- Friendly
- Outgoing
Most companies look at customer service as an expense. They consider them low level employees, pay them poorly and treat them with disdain (if not outright contempt). And it shows with the lack of decent customer service we’re all used to receiving.
For 10 years I held low level customer facing jobs. I prided myself on giving great service. I was attentive. I was efficient. I was professional. I remembered people’s names and preferences. I did what I thought was a good job.
But I’m not outgoing and friendly. I’m much more serious and taciturn.
I do much better working a small group of people whom I see and interact with regularly than welcoming a broad array of strangers into my fold.
If I am ever in a position to hire again, I’m going to think more about these qualities when hiring customer facing employees. In the past, I hired for experience, expertise, aptitude and ability. I think I missed something that is just as important.
It’s no wonder I fell in love with this girl, even if only for a few minutes one afternoon – she was a natural.