During a recent manager turnover, I became the interim Store Manager for one of the 18 locations I oversee. In our business we use a customer survey system that allows us to measure the Key Deliverable Scores for each location. This location was the worst of the worst, ranking 18 of 18.
Upon assuming the position the first question I asked the employees was, “Why do you think this store is scoring so poorly in KDS?” I knew what the answer was going to be as I had asked the ex-manager on previous occasions. The employees stated without hesitation, “we have rude a** customers.” One after another I received either a verbatim answer or something along the same lines.
I finally got tired of hearing this answer and asked one of the employees why they were rude? What were their actions that would classify them as being so rude? The employee could not give me the detailed events of any specific instance, just that the customers were rude. I went on to ask the employee if he thought he would act differently toward the customers if I told him they were the best customers of any store in which I have ever worked? He said possibly, but the best part was that I saw the wheels start turning in his head when I made the statement.
The fact of the matter is that every customer in every situation is going to return the service they receive. A customer receiving horrible service might just be that “Rude Ass Customer” of which I was told. The flip-side of this equation is that guests receiving excellent service could be the best customers ever. I ran this specific location for 3 weeks and was able to bring the KDS score up 10 points. There was minimal change in the crew, but I was able to create a change in attitude.
To close, I do not believe all employees have what it takes to be in customer service. This location will have employees that do not make the grade and have to be replaced. The tough part is finding the best individual to replace them. More on this later…
Thanks….Seth
