It’s that typical dilemma that many of us are faced with when out shopping. When you need help from a shop assistant they are nowhere to be found, but if you are just browsing, you can’t seem to get away from them.
But now, Which? – the consumer review website, has surveyed 11,000 people to find out which retail commercial properties offer the best customer satisfaction and which need to brush up on their skills.
Of those who took part in the survey, people found that Lush, John Lewis, Apple, Lakeland and Clarks were the top five in providing customer service. However, Halfords, WH Smith, Blacks, Tesco and Poundstretcher were amongst the five worst commercial properties.
The survey found that consumers were unhappy with the self service tills at many major supermarket commercial properties. People often got frustrated with the machines when barcodes wouldn’t scan properly and when the machine wrongly accused the customer of placing an item in the baggage area. This often meant that customers were waiting for a ‘real person’ to come and clear the message off, before they could proceed – thus making the whole experience even longer than regular tills.
Another issue that consumers found annoying is not having enough staff working. Some consumers would go to changing rooms to try on garments, but find no member of staff there to help. This was particularly annoying if the size you take in isn’t right and you wish to try on another size.
Speaking of the survey, Martyn Hocking editor at Which?, stated: “With household budgets squeezed, people are becoming choosier about when and how they purchase products.
“High street shops cannot afford to give customers poor service if they want to tempt shoppers away from their computers and back to the high street.”
Lush was given the number one slot for its friendly, knowledgeable staff and range of products in its commercial properties. So what does Lush do differently? One ex-worker of the company said, “I used to work for Lush and they treat their staff very well. They hire people who are passionate about their products, and their ethics and it shows. I had so much training. They taught us all about the different products, how each essential oil is used.
“Everyone gets a present at Christmas, a 50% discount and regularly gets given free products to use.”
Do you agree with the top five good and bad retailers? Share your experiences on our Facebook page.
