How to Be Good at Retail Customer Service

I’ve worked as both a full-time and part-time retail customer service associate for several different companies in my 20+ year career.

My retail experience ranges from ringing registers at small independent shops to stocking shelves at big box department stores to selling wares in county fairs to manning vendor booths at huge international tradeshow events.

If I had to put a rough estimate on the total number of different people I’ve personally interacted with in a retail setting, I’m sure it’d be in the high thousands or maybe more.

As a consumer, when I speak with a fellow retail worker, I can’t help but later evaluate how they performed in their job, since I’m in the same trade as well.

I’ve had customers both sing my praises and curse my name. I’ve witnessed good retail customer service experiences as well as horrendous situations with explosively negative outcomes (i.e. “Let me speak to your manager”).

And I still get a kick out of hearing the words, “This is exactly what I’m looking for.”

Anyway, you get the point. I’m a customer service and retail guy. I genuinely enjoy the live interaction and helping people find what they need to solve a challenge.

That’s why I’ve put together from all my years of customer service experience this list of five things to help you with your job. These have been culled from a lot of trial and mostly error working as a retail sales associate as well as hundreds of hours of corporate retail and customer service training I’ve taken over the years.

My hope is that if you work in retail and want to improve your customer service and consultative selling skills, then these tips will be useful in helping make your job just a little bit easier.

Here are my top 5 tips for being good at retail customer service:

1. Look the part

First impressions mean a lot in the face-to-face retail business world. If you’re dressed like a slob and look like you woke up under a bridge, do you honestly think people will take you seriously when they walk into your store?

Many companies have dress code or uniform policies for employees as well as grooming standards they are required to follow. Make sure your clothes are clean and you look presentable and professional.

Remember, if you want people to take your seriously, it all starts with how seriously you take yourself.

In addition to how you look, be mindful of the energy and vibration your are giving off.

Are you irritable, unmotivated, and don’t want to be there?

Is your body language terrible, you’re slouching around with your hands in your pockets, and showing how little confidence and pride you are taking in your work?

Then that’s exactly the impression and vibe you will be giving off to anyone who approaches you. And you’ll likely be treated as such.

But if you look presentable, stand up straight, and show you are capable, ready, and knowledgeable about your work, then you’ve already won half the battle when it comes to providing good retail customer service.

Customers will more likely treat you with respect if they have a good first impression of you. Right or wrong, that’s just human nature.

Of course, that’s not to say a small percentage of customers won’t still be rude to you (it is retail, afterall).

But you will set yourself up for a higher chance of having a positive customer service interaction when you put in a little extra effort to simply look the part.

Your appearance and attitude are the easiest aspects of your retail customer service job within your control to fix.

Make it a habit to look professional and have the right work mindset every time you clock in for your shift, and you’ll find a lot of avoidable issues are easily overcome.

2. Greet all customers

After your initial first impression, how you are greeting customers is another essential aspect of providing good retail customer service. Acknowledge every customer you come into contact with and be the first one to initiate conversation.

So if you are introverted and quiet in your normal, non-working life, then the retail version of you must be different if you want to truly provide good customer service.

You must be attentive, sharp, professional, friendly, and ready to help. Jordan Belfort, of The Wolf of Wall Street fame, says you have four seconds to establish yourself as:

1. Sharp as a tack
2. Enthusiastic as hell
3. An expert in your field (more about this later)

 

Here’s a great video explanation that further unpacks these important points from Jordan:

 

How to greet retail customers

There’s no universal script for a retail customer service greeting that perfectly works for everyone in every situation. You can choose one or a few greetings that fit your context and seem to work best for your customer demographics and business setting. I’ll give you a potential example to use in your retail customer service job that you can try.

I find that using a simple greeting like, “Hello, are you finding everything OK?” spoken in a friendly yet professional manner is quick, to the point, and non-obtrusive.

Again, this has worked for me personally, but by all means try this and test others in your own store.

Regardless of your greeting script, remember there is no need for something overly formal or awkward. Combine your simple greeting with eye contact to let the customer know you see them and can be a resource to offer assistance if needed.

You will find that a majority of customers you greet will respond with, “I’m just looking” or something to that effect.

But others will take you up on your offer of assistance and that’s when it’s your time to truly shine with these next critical steps to providing good retail customer service.

3. Listen attentively and ask the right followup questions

If a customer asks you questions regarding a product, it is important to pay full attention to what they’re asking and respond with the right information.

If necessary, you may need to inquire further with followup questions to drill down on the right solution to their inquiry and help them locate what they need.

You may also find the longer you work in a particular retail business, you will hear the same types of questions asked repeatedly in different ways using different terminology.

Start building your arsenal of go-to responses that clearly answer these questions and direct your customer to the right solution efficiently. Customers will appreciate your saving their time while directing them to the right products.

And the more you are appreciated by customers, the more you will be seen as someone with good retail customer service skills.

Asking the right followup questions to provide good retail customer service

Here is an example of asking the right followup questions to provide good retail customer service.

Let’s say you work in the paint department of a home improvement retail store. You may have a customer inquire about where they can find the right paint for painting their home.

You can followup this inquiry by asking if it’s for interior or exterior painting, inquire what sheen they are looking for, and then direct them to the right section of paint options appropriate for this project.

Taking the time to ask the right followup questions to clarify their needs may also uncover other opportunities to sell more products required for their project, such as paintbrushes, rollers, drop cloths, and primer.

By simply asking a few basic followup questions, you not only provided stellar customer service to help with their entire project, but you also helped your store sell more products.

Scan for clues to help you provide more good retail customer service

Another important aspect of this active listening process is to scan for unspoken cues and spot visual clues that might help you uncover more useful information to further assist the customer and build your value as a retail associate.

Does the customer seem to be in a hurry and just needs to be directed to the right aisle?

Or are they relaxed but curious to learn more about their options and hear your professional opinion?

If they have a shopping cart, check to see what other items they are purchasing and you might be able to offer other useful suggestions for them to consider.

It’s up to you to determine this from what you are hearing, seeing, and feeling from customers and act accordingly.

The more interactions you have with customers in a retail setting, the better you will be at developing this useful skill, and the more you will improve your overall retail customer service ability.

4. Be a product expert

According to online business guru John Chow, an expert is basically someone who knows just one more piece of information about something than you.

This does not necessarily mean you must have personal experience actually using a certain product or service on a regular basis to be good at retail customer service (although this can obviously help).

If you take the time to study and read up on your department’s products and services, understand the key benefits and know how to highlight useful features while making solid recommendations for customers, then you have established yourself as a product expert.

In a retail store setting, you’d be amazed on how much you can learn by simply reading product labels.

You can also visit product and manufacturer websites, read user testimonials and reviews, watch product tutorial and how-to videos, keep an eye on what sells/gets returned, and stay updated on market trends.

The more you build your product knowledge, the more you will strengthen your position as a trusted expert and boost your retail customer service skills.

5. Don’t hover over customers

After you provide your initial greeting and offer assistance to customers, and help them locate what they need (as well as any additional relevant products), your job is effectively finished as a retail sales associate. You can excuse yourself to let them continue shopping while you tend to other customers and needs of your department.

Nothing is worse than a retail associate with poor self awareness who annoys and creeps out customers by getting too involved in their personal business. Unhappy customers are less likely to return for future purchases and may take their business elsewhere.

Be helpful, point customers in the right direction, offer relevant recommendations, and then let them continue their shopping without being too nosy or obtrusive.

There’s a fine line between being helpful and just plain being annoying and weird, as demonstrated in this humorous video from Caitlin Reilly:

Conclusion

Your retail company may provide you with further training and education on providing top notch customer service, but these fundamental tips should at least set the foundation for your success in the role.

By applying these proven retail customer service methods when working the sales floor, you may find yourself enjoying the job more because you eliminated a lot of potential mishaps and avoidable mistakes before they even occur.