When An 11 Year Old Perceives Indifferent Service

2 Boys aged 11 and 9 recently visited a local convenience store to buy some sweets. The shop was not that busy – maybe 2 or 3 other customers at the time.

Just as the boys reached the till with their sweets in one hand and their cash in another, another member of staff arrived on the scene.
With no consideration at all for the number of customers in the store or consideration, the 2 members of staff immediately decided that it was time to switch shifts – just because the clock said so.

It took more than 5 minutes to change the shift – this was caused in the main by their idle chit chat between the 2 members of staff, nothing to do with a shift handover. There was no apology for any inconvenience either and by the time they were finished all other customers in the shop were waiting to be served.

Both members of staff were using their mobile phones while the changeover took place. No other person had entered the shop in the same time so it was not that busy that they could not have waited for a more opportune time.

This simply gives the impression that this business does not really care about its customers – On the sign outside – it says convenience store – It would have been quicker to drive 3 miles to the supermarket and get the goods in the express checkout that is always manned.

People pay extra to shop in convenience stores, they do not pay extra to be treated with indifference and kept waiting un-necessarily.

While this is a staff issue – it also says something about the owner of the business. Have they not trained their staff on how to give excellent service with a smile. Or if they have, what are they not implementing and policing it. The big companies do. I wonder why? Could it be something to do with good service being linked to increased profits?

If your customer thinks you do not care, they will go elsewhere – and if they do, it is your fault – well at least 65% of the time in any case.

The 2 children picked up on this indifference – what about all the others in the shop? How often does it happen in your business and how much is it costing you?