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The power of a simple "thank you"
A cheerleader holds up a sign thanking the fans for their attendance after the game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena.
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TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: We all know that expressing gratitude is important. The social virtues of a simple thank you were drummed into most of us at an early age. Once we caught on, we needed only occasional prompting from Mom or Dad. Economically, the recession might have been just the reminder the retail industry needed about the importance of a well-placed thanks.
Sally Herships has more.
Sally Herships: Sarah Siewert is 24, she lives in Chicago. A couple of months ago, she hit up a department store with her mom and her sister. They were shopping for purses.
Sarah Siewert: And as soon as we got there, into the purse section, one of the saleswomen immediately approached us and was really attentive, she pulled purses from the back, she went through different options, different colors.
Typical shopping experience, right? As long as you get an attentive sales person, like Sarah did. She and her mom ended up buying a purse apiece. Then, a couple weeks later they both got letters in the mail from the saleswoman who'd helped them. They were thank you notes.
Siewert: It was a fully hand written note, referencing the exact bag we purchased. And on my note, she even had a nice reference to our alma mater.
Turns out they'd gone to the same school. And, I'll admit the purse Sarah bought wasn't exactly cheap. It was Marc Jacobs, about $400. But it's not just pricey department stores that are beefing up their manners. When the recession hit, JCPenney started a customer service program called GREAT. It's an acronym for salespeople: Greet. Respect. Engage. Assist. And Thank. And other retailers are following suit.
Brett Brohl: I've written, at least 2,000 thank yous just in the last 12 months.
Brett Brohl owns Scrubadoo.com
. He sells medical scrubs. You know, those pastel-colored outfits, doctors and nurses wear. Brohl says he hand writes a thank you note for every single customer. Scrubadoo is a new company, and Brohl says there are a lot of websites out there selling the exact same products he does.
Brett Brohl: If you Google the word "scrubs," we're not on the front page, we're not on the second page. And just like every other industry right now, competition's tough and with less people buying, it's even tougher.
Brohl says, a new company like his can't afford major marketing like TV commercials. Instead, he says, he's counting on thank you notes to help Scrubadoo stand out. So is this the beginning of a new trend of exemplary customer service?
Nancy Koehn is a retail historian, at Harvard. She says for smart businesses it is.
Nancy Koehn: We're returning to civility, courtesy and a way of actually honoring customers that has seemed far too absent, I think, for the last 20 years.
Koehn says the role of the salesperson has changed a lot over the decades. Before the recession, a salesperson's job had morphed into managing transactions: Bagging groceries, dispensing coffee, ringing up a sale. She says the more we've absorbed technology, like self-service check-out at the grocery store, the more retail businesses have reduced service.
Now, the role of the salesperson is changing again. I'm at a perfume counter at Saks Fifth Avenue with James McLaughlin. He works for a fragrance company called Jo Malone. McLaughlin says its sales people have been sending thank you notes for years. They're scented. But now, he says the company spends 20 percent more time, on expressing gratitude -- everything from hand and arm massages to wine tastings for customers.
James McLaughlin: We oftentimes will liken the experience as dating. You have a really great first date, and then the person calls you three months later when there's a sale going on and says, "How about a second date?" Why would they bother? You didn't keep in touch.
But Chicago shopper Sarah Siewert's salesperson did -- remember the one who sent her the thank you note after she and her mom bought purses? It worked. Siewert says she just bought another bag. So, thank you for listening.
I'm Sally Herships for Marketplace.
For an interesting take on this matter, visit http://home.paonline.com/theobald/THANKS.pdf
I hope this trend continues. It seems as though these days you are grateful to get just competent service, and in restaurants you tip for people just doing their job right. Hopefully everyone is figuring out that it's not just the item that customers buy, but the experience in buying it that counts.
When retailers talk about going back to "basics," could there be a more basic expression than, "Thank you?" No and glad you are spotlighting it as a successful tool . While I appreciate Ms.Owens credentials and insights, employees who can at least try to initiate a good shopping experience shouldnt' be called on the carpet. Most don't try or leave the counter. I wrote a blog about the disconnect of retail sales people to providing happiness at http://www.retaildoc.com/blog/disconnect/ The best who work in retail are constantly trying to learn how to connect, thank you is a great start.
I find it interesting that for profit companies are turning to a strategy that successful non-profit organizations have known for years- the importance of thanking people. As a fundraising professional, I know that one of the most important steps one must take with a donor is a timely, and sincere, thank you. Fundraising efforts will likely fall flat without them. It makes sense that this could be useful in the sales world as well.
Some of the better stores have been thanking customers for some time -- and not just the pricey ones.
However, what I'd really like to see is the same level of courtesy and helpfulness WHILE SHOPPING! Lately, those same stores that send thank-you notes are also pressing the sales staff with quotas and not-so-subtle sales strategies. Was it an accident that three sales associates complimented me about the necklace I was wearing the other day, and others tried to compliment me aobut something about my outfit? Did I really have to hear one sales person at a very upscale department store call out, "She's my customer!" in a pleasant, but "don't mess with my commission" tone. Do I really have to endure being in the crossfire of sales associates? Do I have to endure the disdain of an associate who informs me that "We don't carry that brand in sotre, only for the online customer," and doesn't even stop to address me directly, but keeps walking, even after she asked if she could help me with anything. ..And the willingness to check other branches seems to disappear when I'm looking at an item on the sales rack, not just the $1500 full-priced jacket.
(You probably don't have to publish this, but I'm talking about Neiman-Marcus. Similar situations have occasionally happened at Saks, but less often. For some reason, Nordstrom's seems to know how to train its sales reps in a more civilized manner.)
I am a college professor who focuses on retail studies. I know the signs when sales associates have been given marching orders, but really need better interpersonal skills, or at least how their behaviour affects the overall store atmosphere.
For the record: a student needed to buy a interview suit quickly. Given her budget and need for good help, I sent her to Lord & Taylor and Ann Taylor. She returned raving about how nice the sales help were at L & T because they really helped her to find suitable attire and focused on providing good value. She was also happy at Ann Taylor. This is the "thanks-for-shopping" that customers really need.
Service and value are the two most important factors that help businesses thrive. If you cannot provide them you cease to exist. I’m sure the salespersons’ attention to Sarah and her mother helped them make the purchasing decision. On my last major purchase – I shopped three different stores and purchased from the small local store where they let me try out each of the three options. The item cost a little more from this store – but the service was worth it. I was never even approached by a salesperson in the big box store or the other local store.
Once upon a time if you go to stores big and small the employees would thank you, because they understood that they would not have employment if you hadn't shopped there. In the last 20 years that gratitude has all but disappeared. Now most checkout clerks at grocery stores and department stores expect *you* to thank them for having dropped serious money to keep them employed, and they were doing you a big favor by ringing up your purchases and taking your money. Sometimes when I'm in the mood I would thank them, but most of the times I just stare at them in the awkward silence when *they* expect me to thank them for keeping them employed. I hope the civility -- and knowing which side of your toast is buttered -- will be part of employee training for all levels of retail businesses again.
