The five stupidest questions to ask shoppers
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from The Retail Doctor blog.
Most retailers don’t make us feel comfortable enough to buy from them. Usually this is due to untrained or poorly trained employees speaking before thinking.
Here are the five stupid questions never to ask your shoppers:
1. How are you today? Admit it, you don’t care. The shopper knows you don’t care. You also never want to make customers have to lie to you.
What to say instead: Good morning. Feel free to look around and I’ll be right back.
2. Are you looking to buy today? I know, shocking to read but that is still asked by people trying to sell you everything from a car, to eyeglasses, to you name it. Many times people go into a shop not intending to buy but get so romanced by the environment, displays and salespeople that they treat themselves anyway. A pushy comment and/or attitude may make them leave without their intended (or unintended) purchase.
What to say instead: Just don’t say it.
Photo: RetailWire
3. Isn’t this (weather-related noun — heat, snow, rain) awful? Doesn’t matter where you are, you rarely will get another person to agree. If you get someone to agree, you’ve put yourself in misery’s company. You build rapport with someone by first finding out what positive things you have in common.
What to say instead: Something positive about what they are wearing or holding.
4. Can I help you find something? Customers by rote answer "just looking" to get away from such an aggressive question. It also starts from the idea that customers all know specifically what they want, as if they are all at the hardware store looking to fix a leaky hose. Most shopping trips are based on a customer trying to solve a larger problem.
What to say instead: If you are indeed in a hardware store, "What’s your project today?" A furniture store, "What room gets the makeover today?" An electronics store, "How can we connect your world today?"
5. Do you have a budget? Another hack question determined to tie-down the customer. The question supposes that customers won’t spend more than they plan. It allows the salesperson to limit the customer’s choices and removes what probably would be the best solution. The best solutions cost more.
What to say instead: We have a range of options and price points. To find your best solution, may I show you them all?
Discussion Questions
What are some of the most annoying or counterproductive questions you often hear from store associates? What advice would you give to associates about being helpful but not irritating?
Poll
BrainTrust
Kevin Graff
President, Graff Retail
Dan Raftery
President, Raftery Resource Network Inc.
As always, great tips from Bob!
Add to the list, “Are you looking for something special?”
Did you think they were looking for something just average?
Add “Did you find everything you were looking for today?” when I’m checking out a Publix. I know they’re trying to do a customer service thing, but it’s too late when my groceries are being rung up.
My favorite is the one the cashier is trained to ask … “Did you find everything you were looking for today?” Of course when the shopper replies yes, life is good and the shopper and cashier are both left intact. But if the answer is no the cashier has no idea how to respond or remedy the fact that the store was either out of something they should have or does not carry the item. Either way, I have yet to encounter anyone at retail that is prepared to deal with a negative reply to that question.
My advice to retailers, don’t ask questions that you don’t have good answers for.
My personal supermarket favorite comes from the store I shop in most frequently which is so fond of new items it has all but eliminated multiple facings for high-demand, boring old items.
Invariably the cashiers start their conversations with, “Did you find everything OK?” which — grammar aside — opens the door to each customer in the checkout lane reciting a litany of products that they could not, in fact, find.
I also had the point of view issues that lead associates to ask, “How are we doing today?” I don’t know how they are doing, nor am I really that interested in finding out, a feeling I’m sure is mutual. Ditto for, “Are we finding what we are looking for?” If I’ve never met you, how am I supposed to guess what it is you might need?
As for advice, there’s the Golden Rule of Customer Relations, “Speak unto others as you would have them speak unto you.” Nobody wants to engage in disingenuous, meaningless — literally and figuratively — babble. Acknowledging that a customer is in your space is good. Greeting them in a rational manner is fine. Speaking to them as though they were an adult is also helpful. And listening and responding are sort of the killer apps of conversation.
Haven’t heard all these stupid comments. Mainly the dumb “how are you?” I always answer “Do you really care? Does anyone care?”
My advice for any retailer is to ask a simple question, “What are you on the hunt for today?” For greeters a good opener is “Hey, great to see you and please do not buy me any gifts.” They look at you strangly but they remember you. Always use or do what the shopper least expects and they will come back.
I love it when the cashier asks if I’ve “found everything OK,” like there was something s/he could do about it. I usually respond with a grammatical poke such as “No, some things were definitely not OK.”
More annoying and counterproductive than the questions asked of shoppers by store associates are the responses they give to shopper questions. In terms of these, my top five are:
Store staff always need to put themselves in the place of the shopper. Don’t ask them anything that you wouldn’t want to be asked. Shoppers do want assistance, however the best scripting of staff conversations needs to be developed by the team and executed consistently. Come up with non-threatening questions to ask shoppers, and develop several questions so staff doesn’t constantly ask the same ones.
How about a simple, “How can I be of help to you today?” Or, “What can I do to make your time here most productive/efficient/effective/etc.?”
I agree with all the annoying questions listed. However I was pleasantly surprised the other day. Someone asked if I was having trouble finding anything and I responded with yes. He stopped, put down the things he was carrying and said OK let me help you sort it out and he did! That was a great response and he did help me find what I needed.
Asking me if I found everything when I am checking out is not the right time to ask that question because I am not going to hold up everyone else in line by taking time to have someone try to help me find something at that point.
If you ask the questions you need to be prepared to make appropriate responses.
“If you have any questions, we’ll be glad to help.” (To which I often then say, “Great … what’s the annual rainfall in Uruguay?”)
Many of these questions are contextual. Having done a lot of in-person selling, trade show walking, etc., none of the questions should be ruled out. But the “Are you looking to buy today?” question is the one that should be used only rarely.
Each of the others has a role sometimes, but it really depends on having a team who can read people well.
One of the difficulties I have with modern retail management is that people tend to take lists like these and “mandate them” out from corporate, putting handcuffs on the retail staff.
If you hire good staff, what you want is for that person who’s on the ground in front of your prospect to use their judgement. And if you can’t trust that judgement, you need to get other people.
I know we’re concentrating on questions right now. But it brings to mind the one phrase that makes me crazy every time I hear it from a sales person, cashier, waiter or other service person: “No problem.” Argh!
OK, so let’s compile a list of the five smartest questions to ask: at the front door, at the check out. I’m interested.
(coming from a checkout clerk or bank teller) “Can I help you?”
One time, fed up with the redundancy of it, I finally responded “yes you can” and proceeded to stare at them. They didn’t get it.
As for Bob’s quintet, I agree with Doug: other than the second one, I don’t find them objectionable.
Another vote for “did you find everything you were looking for?”
I also don’t care for the grocery store cashier asking if I found everything I was looking for. As others have said, if the answer is no, their only option is to stop the line and have someone go get the product for me, if they even carry it.
Lately cashiers have been trained to engage the customer in a conversation during checkout. Examples of recent conversations include “How was your weekend?”, “Do you have plans for the weekend?” “How was your day?” etc.
I’m sure that they are doing this to better engage with their customers, however, if they focused on their task of checking customers out in an efficient manner, I think the customers would be equally if not more satisfied.
Retailers should continually ask themselves how these questions are helping the customer. If they can’t answer that in a positive fashion then they should re-examine what they are asking their sales associates to do.
Not in the annoying question category but certainly a counterproductive encounter occurred, when I asked a supermarket staff member who was wearing an “I’m Empowered, Just Ask Me” button if I could borrow it for an hour to use in a customer service presentation. His reply, “Let me check.”
Go figure!
Except for #2, none of these questions bother me. And when I can actually find a salesperson, I am thrilled if they ask me if I need help finding something. I usually do.
Worse than “How are you today?” is “How are you guys today?” When did a male and a female or a larger group of males and females all become “guys”? How about a simple, “It’s our pleasure to have you come in today”?
Second, the phrase “No problem” should be banned from any customer service environment. Yes, banned! It’s a double negative. It can easily be replaced with “My pleasure”.
All of Bob’s five are good, but they all require training, coaching and mentoring. That’s the weakest link in most retail today to achieving a great experience.
“How are we doing?” and “Did you find everything you were looking for?” are two of the most annoying questions as the folks who have already posted have pointed out. They are among the many questions that have nothing to do with genuine customer service and are shallow attempts at being helpful or meaningful — they are neither.
The questions should be about purpose and context. If I’m in the plumbing department, chances are I’m working on a project in which plumbing parts are required. A sensible question would be to ask what the plumbing project happens to be! At least that would get my attention and respect. In that same situation if someone asks me “How we are doing?” you can rest assured that I will respond with an equally silly response: “We are working on replacing a toilet. Are you planning on clocking out and driving with me to my house to help with the challenging install? Which is why I’m here searching for the necessary parts that I’ll need to cobble together for a solution!”
They’ll never end!
Lot of good stuff here, for sure. This is something where good training can make a huge difference inside your store. I make sure everyone knows how I want them to act, and engage with our customers, and for the most part they do an amazing job. Find me a pleasant person who actually enjoys working with the public, and you have a great head start on their success.
In my deli, we never ask, “May I help you?” as this actually raises the customer’s blood pressure. This is really true in studies I learned from some amazing sales folks. We simply engage in a micro conversation by asking, “What can I get for you today?” as a starter, and proceed to focus on the sale, providing a friendly banter that almost always increases the sale.
A small suggestion — while sliding their deli meats into the bag — by telling them our American cheese is on sale for $3.99 lb. will generate about a 50% success rate. Tell them about a new salad you just made with a sample ready for them to eat — that’s got around a 70% success rate of making the sale. Who wouldn’t want that result?
My father taught me many things, but the art of the sale is something that can be taught, and it does help if you’re born with a knack for it. Being a good listener and making a sincere effort to engage in a proper manner will make your store stand out for sure. Everyone you hire needs to know how they should act with the customers, and always provide proper training, along with encouragement, and a pat on the back.
I have never been asked the question about budget. That would be annoying. The others don’t bother me. Store associates are just trying to do their job. If you don’t believe me, try it sometime.
The benefit of coming late to this discussion gave me the benefit of reading Tony Orlando’s comments, which are spot on for increasing sales while keeping the customer comfortable. Asking about my budget is the most invasive question a salesperson could ask, after all the others, except I feel that talking about the weather is an innocuous conversation starter, where all the others put me on the defensive.
Perhaps more annoying than any of these questions is no question. If I’m the owner or manager of a store and my employees are actively engaging the customer when they walk in, I’ve made either a hiring or training mistake.
The right question is a friendly greeting followed by an open-ended question such as, “Good morning. What can I help you find today?”
Good one, Bob! Also appreciated everyone’s responses.
I love when an associate asks me what brings me in today. I always answer, “My feet.”
I would disagree with several of you that how can I help you today is okay. This was not written for an opinion as a customer, this was as a sales trainer.
The more the item costs the less your store should be seem like a hardware store. “Can I help you find something today?” Yes, I’m looking for number two screws. “OK there in aisle 9.”
It assumes customers know there is one thing they need. That is never the case in buying jewelry, fine apparel, or other quality merchandise.
As I said in the much longer original post, such questions make the shopping a chore and something to get over with.