A shopping lesson

With Christmas fast approaching I've been hitting the shops - and learning lessons on what makes good business.

In York the Christmas market stall holders were knowledgeable about their products, keen to give browsers free samples of their foodie gifts, and friendly to those just enjoying the festive atmosphere. It was a pleasure to shop there.

Contrast that with a large clothing store where the the sales assistant never even looked at me while she took my money for a gift. Customers are key to her having a job, but clearly they're not important enough to interrupt her conversation with a colleague to offer even basic customer service.

I could perhaps have understood this attitude if the store had been busy but at the time I was the only customer in the shop - and perhaps the poor service was the reason why. I certainly won't be back.

One of my first jobs was in the clothing department of a large department store and chatting to the customers was what made an otherwise dull job enjoyable - it also encouraged shoppers to return.

Businesses put time, money and energy into offering the right products and then marketing their wares, but if their customer facing staff are not also "living their brand" then all that effort could be for nothing. So if you are launching a new company don't forget the importance of recruiting and training the best people to work with your customers - they could be the difference between business success or failure.

For support in promoting your business or organisation call me on 0780 7671728 or check out our website www.sentrypr.co.uk