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The power of “Can I Help You?” — 3 Comments

  1. Customer service is a dying art. As a librarian, I realized many years ago that the customer is the sole reason I am there. I don’t serve the books or the management, I serve the customer. Far too many people these days don’t get that or don’t care. It’s really refreshing to have an experience like yours.

  2. The time when “Can I Help You?” works against the retailer is when a customer can’t walk two feet through a store without being asked, so it’s a tough balance to strike.

    By the way, this approach backfires in an antique store. In that type of establishment, a simple, “Welcome to the store, please let me know if I can help you.” is more appropriate. There are people looking for a very specific thing in antique stores, but, for most, the reason they’re there is to see what leaps out and grabs them.

  3. The power of a well timed “Can I help you?” is only offset by the clerk who doesn’t understand that “Just browsing” really means “Get the hell away from me and let me be”. Inevitably you can only get one or the other and it’s usually the opposite of the one you want.