The trouble with assessing customer service, for me, is that
I’ve not been anywhere other than big box stores for the past few months. And in big box stores, while the employees
have all been pleasant, it’s more of a help yourself concept. But then I thought “What do these stores do
to help people, even when there aren’t a lot of staff around?” First, how is
the store set up? Does it ‘flow’ properly? Second, how easily can customers
find things? Are there enough signs? Self-service kiosks and / or maps? Third,
is the store itself appealing? Clean? Appropriate lighting?
I primarily visit three big box stores fairly regularly:
Store W and Store T are competitors; Store P is a big box pet store. So, I’m
going to rate and comment on each of the three stores on layout, ease of use,
and general appeal.
The layout of Store P is the most appealing to me. Things flow around the perimeter of the
store, with clear divisions between dog, cat, and small pet, with exotics and
fish in the center. Even without maps or
signs, it’s pretty easy to get what you need.
Although Store W has ads encouraging grocery shoppers, they split some
pretty commonly needed things from one side to the other. Non-food dry goods are on the opposite end of
the store from food dry goods, even though they are commonly purchased on the
average family’s grocery list (think toothpaste and milk, or shampoo and
spaghetti). I cannot figure out Store T
yet, they had a good flow previously, now their set up is much more like Store
W. Both Store W & T are set up to
encourage browsing, which can be frustrating when you just have time for a
quick trip.
Again, Store P is the easiest store for me to navigate. The ‘flow’
of the store makes sense, and they have large, appropriate signs as well. Store W, while it is harder to navigate, also
has large signs and Store T is about the same.
Stores W & T, however, are so big that a customer cannot see all the
signs from the front of the store. It
would be helpful for both stores to have prominent maps at the entrance.
Stores P & T are the most appealing. They are clean, and brightly lit. Their signs are clearly written. The bathrooms in Store T are always in good
condition. Store W also has bathrooms in
good condition. However, the lighting in
Store W never seems quite bright enough, possibly due to the ‘warehouse’ style
construction and the ceilings.
Even if a customer never actually sees an employee beyond
the checkout line, stores can – and do- do things which can greatly impact a
customer’s experience. I think that's a lesson that libraries, especially in these understaffed times - can stand to learn. What do we do, what can we do - beyond staff / customer interaction - which makes using our libraries fun and pleasant, and easy to use?
