MARTIN SLOANE | Supermarket Shopper Right steps improved customer service

The news for supermarket executives at the recent FMI supermarket convention in Chicago wasn't good. In real dollars, supermarket sales in 2002 were just about the same as the previous year.
Michael Sansolo, FMI senior vice president, in his "Industry Speaks," presentation to the several thousand supermarket executives, referred to recent studies showing a shift in consumer mindset. Shoppers are increasingly purchasing groceries at mass merchandisers, superstores, super-centers, membership clubs, natural and organic stores, limited assortment stores, drug store chains and dollar stores. Shoppers are motivated to economize and are attracted by low prices.
Sansolo said an indication of this major shift in business is where shoppers are purchasing dry cereal. In 2002, 81 percent of shoppers purchased breakfast cereal in supermarkets. This year, that statistic is expected to plummet to 71 percent. Sansolo asked the audience, "Where will supermarkets make their stand?"
I think an important answer is improving customer service. Each year, FMI asks consumers to rate their supermarket shopping experience. In the 2002 survey, the response was 8.1 out of a possible high score of 10. It was one of the highest retail satisfaction ratings -- more than the 7.9 rating shoppers gave to discounters.
At the convention in Chicago, I attended a workshop, "The Art of Giving Great Customer Service." Maggie Bayless explained how an independently-owned supermarket in Ann Arbor, Mich., improved customer service. Bayless is the managing partner of Zingerman's Training.
Steps to success
According to Bayless, great customer service first requires finding out what the customer wants. "First, we teach employees to listen; then be accurate, polite and enthusiastic in their response."
The second step is getting customers exactly what they ask for. If a customer asks the deli clerk for ham and Swiss on rye with hot mustard, it must be exactly that.
The last step is going the extra mile: Giving a customer something she or he didn't ask for, something more than they expected, such as giving a customer a recipe card along with a package of meat.
"An associate should treat the customer so they think they are the best thing that happened to the associate that day." That seems like a tall order, but Bayless says it can be done if associates think of their job as retail theater. "A lot of great service is acting," she figures. I thought about my readers; would they mind a little "acting" if the service were great? Not at all.
Handling complaints
Zingerman's associates are taught the five steps for great service in handling a customer complaint: Acknowledge the complaint and listen; sincerely apologize; make it right; thank the customer for the opportunity to fix the problem. And, finally, fill out a "Code Red" report form for every complaint. Two things stood out when I saw the report form -- the thermometer charts! The Zingerman's associate must record the customer's "temperature" when the complaint was made and the temperature after the problem is fixed.
& quot;This report must be filled out by every person in the organization who makes contact with customers," including the company's leaders, who must also give great service because their example radiates downward. The executives were hearing Bayless' message.
Bayless notes that changing the customer service culture at Zingerman's wasn't easy. It took more than just re-writing the employee manual. There was a lot of teaching, role playing and measuring the results. A system for rewarding outstanding service was the final piece of the culture change. She says it took two years for the Code Red forms to become an accepted and valued part of the culture change. During that time, Code Green forms were adopted which Zingerman's associates fill out whenever a customer praises performance and customer service.
Zingerman's knows that it has changed its culture. Maggie says it is a much happier place to work. The increasing number of Code Green reports shows the response from satisfied customers.
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United Feature Syndicate