Take Care of Your Customers or They Will Leave

Today I had a choice — visit the big-box hardware home center with its massive selection, or visit the store I recently mentioned, my neighborhood hardware store, Krueger's. I chose Krueger's. Why? Two words: customer service.

If you've done any retail shopping lately, you've sadly discovered that the level of customer service has been in sharp decline. We all have stories — many of them. As our mission is to support the growth of local businesses, this tip is intended to be shared with your retailers. It's also going to be a two-part series because of the magnitude of the problem.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by Tony, who asked, "Mr. Schmidt, what project can I help you with today?" In the big-box stores, you have to push a button and wait for what seems like hours for someone to show up and help.

In a recent article by Deborah Everson on the Hardware-Building Supply Dealer website, she attributes the problem to inadequate employee training. "Too often in retail (and many businesses), we focus heavily on training employees for tasks: how to stock shelves, ring up a sale or follow a return policy. Those are necessary, of course, but they're just the foundation." In my experience, and likely yours, customer experience/service has a massive impact on where I choose to spend my money. As you meet with your retailers next week, you can share with them the three reasons from the article, why training on customer service is crucial to their success:

Many employees, especially Gen Z, have had fewer in-person interactions due to tech-heavy lifestyles, remote learning and digital-first experiences. Some employees experience social anxiety, especially in high-pressure situations (like dealing with an angry customer).

Others learn best through hands-on experience, not just reading a training manual or sitting through a slideshow.

If your retailers are concerned about declining store traffic, you might share this research from Harvard Business Review:

Acquiring a new customer costs anywhere from five to 25 times more than keeping an existing customer, depending on the industry and source.

The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%.

For new customers, the likelihood of making a sale is only 5-20%.

The bottom line is this: customer service matters — a lot. You might consider conducting secret shopping for your clients and their competitors to help them build a campaign that tells stories about their exceptional customer service.

I pulled the three most recent reviews of my local hardware store.

See the common thread? Customer service. It's too important to ignore, and you can share this with your retailers and potentially have a considerable impact on their bottom line.

Think Big! Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.