er view. Hand the bag to the customer in such a way that they get to grab the handle directly Ask if they want the receipt in the bag (don’t tell) Offer to carry heavy items to a car (if you sell them, you must be staffed/ equipped to deal with it) Open on time and don’t close early Set the music volume to the level customers will enjoy (not staff) When customers buy something affirm it by telling them it was good/smart choice Clean windows, floor, and shelves. In fact, clean the whole store while you are at it Come out from the behind the counter where ever possible (if the store is designed in such a way) Pay specific attention to how the customer wears/uses whatever it is that you are selling Say something complimentary about the customer (bonus points for referencing #12 above) Be a great advertisement for your own product. Wear it. Show it. Use it. Make sure the spotlights in your store actually illuminate the merchandise, not the floor or walls (the way it was designed to do). It is not like it is me telling you how to run your business here. What I am doing is passing things on from the customer’s perspective in the hope that you will see it that way and make the changes. You see, you may want to go multi-channel and all that fancy stuff, but if the foundation of your business is not built on a great service delivery platform, technology will amplify your mistakes, and I really mean amplify. (If you don’t believe me, just google ‘PR disasters, brands’ or something like that and see what technology will do to the ill prepared.) Like the previous post, it will be fun to collect all your little tips to improve customer service. Maybe we can crowdsource a customer service manual in the comments section below? Have fun Dennis GANADOR: Skills. Strategies. Solutions.