Always Acknowledge the Customer!

We have all been there. You walk into a business or store and see an employee at the counter. Unfortunately, however, the member of staff doesn’t look up and greet you; seemingly they are too busy doing something else. “Surely they must have heard me come in, they even have one of those stupid bells on the door… and I am five feet from them,” you think to yourself.

But the employee continues to ignore you and goes into the back office.

“Oh crap! Where are they going?” you wonder. “When are they going to come back? Am I going to be standing here for the next five minutes? Should I say something? Am I even at the right desk?”

Chances are, the employee isn’t deliberately trying to make you to feel unwelcome; perhaps they are simply counting the cash from a previous sale and filing the receipt in the back office. They have probably acknowledged your presence in their mind and they will be right back.

But is it really that hard to say: “Hello Sir, I will be right with you?”

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS acknowledge the customer!

This rule also applies to your email correspondence. If you don’t have time to write a detailed answer to a customer’s email, simply tell them you are not in the office, but that you will get back to them later in the day. It will take you two minutes to write a response of this nature and through sending a quick note you will let your customer know you are aware of them (and their needs).

Don’t forget, if you tell a customer you will do something, then make dang sure you do it. For example, if you inform a client that you will respond to their email within a few hours, make every effort to contact them before the end of the day, regardless of whether you have the answer to their question or not. It is better to say, “Hey, something came up, I haven’t forgotten about you, and should have an answer to your question soon” than to not send them an email at all.

Remember, it is your duty as the business owner to follow up with the customer — not the other way around. I cringe when I have to send reminder emails to a sales person who had previously told me they would get back to me (and never did).

Always acknowledge the customer and always follow up when you say you will. If your customers are asking for status updates on their queries or correspondence, you are doing it wrong.