Best Way to Give Good Customer Service

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Customer service. Whether you work at Hollister, Taco Bell, or the fake hair extension kiosk at the mall, how you treat your customers is key. It’s great for the customers, of course, to have someone with a great attitude helping them. But it’s also great for you. You feel better when you have a good attitude. And you are much more likely to get raises, promotions, and better jobs.

Barkley Hope is the owner of Barkley Hope: Items for a Princess. It’s a hip store on hipMelrosein hipL.A.where celebs like Eve. Carmen Electra, and Minnie Driver shop. One reason people say they love to shop at her store is because everyone who works there treats the customers really well.

Here’s what she tells everyone who works for her:

Give a customer what she wants. Remember: Customer serv­ice means giving the customer good service. You should go out of your way for your customers. Here’s an example: Say a customer wants the shirt in purple, but we don’t have it. Rather than search­ing everywhere to find it in other stores (maybe it’s not even made in purple), we might call the designer to ask if he’ll make one in purple for our customer. The customer knows you are taking good care of them. If you can’t answer a question, find someone who can as soon as possible.

Connect with the customer. Lots of people in the entertainment industry are unapproach­able. There is a law in retail that says if cus­tomers act as though they want to be left alone, you leave them alone. I disagree. I think most people want to be talked to if you aren’t pushy about it. You might offer them a drink. People get in a good mood eating a lollipop, so I offer them one of the ring pops we have in the store. Flatter your customers, being genuine of course. I might tell someone I like her hair or her belt. And I mean it, but it also gives me a way to con­nect with the customer.

Treat everyone with respect. I am happy to see every customer who walks into my store. It doesn’t matter to us whether someone is a celebrity or a teen. We treat everyone the same. If someone comes in all ragged and doesn’t look like she has money to spend in our store, it doesn’t matter to us. Your customers should feel that they are welcome and you are there to help them.

Have a good attitude. Some people I have interviewed think they are above serving others. They act like they are too good to help people shop, sweep the floor, serve customers tea, or do other menial stuff. But it’s your job to serve people, to pamper the cus­tomers. And I always feel good when I do it. You won’t get far if you think you are above other people.