TRAINING!!?? And maybe I'm the only one, but I personally feel nothing but pity for the "greeters" at the front of retail stores, actually adds even more of the already bitter taste in my mouth about the way I feel regarding our current economy, pretty much the opposite of which I'm sure the businesses are trying to portray. I recently purchased my first home and needed to buy items ranging from paint to storage containers, a garage door opener, lighting fixtures, appliances, etc.
Basic retail training: When a person comes to you who KNOWS what they want, you put the person who's shopping or can't decide on "hold" and help the first priority/buyer customer complete their transaction. i.e. When I tried to buy paint, I had the gallon of paint, color swatch, just needed it mixed, but the clerk was SOOOO engrossed in trying to help another customer find the right color that the clerk basically even tried to put ME on hold while the other customer went and browsed some more. I did snap finally after standing there for 10+ minutes (WAY beyond my normal threshold) and said, "Would you please just mix my paint so I can get out of here?!" Retail service counters are not the same as the checkouts-they're more like waiting tables-waitstaff would go broke if they ignored the later seated table until the first table decides to order.
The same thing happened when I went to buy a washer and dryer. Usually, if there is more than one clerk, it seemed as though they were more intent on ordering their lunches (guess I just don't "look" like a buyer?) NO product knowledge other than re-reading the tags on the items I'd already read (in a few cases I'd read the manuals inside the units themselves and pointed out key features to THEM!). I ended up buying a used set from a small local business, not a new stack-able set as I'd wanted, but cheaper, great service and they work for a fraction of the price. Plus, convenient (after 5 and Saturdays) FREE delivery and installation.
Same thing again when I went to buy a dishwasher (the small local business carries no new inventory, the other small local business is too expensive). This time, there was only one clerk in the appliance department, helping some guy shop for refrigerators while his wife and kids walked around. I read the tags, researched and had my selection made within 5 minutes, just needed to BUY it and set up delivery. There was NO interrupting the sales clerk to say, "Excuse me, can I buy this?" I ended up finding a guy in another department to try to help me-he couldn't answer any questions. He even tried to get the other clerk's attention to help me, no chance. He did finally sell me the dishwasher I wanted, but only because I knew what I wanted and from the information I was able to get via my smartphone and personal research.
Product Training. If you aren't going to adequately staff your departments with people to answer ALL questions on ANY of the products in their department (not just the info off of the tags) then the tags on the items should ALL have the necessary information and FEATURES related to that specific product, NOT just a handful of key points. How many place settings? What are the different modes? Does it have steam? What is the energy star rating? What is the sound level? How many sprayer arms? Hard food disposal? Does this have delay wash? Etc. PLUS: Big cards displayed showing how much installation will cost.
As for their website-again, it seems so basic, but people don't want to see images of the door of the dishwasher cracked open, they want to see the fully open door, sprayer arms, racks, etc. They're kinda shooting themselves in the foot because most people are probably making their decisions based upon prices and customer reviews-in my case, I've seen some of the highest reviews for dishwashers based upon "quietness", nothing at all about how effective it is at cleaning dishes??? While quiet is important, it's NOT my most important feature, cleaning dishes properly, which apparently isn't offered as a survey question? I don't care if I can place stemware in the upper tray and unlike a lot of respondents, I know you can remove the plastic silverware tray lids if you want (which a lot of them complained about as 'ease of use' and negatively reviewed because of). read more