Retail Staff Issues That Hurt Business

• not finding a sales associate on hand when help was needed
• being ignored by a sales associate who failed either to greet the customer or to make eye contact
• insensitivity toward customers held up by long checkout lines

• being ignored by a store’s sales associates
• perceiving that sales associates are more concerned with making sales than helping out customers
• meeting sales staff with inadequate product knowledge
• failing to find items due to the way merchandise is organized

• The Educator, who has thorough knowledge of the products in the store and helps shoppers find them
• The Engager, who is always on hand and ready and willing to help
• The Expeditor, who helps the customer save time during purchase and payment
• The Authentic, who will forgo a sale to serve the customer’s interests

Among these retail sales associate archetypes, the “engager” was found to have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The study found that 25% of all customers who reported a problem while shopping were ignored by sales staff and did not receive any greeting or eye contact, let alone a smile. At least 3% of customers who encountered such scenarios left the retailers permanently.