by Ray Fauteux

Created on: May 19, 2007   Last Updated: February 01, 2009

When you work in the retail industry it's important to do all you can to ensure the customer has an enjoyable shopping experience. Often today's consumers are in a rush and when faced with so many options that are available in today's market-place, it can be a daunting task to do anything in a hurry. When it's obvious a customer is looking a bit lost, it would be a great help to them if a salesperson offered assistance. In many cases it's just a matter of narrowing down what the customer is after. With experience, a salesperson will come to know how to get the customer to let you know what it is they really want.

Often customers are reluctant to even ask questions, so a good way to approach them is to enquire, "is there something I can help you with?" Often there is, and once the ice is broken, they will go ahead and ask their questions. Sometimes that's all it takes. Some people are shy and just need to be prompted to ask their question.

Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to find out just what the customer wants. For instance, what if a customer walks into a grocery store to pick up ingredients for a special dish she is planning to prepare? Perhaps a dish out of a recipe book that calls for ingredients she may not be familiar with.

So perhaps she will say to the clerk, "I'm looking for masal."

Chances are, the clerk may have never heard of a product of that name, and might be able to find out more by prompting the right questions from the customer.

First of all, he might ask her the ethnicity of the recipe. Most stores have specialty sections that cater to certain nationalities. When she responds that she is going to prepare and East Indian recipe it may dawn on her to ask if the store has an East Indian section and now the clerk can narrow the search down to a specific aisle in the store.

All the customer had to say was, "Could you tell me where I can find masal? It's a sauce I need for an East Indian recipe I am trying. It calls for 4 ounces." However, in this case, a little prompting to get the customer to ask the right question was all that was needed for a happy ending.

However, because it was new to her, she did not initially ask the right questions.

It was just a matter of getting the customer to ask for what she really wanted in clearer terms. It would be no different if they are buying a car or a dress. Often in their own minds, customers know exactly what it is they want, but don't quite get the idea across to the salesperson. Simply by leading customers into asking the right question can go a long way to providing the perfect product or service the customer is after.

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