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Managing Multiple Customers
Five tips for juggling customers, callers and walk-ins.
by
Jeff Mowatt
You
know the scenario: Your workday is running smoothly and manageably when
suddenly you find yourself dealing with one customer in front of you and
another on the phone while a third arrives with just a quick question.
In my customer service seminars, this is one of the most
frequent challenges employees ask me to address. While there are no
absolute rules for juggling customers (you need to adapt to your
workplace’s business realities), here are five tips that work well in
reducing stress and boosting customer loyalty.
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Tip 1: remember, this is
good |
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Having lots of customers wanting to do business with you is
wonderful. It means you are in demand. The obvious solution to
juggling multiple customers is to hire more people. Of course,
that’s oversimplified and may make no economic sense, especially
when there may be only one or two rush periods during the day or
week.
When you see more customers arrive, don’t let them see you
sweat. Take the professional approach and broaden your
smile—even though it may be slightly forced. Keep in mind the
adage of L.L. Bean, who said, “Customers are not interruptions
to your work; they are the purpose of your work.” |
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Tip 2: don’t make things
worse |
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One of the most frequent customer service gaffs is when a
customer needs to ask a question but the employees are
preoccupied talking with each other. Even more aggravating is
when the staff congregates to socialize while customers are left
to fend for themselves. The place for employees to chat and hold
meetings is in the staff area, not in front of customers.
When you’re on the floor, make yourself visible and available
to customers. Of course, that also means not interrupting
co-workers who are talking to customers. If you need to talk to
a co-worker who’s taking care of a customer, give your colleague
a quick nod, then let him/her come to you when he/she has
finished with the customer. If you absolutely must interrupt,
then excuse yourself and apologize to the customer for the
interruption, and as you leave, thank the customer for his/her
patience. |
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Tip 3: walk-ins take
priority over phone-ins |
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If you already have a customer in front of you when the phone
rings, that customer gets priority. The in-store customer took
the time/spent the gas money to arrive in person. Unless you
have callers with genuine emergencies, don’t interrupt an
in-store customer to answer the phone. That’s what voice mail is
for.
If you must take the phone call, ask the in-store customer’s
permission, explain that you want to focus on him/her, so you’ll
quickly take a message and get back to your conversation. Then
tell the caller that you are with another customer but will look
into his/her request and call him/her back. That way, even if
the caller insists on immediate service, the in-store customer
sees that you are at least trying to make him/her the priority. |
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Tip 4: acknowledge walk-ins right
away |
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If you are on the phone or face-to-face with a customer when
another customer walks-in, acknowledge that customer immediately
with eye contact, a smile and a quick “I’ll be with you in just
a few minutes [or however long it will be].” By acknowledging
the customer, you are conveying that you are aware of him/her
and that you are working quickly. And it tells the person in
front of you that you have other people waiting. Usually, that
customer will get the hint that you need to wrap up.
A common challenge is how to politely interrupt a phone
caller to acknowledge a walk-in customer. Here’s a quick tip:
Say to the phone customer, “John, excuse me. I just had someone
walk in. May I put you on hold for a moment? Thanks.” Beginning
with the person’s name gets his/her attention immediately
without being rude.
For new arrivals who have just a quick question—as long as
the question is indeed quick—give them the 10 seconds they need,
then get back to your first customer. If it’s going to take more
than 10 seconds, tell the person, “That’s going to take a few
minutes to go over, so I’ll finish taking care of this person,
which will take me about [x] minutes, then I’ll be happy to help
you. Meanwhile, if you’d like to browse, sit, grab a coffee …
Thanks.” |
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Tip 5: address chronic
staffing/line management issues |
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In Tip
1, I pointed out that hiring more staff may not make economic
sense; however, if customers constantly get the impression that
your business is disorganized, understaffed or uncaring about
their time, that’s a problem that requires more than just having
staff work faster.
Owners/managers need to hire more staff, consider moving
phone calls to a call center or implement line-management
practices. (Speaking of which, you’ll find tips on handling
waiting lines in my article, “Yes, I Mind Waiting,” available
free at www.jeffmowatt.com.)
Meanwhile, be thankful that business is so good. Here’s
hoping that this helps makes managing multiple customers less
frustrating for everyone concerned. |
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Jeff Mowatt is a customer
service strategist and business strategist, consultant, international
speaker and author. This article is based on his best-selling book,
Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month. To obtain a copy of this
book or to inquire about engaging Mr. Mowatt’s services, visit
www.jeffmowatt.com, or
call (800) JMowatt (566-9288). |
