How we can all learn from Winnie the Pooh
Welcome to the MSA blog. MSA is the only association that supports nonprofit retail professionals and we are excited to provide useful information, thought-provoking questions and observations about the cultural commerce industry through this blog, written by MSA staff, association members and related industry experts. We encourage you to subscribe so you won’t miss a thing and we welcome your comments on our posts! We’ll start off our first blog post with some thoughts from MSA Executive Director, Beverly Barsook.
"When a person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." —Winnie the Pooh
One thing we all learned from the politicians in Washington this summer is how truly difficult it is to have a civil conversation about something of great importance to us all. It reminds me of something Stephen Vincent Benet said: “We thought because we had power, we had wisdom.” Articles are starting to appear in newspapers and online about civility and the lack of it. There was one in USA Today on Aug. 8 titled “At Work, No More Mr. Nice Guy” about the lack of civility in the office environment. I am sure it won't be long before we see an upsurge in self-help books being published on the topic. The subject has been well articulated by Dr. P. M. Forni. About six years ago, he published an interesting book called “Choosing Civility.” Forni teaches civility at Johns Hopkins University. Yes, there is actually a course on the subject! Forni's small book lists 25 rules of considerate conduct. Check out the book and his website.
We could start a new trend in our stores and museums by intentionally choosing to act differently in the face of a lot of criticism, cynicism, anxiety and indifference. It takes more than clever merchandising and inventory control to make a successful shopping experience in this age of high anxiety and downright fear. Training staff to go out of their way to make shopping in your store a pleasant experience is a great place to start. To get people to let go of their money in your store, they need to feel like you are their personal guide to a good purchase. I've noticed that even in the best stores, this skill deteriorates in direct proportion to how busy the store is. But that is precisely the time you need to step it up. You want the customer to remember their experience after the fact so they think of you the next time they need or want something. Brushing people off when you are busy is a sure way to damage that long-term customer relationship. We have placed an inordinate amount of importance on how fast we can complete the transaction to the point of totally depersonalizing the activity. Why would you want to come back if you are treated like that?
The higher our stress level the more likely civility is to go out the window. If we commit to resurrecting it one person and one experience at a time, we might just have an impact on the larger picture.
How do you ensure a good customer experience when stress levels are high?