Maritz adds to friendly staff research
Customer interaction, satisfaction and experience are all woven together in a tight-knit web and the determining factor in all of these areas often comes down to a retail store employee's overall demeanour and attitude, according to Maritz Research.
Because of the long-term impact that a poorly trained, impolite, or thoughtless store assistant can have on a customer - even a loyal one - Maritz Research conducted its own research into the attitudes of retail store employees, and found that:
- A little over half (55%) of 16 - 24 year olds enjoy their interactions with customers;
- The majority (74%) of 35 - 44 year olds enjoy their interactions with customers;
- Near all 45 - 64 year olds (83%) enjoy their interactions with customers.
- The majority of retail employees (72% overall) enjoy their interactions with the customers they encounter;
- Younger retail employees (16 - 24 years old) are significantly less likely to enjoy their interactions with customers than older employees (35 - 64 years old);
According to Maritz, it is important that retailers explore every way possible to increase the number of employees who enjoy their interactions with customers to 100%. But without suggesting a widespread move toward the hiring of older store employees, the implication of this research is that customers who shop at retailers staffed by very young employees could potentially expect a lower level of service, while those shopping at stores with older employees might expect better, more friendly service.
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