|
RETAIL: Craft Shops Buck High Street Trend
Listed under: News
Published: Thursday, November 22, 2007
Craft retailers have told of their dedication to supporting and helping consumers after a recent survey revealed that bad customer service is forcing more and more shoppers to turn their backs on the high street.
The report revealed that poorly-trained, impolite and bored staff are ruining festive shopping trips for 85% of the shoppers quizzed and two-thirds specified that untrained staff who couldn't answer questions about the products caused them the most annoyance. A huge 86% said they had left a shop without buying the present they were after because of the queues.
Yet with many craft shops offering support and advice, it seems the industry can offer frustrated customers just what they are after. Jan Widera from The Art Shop Ltd in Rayleigh, Essex, echoes the sentiments of many of the craft retailers we spoke to. “In our shop we supply ideas and are here to give answers to crafting questions,” she explains. “I was working for a very target-focused business before I took this place on, but I really didn't like the way it was going because with those kind of companies customer service just goes right out the window – their aim is to sell the most expensive items with little thought to the consumer's actual needs. We have a really nice group of people who come in just to have a chat for half an hour or so and there's a lot of youngsters now a days who have got caught up in it all. I think it's so important to just have a general enthusiasm and also a love of crafts – without these I think your customers are missing out on something,” adds Jan.
The report revealed that poorly-trained, impolite and bored staff are ruining festive shopping trips for 85% of the shoppers quizzed and two-thirds specified that untrained staff who couldn't answer questions about the products caused them the most annoyance. A huge 86% said they had left a shop without buying the present they were after because of the queues.
Yet with many craft shops offering support and advice, it seems the industry can offer frustrated customers just what they are after. Jan Widera from The Art Shop Ltd in Rayleigh, Essex, echoes the sentiments of many of the craft retailers we spoke to. “In our shop we supply ideas and are here to give answers to crafting questions,” she explains. “I was working for a very target-focused business before I took this place on, but I really didn't like the way it was going because with those kind of companies customer service just goes right out the window – their aim is to sell the most expensive items with little thought to the consumer's actual needs. We have a really nice group of people who come in just to have a chat for half an hour or so and there's a lot of youngsters now a days who have got caught up in it all. I think it's so important to just have a general enthusiasm and also a love of crafts – without these I think your customers are missing out on something,” adds Jan.
