As much as we love online shopping, nothing can ever replace the experience of working one-on-one with a professional in person. This has created a new expectation on what great customer service means to a lot of us. Do you know how to discover what the experience is likely to be like in a local retail store? We want to share a couple tips before you even leave the house.
Search
One of the more common ways to know the reputation of a local store is to do a search for them on Google and check out their reviews. Researching reviews has a few important elements to it. The overall star rating, the total number of reviews submitted, and the words withing the review itself. When you see a business with a perfect 5-star rating, that seems good at first glance, however that can also mean that they don’t have a lot of quality feedback, or the results are skewed. The higher the volume of reviews, the more accurate their overall rating is. It’s better to work with a business that has a 4.7 rating with 60 reviews than a 5.0 rating with four reviews. While you are researching the reviews, take some extra time to read what the reviewers have actually said about the business. This can make all the difference between a good experience and an exceptional experience.
Call
In addition to checking out their reviews, you can also call the business. How they handle a phone conversation will tell you a lot about how you will be treated once you are in-person. Did it seem like you were a top priority? Did they ask for you name? Were they friendly and welcoming? These are all important elements when shopping for the perfect place to do business with. Be sure you note their name so that when you go into the store, you can work directly with the professional you spoke with already.
Doing business locally helps keep jobs local, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your customer experience because of it. Taking a few minutes to do some reputation research before shopping can make a huge difference for you.
