Why “Whatever” is Losing You Customers
By Mary Lloyd, CEO, Mining Silver
In a recent post I mentioned an experience at a local grocery store that made me vow I would never go back. In a nutshell, I took issue with being totally ignored by the checker, who carried on a conversation with her also young co-worker the whole time she was supposedly serving me. I said I would not go back. And I won’t. (My stubbornness is legendary.)
But after I wrote that post I started to think about the broader implications of that experience. It’s something that’s much bigger than me choosing a different grocery store. What was going on was both generational and ageist. And the businesses who want to flourish–in this economy especially–need to see it for what it is–something that can make a difference in their bottom line.
Sure, I didn’t like being less important that what kind of cream cheese the friend had gotten for her on her bagel. But what made that conversation seem appropriate to her in lieu of concentrating on the customer?
That checker was doing what most of this culture does–including me, even though I try really hard not to. She decided I wasn’t important–I am much older than she is. I am not relevant in her world. I was just taking up the space in front of her friend. So she ignored me and talked to her friend. The problem is, I have a lot more money than her friend. And was, until that episode, spending quite a bit of it where she is employed.
She will never see the connection if she gets laid off because the store loses business. (A lot of us in this particular community are much older than she.) She will blame “stupid management” or “the economic downturn.” She won’t ask herself, “What did I do to precipitate this?” because kids don’t ask themselves that. And a bad manager or an inept business owner won’t ask either. A good manager will and will notice that things are going south before they are all the way to Antarctica.
Older shoppers are not what they used to be. The baby boom now has gray hair. We don’t take being rendered irrelevant quite as calmly as the Silent Generation. But it’s easier to voice our opinions by permanently walking out the door than by yelling at someone. You don’t want my business? Fine. I will take my money and go somewhere that notices I’m buying from them.
There are two other things that make the need to provide good service to older customers even more compelling. First, much as the stereotype suggests we are all maybe three steps from being street people, older customers tend to have more money to spend. When you don’t provide them with a positive experience, they won’t spend as much. And when you don’t provide them with a minimally gratifying experience, they will do business elsewhere.
It’s tempting to kiss them off but can you afford it? And to be blunt, you can only go so far with the rude treatment with the Gen X-ers. too.
The other thing it’s important to realize is that there are different levels to consumerism that tend to parallel age. At first, it’s just a matter of getting the material things you need to be able to function as an adult. When you’ve managed that, buying moves to being “pampered. This tends to happen in your forties and early fifties, when you don’t have time to pamper yourself. But then you morph again as a consumer. The third stage is about the experience and that’s why this kind of employee behavior is even more destructive than with younger customers.
It’s a two-headed dragon. Older customers are treated with less respect because of the ageist assumptions of our culture. At the same time, older customers want more attention because the experience of shopping is a larger component of their consumption expectations.
So what can you do? You could explain all this in a training session. You could send out e-mails or post a memo on the break room bulletin board. But all of that assumes the very ones who are not paying attention to the older customers will pay attention to the bulletin board–or to some other older person in a training class.
What’s the best thing to do? See for yourself. Watch what’s going on. If I had been the store manager that day and had observed that checker, she would have been in my office before the end of her shift. This is not something you can teach with a memo. It’s like keeping five-year olds out of traffic. The feedback needs to be direct, immediate and firm. “No. You cannot do that.” Sounds harsh, but it’s the kindest thing you can do–for everyone involved. The young employee. The customer. The business.
Tags: boomer business