Mulberry Wines
wins Champagne for Customer Service

The champagne was presented to Annie Henry, the shop manager by Peter Hall, London and South-East Regional Director, Institute of Customer Service on Thursday. He said 'Customers expect high standards of service from both local shops and national chains. The shoppers of Goring have clearly recognised that the service at Mulberry Wines is ahead of the other retailers in the area.'

Richard Waller, webmaster of the Goring website (www.goring-by-sea.uk.com) said 'We were most impressed by the enthusiasm of local shoppers for the good service they have been receiving over the last year. 15 shops were nominated and in many cases individual staff members identified for special praise'

Peter Hall was asked for particular things that people serving in shops could do to impress customers. He set out a checklist which all shops could tick: -

taking a positive approach to each customer with good eye contact,
use of positive language and a helpful attitude,
smiling,
concentrate on that customer only,
say thank you when finished with more eye contact.
Knowing your product lines and where to find items.

He would be put off by the practice of two staff members having a personal conversation in the presence of customers.

It also helps to suggest associated products that the customer may have forgotten to ask for - the 'will you have chips with that' question. Interestingly Mulberry Wines used the 'chips' technique to promote response for the voting, having the invitation pasted to the shop counter near the till. It apparently does work!

For shop owners he stressed the importance of:-

a welcoming store layout,
an attractive window display with relevant products,
clearly stated opening times (and always being open at those times),
wheel chair and pram access,
a place to tether the dog,
clear space for customers to walk round and to stand when waiting to pay,
available staff in the shop to help customers find what they want,
logical product grouping,
clear pricing,
good quality goods,
And probably the biggest sales attraction plenty of stock at competitive prices.

Annie Henry at Mulberry Wines said she was delighted to have won, and the prize bottle of champagne would be raffled with the proceeds going to Save the Children and Cancer Research.

The next Customer Service Week will be October 2004. Goring will have another vote at that time. Also nominated for good service were:

Alinora Post Office and Newsagents
Ashalata Tandoori Restaurant
Baloos Restaurant
Barclays Bank
Creative Pine
Denyer Newsagent
Frank Dean - Butchers
Goring Library
Heene Road Vet
Hogarths Bakery
HSBC Bank
Mace Supermarket
S R Minton - Butchers
Mulberry Post Office
Natwest Bank
Renal Stores
Revive Hairdressing
Spar Supermarket