Impress customers in a competitive market and raise the bottom line by using these tips to improve customer service in your c-store.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
According to data from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), there are over 150,000 convenience businesses in America. This means there is one convenience store for every 2,200 people, making them one of the most universal types of retail businesses. C-stores are frequently the only businesses open late at night or during a natural disaster, making them a cornerstone of their community. However, due to the prevalence of competition in the c-store industry, it is important to remain ambitious to retain customers and maintain the bottom line. One way to do this is to improve customer service, as c-stores sometimes have poor reputations that may make shoppers more likely to visit a competitor. Customer service is also increasingly important in the digital age, where shoppers are less likely to visit stores with poor reviews. Here are three ways to put the customer first and make your store a destination:
Keep up with training
One of the factors in ensuring an effective customer service experience is to ensure employees have the latest training. Training encompasses all sorts of topics, from the latest laws on restricted sales compliance, to technology updates, to customer service best practices. Employee training can be done using online modules or in-person seminar sessions. Making these courses interactive, through techniques gamification or group participation, helps employees stay engaged and reinforces learning.
Furthermore, a great way to help ensure employees have up to date training is choosing technology solutions that have built in training or are easy to use, such as SmartPOS from Petrosoft. Petrosoft also offers monthly training sessions with our experts to help you understand everything from our CStoreOffice back-office software to the Retail360 mobile app. Employees who receive these trainings can offer the best customer service experience.
Have enough staff on hand
Long wait times are some of the most cited sources of customer frustration. To keep customers happy and prevent line build up, make sure there are enough employees on the sales floor. For many stores, this can be difficult, as they are open 24-hours or have a hard time retaining staff. However, utilizing sales data to analyze the busiest times of day for your store can help identify when the best time is to add extra staff. For example, if the volume of sales in a store occurs during the morning rush between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., adding an extra cashier during these times will make customers happier.
Another way to ensure you have enough staff is to explore potential issues with employee retention. Convenience stores have some of the highest turnover rates in the retail industry, and c-stores rarely finish a year with the same staff they started with. To increase employee retention, consider adding bonus incentives and other benefits, such as flexible scheduling.
For more tips, check out our blog about increasing employee retention in your c-store.
Ensure the store is clean
Customers are more likely to shop at stores they consider to be clean and safe, even if those stores offer less competitive pricing. An easy way to improve the customer experience at your store is to keep it clean and organized. For many stores, this means daily cleaning of bathrooms, floors, and counters. Professional cleaning services, such as window washing, or power washing can also help a store look its best. Employees should also maintain store, restocking items and adjusting placement to keep shelves looking full and clean. A better organized store will enable customers to find products faster, which increases their satisfaction with their shopping experience. For c-stores that sell fuel, keeping the forecourt tidy is also important for customer satisfaction. Emptying trash cans, keeping signs clean, and wiping down buttons on fuel pumps makes the forecourt environment friendlier. Not only are customers happier with a cleaner space, but they’re also more likely to enter the store and make more purchases, driving up the bottom line.
