Quality Customer Care

In January 2011 I set myself a task.
 
To walk around St Peter Port and photograph as many empty shops as I could find.
 
I found 32 empty retail outlets in various states of disrepair.
 
I didn’t do an update this year but the majority of them are still as they were 12 months ago.
 
Hardly a good advert for Guernsey.
 
Town was, and is, being killed by the internet.
 
Why bother traipsing from shop to shop to try and find what you want when it’s probably out of stock and a couple of weeks away?
 
Stay at home, boot up the laptop, and buy what you want for delivery within the next few days. Oh, and it’s probably cheaper too.
 
Local shops just can’t compete.
 
But sometimes internet shopping can go wrong.
 
It did for me a little while ago.
 
I couldn’t email the site concerned and had to use a helpline.
 
It turned out that the lady answering the phone was sitting in Cape Town, South Africa. Not a good start.
 
The thick South African accent sort of gave the game away.
 
But this lady could not have been more helpful or polite, even over polite by our standards. But by the time the call was finished, my problem was solved and my view of the company had jumped by several notches.
 
Would I use them again?
 
Definately.
 
I would love to put that lady into one of our struggling retail outlets in Town and watch her work. I’m certain that she would soon have a positive effect.
 
Imagine going into this shop and being greeted in a friendly yet respectful way and treated as a valued visitor. Given help and advice or just the space needed to look around. The occasional comment or helpful suggestion. Maybe even a recommendation to try a different shop as they didn’t have exactly what you needed.
 
Would you go there again?
 
Probably.
 
Would you buy something?
 
Maybe not on that first visit but almost certainly within the next visit or two.
 
Even if it cost more than the internet?
 
I love going into this shop. I get treated well, I can have a friendly chat, and I know I’m going to get good advice. Of course I’m going to buy from there.
 
Away from this fantasy, does such service exist in Guernsey?
 
Only in a very small handful of restaurants. Not in any shops I can think of.
 
In 2012, we are expecting 79 cruise ships to dock in Guernsey, spilling about one hundred thousand people onto our streets and maybe into our shops, if they are open of course.
 
One hundred thousand opportunities to make a sale, to make a good impression.
 
The chance to create a word of mouth advertising campaign for Guernsey with one hundred thousand channels.
 
Just imagine the effect.
 
How was the holiday?
 
You wouldn’t believe it. We just stopped in Guernsey for the day and I only went into half a dozen shops. The choice was a bit limited but the service was extraordinary. It was like going back 20 years. Then we had lunch in this small place and again, the service was brilliant. I’d love to go back there.
 
So, why isn’t this happening, or more to the point, how can we make it happen?
 
Tell me, I’d love to know.