Many companies invest a a tremendous amount on marketing their goods and services.  This gets the client in the door no doubt, however, the sale is often lost at by way of indifferent, poorly trained, non-motivated sales personnel.  On my most recent trip to my local mall,  I visited a well-known, high-end department store.  I knew exactly the product I was interested in (a face powder by Laura Mercier), so I walked directly to the product counter.

The sales representative I first approached advised that she was unable to assist because it was “not her brand”.  She offered to find a representative who could help me, but returned after five minutes because the correct sales rep could not be located.  She did her best to answer questions about the product I was interested in, but she was unfamiliar with the brand and did not have any information available to her to help.  Although I appreciated her effort to assist me, I left without purchasing the product I had gone to the store specifically to buy.

My experience affirmed my belief of the importance of good customer service and in-store assistance.  In this case, a near-guaranteed sale was transformed by the customer service experience into a lost sale.  Despite an extensive marketing campaign for the face powder and my interest in the product, the in-store sales staff was unable to “seal the deal.”

What has been your experience with customer service?  Have you ever been thankful for superior assistance, or suffered through an aggravating sales transaction?  Leave a comment for us.