SHOPPERS WANT BETTER SERVICE
By Adnews Staff
Shoppers want sales staff to give them faster attention and have more product knowledge, according to a study done by Ernst & Young of Toronto. Fifty-four per cent of consumers refuse to wait for service longer than two minutes. Wealthier Canadians are even less likely to wait. Forty-six per cent of the respondents said they would wait more than five minutes for service, while 63% of Canadians with incomes under $30,000 are willing to wait that length of time. Men are more impatient than women, with 46% saying they would wait longer than five minutes for service, compared to 54% of women. Forty per cent of respondents said they wouldn't shop at a store again if they received bad service. Eight-four per cent of consumers would go to the competition, 80% would leave without making a purchase and 80% return less often. Fewer than half of those surveyed would make a complaint to management. The survey also showed that sales staff need to treat customers differently, based on demographics. For example, Canadians 55 years-of-age and older are most concerned with the lack of sales staff on duty, while rude, aggressive or overly-friendly behavior bothered those most who are under 35. The most common shopping complaints were: couldn't find help, were irked by long line-ups or waits, had problems with rude, aggressive or overly-friendly sales staff or were turned off by inexperienced sales staff.