This is the latest installment of The Solitary Life's of "Let's Talk Shop" articles aimed at helping skateboard shops build better businesses. In this article, I'm going to talk about something that, really, every skate shop owner and employee should already understand: Customer Service. Specifically, giving your customers Good Customer Service.
Here's the problem: In the last two years, I've walked into approximately 200 skateboard shops. At least. It might even be more than that. Out of those 200 shops, I can easily count on two hands, the number of shops that gave me "good customer service". The bigger problem is, I'm not alone. I regularly hear horror stories from everyday skaters, about shops that made... how can I say this nicely? "Persistent Customer Service Goofs"?
I think that's putting it pretty nicely...
Even today, I asked one of my skater-buddies at work how often he's gotten good customer service out of a skateboard shop? The answer was something like, "Oh, jeez man. I dunno. Maybe, once in a blue moon or something...?" Believe it or not, that's actually a pretty atypical answer. A far more "typical" answer, is "never".
I'm gonna tell you something, straight away: You're not going to find anyone in all of skateboarding, that is a bigger proponent of the independent, locally-owned skateboard shop than Yours Truly over here. But the simple fact is that, at least some of the problems that are facing skateboard shops today are caused by the skateboard shops, themselves. And, "customer service" would clearly fall into that category.
Customer Service is the one thing in your shop that is almost always free of cost... and likewise, free to give. Money just can't buy a positive outlook, or the ability to treat people with kindness, friendliness, or respect. But when it comes to running a successful business, positivity, kindness, friendliness, and respect sure can make you and your shop a whole hell of a lot of money...!
Assuming that's true, then I would probably... if I were a shop owner, today... make this piece mandatory reading for not only shop owners and managers, but for all shop employees as well. Everyone in your business... from the top, to the bottom... needs to fully understand the importance of serving your customers, and serving them well. In my world, skateboarders deserve the very best that any shop could offer, in terms of taking good care of their customers.
I mean, really... what sort of customer would freely admit to being more than happy with second, or even third-best...? What kind of customer is going to be happy with mediocre-to-shitty customer care...?!
When I talk about "customer service", I can easily break that down into three sub-topics:
- Friendliness,
- Knowing (And, Having) The Product, and
- Salesmanship
Friendliness
Out of the three, "friendliness" is the least expensive. And more often than not, the most important.
When I walk into a skateboard shop, I expect more than anything else... to make a new friend. I guess that's just how skateboarding brought me up, y'know? To make easy friends with other skaters? To have some respect for your fellow skater? Now, clearly, this doesn't happen as often as I should. Not to me, at least. And, as far as I can tell, not to too many other skaters, either.
The question becomes, why...?
Is it because, as pampered primadonna Americans, we're just raised to expect "good service" at every turn... but, not to have to give it to anyone else? Are we really that self-centered of a society? Or: Is it because shop owners, managers, and employees seem to think that they're just "cooler" than everyone else...? For my part, I don't know. Nor, do I really care. All I know is that, if the shop that I walk into isn't friendly and welcoming? Then I'm probably gonna turn tail, and walk my ass right out of there. No questions asked, and no answers needed. Just like any self-respecting customer would do, if they were in the same situation.
You're seriously not gonna find this sort of candid, no-bullshit honesty in TransWorld BUSINESS. But, you'll find it here on The Solitary Life. And, the honest truth is: If you're not making friends? Then, you're probably not making sales. Or, at the very least: You're not making as many as you could be...!
On the "friendliness" front, very few people in the entire midwest can beat Jeremy and Liz from TOC Skateshop in Terre Haute, Indiana. These are two of the most skater-friendly people, ever. Hands down.
Let me give you guys an example here. Let's start with something as simple as... answering the telephone. When I call a skate shop... I expect someone to answer the phone, first of all. If it's not a person, than I expect at least a machine to pick up, and give me:
- The shop's name, - The shop's address, and - The shop's hours.
You wouldn't believe how many shops don't do this...
But, let's assume that I get an actual person on the horn. In that case, I expect:
"Hello! You've reached Bud's Skate Shop! How can I help you today?!"
And, I expect that voice to sound pretty perky, and upbeat. Friendly...! Maybe even, happy that somebody called.
You'd be amazed at how many shops that I call, answer with the singleword, "Buhd's...". Just like that! "Buhd's". Drab. Unenthusiastic. As if I just woke the dude up from a nap, and he's pissed off by the inconvenience of actually having to answer the phone.
Believe it or not, you can easily lose a sale by giving off bad vibes when somebody walks in the door, or answering the phone like you're some sort of asshole. As a "core" skate shop, you just can't afford to lose sales to this sort of thing. Sales are hard enough to come by, as it is.
Knowing (and, Having) The Product
Knowing (and, Having) the product is a little bit tougher. The truth is, skateboarding changes really, really fast. Fashions and trends come and go at light speeds. There's only about 10,000 companies out there, trying to sell you 50,00000,000,000 new products. Add to that, that the internet has made every little kid an "expert" on everything skateboarding, and you can see the challenge of the task at hand. And, forget about actually stocking every item in the universe: That alone could easily bankrupt the average skate shop.
For my part, it's not so important that a shop carries the exact wheel that I might want. So long as the "type" of product that I'm looking for is well-represented, I'm usually happy enough with that. Even here, a lot of shops epicly fail. I've seen shops that strictly carry only hard wheels between 50 and 52 millimeters (ie, "street wheels"). But, what if I don't street skate? What if I ride bowls, ramps, ditches, or masonite skateparks? What if I have a longboard, or a cruiser? What am I gonna do with hard, 52mm wheels then...?
I hear a lot of shops say, "Well, no one comes in asking for those types of wheels!" The reason why that's the case, is simple: It's not up to the customer to "ask" you for a product. It's your job, to "have" it on hand. After all, why would a customer bother to "ask" for something that you obviously don't have in the building...? Why wouldn't they just go home, and order it online instead...?
For my part, I never go into a skate shop, and "ask" for anything. Most shops are laid out pretty logically. Boards are here, trucks are there, and wheels are in the case. If they have something that I want, it's usually pretty obvious. Likewise, it's just as obvious if they don't have anything that suits me, or my style.
Salesmanship
"Salesmanship", like "friendliness", is totally free. If I go in looking for a good, solid board that fits my style of skating, and my physical size... I expect that your "sales team" would be able to steer me in the right direction. I expect that your sales guys would point me to the hottest wheels, the newest decks, or the most durable and comfortable shoes. I expect that a salesperson would be there to tell me about new kinds of skating, and the products that are ideally suited to those sorts of things. People generally go to a specialty skateboard shop, to get personalized care, expert service, and unparalleled know-how that they just wouldn't expect to find at say, a big-box athletic supplier (Zumiez? Dick's Sporting Goods?). If you don't give them what they expect... then really, what's stopping them from going to a Zumiez, a Dick's, or to the handiest online retailer...?
That, is the stone-cold reality that I believe all "core" skate shops are facing these days. The problem is that, once you lose a customer... it's almost impossible to get them to come back. I should know, because it's happened to me.
As much as I support the "local core retailer", the cold fact is that I rarely shop at one these days. Why? Well, as far as my "local" skate shop goes... I went in one day, looking for Abec 11 wheels. I was told... like, I'm some sort of retard or something... that the "Abec" rating only goes up to 9, and that it has to do with bearings... not wheels. The problem was, the guy behind the counter must have assumed that I was just some kook that didn't know what in the hell I was talking about. The truth of the matter was that, at the time, I was working in Concrete Wave Magazine's marketing department. Given my position, I just so happened to have Chris Chaput's office, home, and cell numbers in my cellphone. Chris Chaput, if you don't know, is the guy that owns Abec 11 wheels. So clearly, the company does exist. But I couldn't convince the guy behind the counter of that one, nosiree. It almost makes me wanna ask them "Who's the 'kook' now, assholes...?!" But at the end of the day, it's really not worth it. It's just not that big of a deal to me, man.
The other shop just doesn't have anything that I wanna buy. Sure, they're more than happy to "special order" me something (if I prepay for it, if I'm not mistaken). But at that point, why don't I just go online, "prepay" the bill, and have it delivered straight to my house...?
Of course, Zumiez just sucks. Their "customer service" is an absolute joke. And I just can't bring myself to shop there, in any rate.
So, once I realized where I stood with all of my local shops, I began shopping around online. And, lo and behold, I found good 'ol Mike Hirsch at Socal Skateshop (www.socalskateshop.com). Socal does have a brick-and-mortar shop... somewhere in Southern California, I'd guess. It doesn't matter to me where it is, exactly. So long as they do have a brick-and-mortar shop, I'm cool enough with that. All I know is that, Mike always has the coolest shit in stock. He always, always knows what he's talking about (he truly excels, in that regard). And, he's the friendliest guy you could ever hope to deal with. I buy a lot of shit from him, and he always treats me right. That's why we give him free advertising at The Solitary Life, month after month. Because, he's truly a servant to skaters everywhere. And, he's clearly happy as a clam to do it.
He's not the only one, either. Dave at Sk8Supply is always good people, too. There's a few more, but I forget. I mostly shop with either Mike, or Dave.
This is Socal Skateshop's storefront from the outside (on the left), and from the inside (on the right). Mike Hirsch and crew obviously take a lot of pride in the way their store looks, and the wide variety of products to choose from. This is the way that every skate shop should look, in my book. The fact that you get expert know-how, and impeccable service are just the icing on the cake...!
Now, as a shop owner, you tell me: Why would I ever go back to shopping at your shop, ever again...?! Once I've built up a good working relationship with Mike and Dave... why would I ever defect, and take the "risk" of shopping at your place...?
I have to say that, if your shop consistently fails at customer sevice? Then your business probably deserves to fail. Period. I don't care how many demos you host, how many contests you throw, how many BBQ's you have, how good your prices are, how many boards you have on the wall, or how close you are to my house. If you treat me like I'm some sort of jerk? Then, you're dead to me.
This, is what your customers are thinking. They're probably not saying it! Because, they're probably not as rude as I am. But, I can guarantee you this much: They're definitely thinking it.
If you work at improving your customer service? Then, you've just gone a long way to making yourself a success. Nobody can do it for you... you'll have to tackle this one on your own. I sincerely hope that you read this, understand it, and use it to make your business stronger, healthier, and more profitable.
