"Needing More Attention"

A recent stop at a Boca Raton clothing boutique made me think of the wonderful movie "Pretty Woman" and Richard Gere taking Julia Roberts back to the Rodeo Drive store and requesting more sucking up after the sales women slighted her.

This particular boutique needs a similar visit by Richard and Julia.

I stopped in at 4:40 on a Saturday afternoon and before looking at their racks, asked what time they closed. I was told at 5 p.m. which wasn't a problem since I was just browsing.

But then another sales person came up to me and announced, "we close in fifteen minutes." Following me around, she restraighened any clothes I touched. I left in five minutes.

How do you make a customer feel unwelcomed?

I hardly believe any of the women in the store that afternoon were its owners. Considering the economic climate today, it would seem that any prospective customer would warrant being made to feel comfortable despite the store's closing time.

Perhaps I was in search of a fabulous outfit to wear that evening and I just decided nothing in my closet would do. These less than attentive sales people not only missed one sale but future sales.

The old adage about keeping customers satisfied versus losing them and how a dissatisfied woman will tell not one but many of her experience certainly holds true.

When we conduct exit interviews with families about their family member's senior living community experience, resident satisfaction is what is talked about the most. We hear if families were satisfied with staff. Staff that shows concern and interest and keeps the lines of communication open makes all the difference in the world.

Retail and senior housing seem pretty different but there are some similarities. We want people to be relationship oriented...we want to have someone interested in us. It just takes a few more minutes.

I hope Richard and Julia tell that boutique on Palmetto Park Road in downtown Boca about the power of sucking up to prospective customers. In the meantime, I think I'll return to Nordstroms at the mall.