Since I have been rather quick to jump on the mistakes of the sales people I encounter, I figure I need to confess to my own recent foible as a customer. It started because my seven-year-old son needed a pair of swimming goggles.
He is in summer camp for the first time and he had never been in a pool without a life vest and floaties. Thus, his head now was underwater and the chlorine in the pool was bothering his eyes.
Coming home from work, I got off of the subway and stopped in at a neighborhood store. I asked the manager where the goggles were and he had one of his staff take me to them (in this case I will consider the staffer to be a sales person, though I doubt he was on commission).
The staffer needed to be with me because the goggles were not easily accessible. As we get to the aisle were the goggles were, my cell phone rings. My copy editor is calling because there were last minute changes in the newspaper and I needed to put a headline on one of my stories.
This is going on for several minutes and much to my pleasure, the staffer waits for me to finish the call. I, of course, am chastened and grateful; after all, this guy has other things to do.
So what is our sales lesson here: yes, sometimes your client is doing something that is not quite correct (and let me make it clear you should never accept being the target of a temper tantrum or other forms of abuse) at the point of sale and eating into your time. Being able to deal with such interruptions with a smile will allow you to make more sales.
