(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
Loading ...I had just arrived at the Orlando airport yesterday when I spotted a shoe shine kiosk. 
While I waited for my turn, it struck me the lessons shoe shine operators could teach any business:
1) Know who you are and who you aren’t. Yes,they have customers waiting but that doesn’t mean they have gum ball machines or other irrelevant product.
2) Make it easy for customers to know what you do. Nothing is more frustrating to customers than guessing what a store carries. Nothing is more frustrating to managers than employees who don’t tell customers all the great programs or services they offer. They shouldn’t have to – it should be obvious.
3) There are no counters, no walls and nothing to interfere with their interaction with their customers. A shoe shine operator is completely exposed and focused. No shoes to shine = no food to eat. Simple.
4) Be visible in your community. If shoe shine operators aren’t busy, they are engaging busy professionals by saying, “Want to look your best?” No 20% discounts and no “sales” – just thinking what their customers ultimately value and reminding them.
5) Engage your customers. There’s most always a banter from the person shining your shoes. They know the more they connect, the higher the tip and more importantly, the sooner their customer will come back. Contrast that to the ice queens you meet in many businesses whether at the doctor’s office, the Macys or local hardware store where you hope you’ll never run into them again.
6) Hustle and focus. They never want someone to feel the wait is too long so they move quickly to do a great job and keep everyone happy. Focusing only on the customer’s experience often means you need to give up going on break, a personal call, anything that will distract from the person standing in front of you – after all, they’re the ones that pay your salary.
7) Thank every one. Whether they are tipped well or not at all, shoe shine operators always thank – its their livelihood.
Oh and if you think I’m just talking about men who shine shoes, a woman I know has been at the Men’s Shoe Department nearly 20 years at Nordstroms in South Coast Plaza, CA after giving up her corporate gig. By using her sales abilities she makes more money, has less stress and more of a feeling of accomplishment when she goes home than she ever did as a financial executive.
A lesson about doing a great job you can be proud of that we can all use.
Great article Bob.
I think what this article highlights to me is how you can strip sales processes and great customer service down to the basics and be a success.
The vast majority of us still enjoy face to face interaction with a salesperson. If nothing else the past year or so has taught me the huge importance of giving excellent customer service.
Some salespeople lost their hunger because they knew another shopper would come along and spend. Now the salesperson has to give it 100% everytime, as if their jobs depended on it (well it does).
Thank you Bob for stripping the sales process back to basics in your articles and your books.
Your five parts to a sale should be put up on every staff room in every store.
Damien
Foolish commentary. No one wants to be a shoe-shiner.
Which, of course, wasn’t the point of the blog but thanks for reading it.
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