On a scale of one to 100, consumers give retailers a score of 48.2 when it comes to customer service.
According to The SALT & Pepper Group, which did the survey, poor service is more about what retail store employees don't do than what they actually do.
The research, which assessed 39 kinds of service in 73 retail stores over a four-month period, found that one in four employees failed to notice when a customer service opportunity was right in front of them. For example, employees at only 53 percent of stores greeted shoppers entering the location.
Service also fell when associates found they needed to take care of more than one shopper at a time. This was especially the case when shoppers were looking for staff input.
"Associates started to struggle in situations where customers needed advice," Rick Miller, consulting analyst at The SALT & Pepper Group, told Brandweek. "Most of them really weren't comfortable asking questions to get the information they needed. I don't know if it was that they didn't want to or just weren't really sure how to do it."
Among areas where retailers were more effective included store floor cleanliness, where shoppers gave them a nine out of 10 score, and product knowledge (7.3 out of 10).
Discussion Questions: What areas do you find store associates are weakest when it comes to customer service? Where are they typically strongest?