Improving Customer Service in a Large Department Store Through the Use of Training and Feedback

TLDR

The four major steps involved in making a sale—approaching customers, greeting them, being courteous, and appropriately closing the sale—were defined as the target customer‑service behaviors. The study aimed to increase the frequency of these four customer‑service behaviors among three full‑time department store salespeople. Behavior frequencies were recorded while a multiple‑baseline across subjects and reversal design evaluated the effects of a training program followed by feedback. Training alone had only a slight effect, whereas feedback substantially increased all four behaviors; removing feedback caused a small decline, but exceptional behavior rates returned to feedback‑phase levels when salespeople were told their service would be evaluated by waiting customers.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to increase the frequency of four specific customer-service behaviors in three full-time department store salespeople. The behaviors recorded were approaching customers, greeting them, being courteous, and appropriately closing the sale. These responses were defined as the four major steps involved in making a sale. A combination multiple baseline across subjects and a reversal design were used to evaluate the results. A training program had only a slight impact on improving service, but feedback produced a substantial improvement in the frequency of all four targeted customer-service behaviors. Removal of feedback produced a small decline in performance; but the percentage of exceptional customer-service behaviors increased to approximately the same levels as those obtained during the Feedback phase, when we told salespeople that their service would be evaluated by customers they waited on.