Can I Help You?

Not likely. Not on your best day with that line. Not if you haven’t noticed that the majority of the time you’re getting a “no.” Especially in a retail environment, if the customer walking in is walking away from you, imagine that you are not their target. Imagine, if they are briskly walking not in your direction, that they may know what they want and where to find it.

Now, to be fair, I did see an exception to this today at the mall – hey, daddy-daughter time. The sales clerk followed up immediately after the “no, we’re just looking” with, “Want to try our new spring fling flavor while you look?” Much to my surprise, the customer broke stride, walked out of her way to sniff it, then walked away. Not so fast though, I don’t stand here corrected. Props on her persistence, her lack of a “Do you…” before the “want to…”(creates a command vs. a question) and she paced their objection with “while you look.” But, and that’s a big but, she still got a “no” to help and, she still did not sell anything to her!

Better: ”Let me know if I can help you, today.” (with a smile) This gets an “okay” response and presupposes “help you buy something” (it`s like a short URL) and sets the time frame, “today.”

Best: Smile when the customer walks in to let them know you’ve noticed them. Wait until the customer looks in your direction a few times or walks over to you. Then ask if you can help them.

I have, on occasion, come across good retail openers. More times than not, though, they open badly. One time, in particular, that I remember well, was when I was shopping for something and the young male sales clerk literally followed me around the store like a stalker. Clearly, it was sheer misguided naiveté. But, none the less, it was very awkward and uncomfortable. So, I told him, gently, “when you follow me around like that, it makes me uncomfortable and less likely to buy something.” He apologized, profusely. I accepted, and showed my acceptance by pretending it never happened while I continued to shop and eventually buy something.

Photo Credit: ewww/CC BY-NC 2.0