Take The Customer Service Pop Quiz

Hello shoppers... 

With the long week over and the weather improving, you'll probably be getting out of the house, blowing the stink off and doing some shopping this weekend - at least that's what business owners are currently praying for, on their knees, in their offices, before they walk up front and pop open the doors.

But before you head out to give your plastic a work-out, let's see how much you know about how those store employees should be treating you. Here is the first in a series of customer service pop quizes from your ole' shopping buddy, The Unsecret Shopper. 

These 11 questions are similar to the questions I give my customer service trainees - except they usually don't get multiple choice and instead have to fill in the blanks or write essay responses. But it's been a long week so I'll go easy on you.

I'd also like to toss in a little something extra for playing. If you email your answers to me, at jonniewright@thebuyosphere.com, I'll give you a FREE Secret Shopper evaluation - that's a $500 value!

And you know it's an exciting offer because "FREE" is in caps and I put an exclamation point after the offer!! I love being a marketer!!!!! 

The Free Secret Shopper evaluation includes an on-site evaluation of the business owner's store and employees, a phone call evaluation (how do they answer the phone) and an evaluation of their web site.  

The results of the FREE Secret Shopper evaluation! will be emailed to the business owner. And those results will be kept confidential - just keep your name out of the papers and don't tick off any customers before I can contact you, okay?

If you're not a business owner, then the value of the Secret Shopper evaluation is probably closer to $000.00. Unless you want me to "secret shop" your spouse to see if they are being faithful - I have a wig and heels from a Halloween party, and I could...

Otherwise, if you can't use the FREE Secret Shopper evaluation, take the quiz, send me your answers and give the free-bee to someone you know, who can.

I will share the quiz answers with you next week, in an upcoming blog post. 

Good luck and here ya go - let's see how much ya know!!!

1. You’re the only employee working at a small clothing store. You’re engaging a customer when the phone rings. Do you: 

A. Tell the customer “excuse me” while you answer the phone, then put the caller on hold while you go back to the customer.

B. Let the phone ring and continue to engage the customer.

C. Take the call and address the caller’s issue, then hang up and come back to the customer.

D. Ask the customer to answer the phone, while you try on this cute new pantsuit that just came in.

2. According to a 2006 National Retailer’s Survey, what do consumers remember most about their last shopping experience? 

A. The demeanor of the employee who engaged them.

B. Prices/sales.

C. Cleanliness of the store.

D. What a nice sales person that Gary Coleman is.

3. 80% of the purchasing decisions we make as consumers are based upon: 

A. What we think.

B. How we feel.

C. The layout of the store.

D. Whether it includes a free Sham-WOW.

4. “Can I help you?” is an example of: 

A. A proper retail greeting.

B. An open-ended question.

C. A closed ended question.

D. A VERY polite mugger.

5. A female customer enters a store. Should the employee about to wait on her, shake her hand? 

A. Yes – jump right in.

B. It depends – you’ve got to read the situation.

C. It’s not appropriate to shake a woman’s hand until the end of a transaction.

D. Yes, and then while still grasping her hand, the employee should look directly into her eyes and say, “I’m going to read your mind.”

"Wow. That number 6 is a killa..."

6. Surveys show that consumers would pay more for this: 

A. Automated check-out counters.

B. Free product giveaways.

C. Better customer service.

D. “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Pot Roast!”

7. What two questions asked of a store’s shoppers, will best determine that store’s future success? 

A. “Did you enjoy your experience with us?” and “What can we do to make it better?”

B. “How did you find out about us?” and “Where else do you shop?”

C. “Would you come back?” and “Would you tell a friend about your experience?”

D. “Did any of our displays fall on you?” and “Does this work smock make me look fat?”

8. An example of a proper “Activation Greeting” is: 

A. “Hi! Welcome to (name of store)”

B. “My name is (employee’s name), let me tell you about our specials.”

C. “How many for dinner?”

D. “All You Can Eat fried chicken is tomorrow, Governor Culver.”

9. When a consumer says “I’m just looking,” how should an employee respond? 

A. “Just let me know if you need any help.”

B. “We’ve got some great specials today.”

C. “What are you looking for – maybe I can help.”

D. “Then here, look at this!” And show them your tattoo.

10. What’s the most important thing to do when engaging customers? 

A. Learn their name, and call them by it.

B. Smile at them.

C. Ask questions.

D. Ask if you can borrow ten bucks.

Hang in there - you're almost done!

 11. Up to 20% of the reason consumers purchase a particular big-ticket item, at that moment, is because: 

 A. They don’t want to disappoint their sales person.

B. They’re tired of shopping.

C. They don’t think they can get it cheaper, somewhere else.

D. My birthday’s coming up – hint, hint.

 12. 12 questions on an 11 question quiz is an example of: 

 A. The kind of thing that used to really tick me off about my high school English teacher.

B. An upcoming plot line on Beverly Hills 90210.

C. The concept of “under-promise, over-deliver.”

D. An example of the author’s inability to count.

You're done. Nice job! Was it easy peasy lemon squeezy, or tough as reading tea leaves? Either way I hope you had fun.

Now here's the really easy part. Email your answers to me to receive your FREE Secret Shopper evaluation. Just send them to jonnie@thebuyosphere.com. I'll share the correct answers next week, in a blog post.

Thanks for playing!

Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, marketing strategist and ad writer. Email him at jonnie@thebuyosphere.com.