Do you remember when Target rolled out its EMV (chip card enabled) machine? I know I do! I especially remember how they emanated an obnoxious noise when it was time to take your card out. It was negative reinforcement; why have such a rude noise associated with the new chip card? In fairness to Target, I have been in several other retail stores and heard angry buzzing tones emanate from their POS terminals as well. So this is not an issue unique to Target. However, none sounded as angry or insistent as my previous Target checkout experience.
I recently had an opportunity to shop at Target for the first time in months. At checkout, I was surprised and pleased to hear that Target had… changed their tone! The new tone had a nice ring to it, as if you had answered a question right on Jeopardy. I actually went back through the line at a different register to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.
Two things: First, when I am critical of something in my posts, and then realize it has been corrected, I want to make sure I give some love to that effort. Too often, criticism gets the front page and bold headlines, but the correction is page 8, twelve-point type.
Second, think about your organization. Is there something incongruous about how you present services to your customers? Something equivalent to a nerve-racking tone to indicate a normal part of the checkout experience is over?
You may not be able to see these situations for yourself, so make sure you poll customers and have phantom shoppers check out your overall customer experience. How others perceive the delivery of your service is the most important part of your evaluation–don’t leave it out. You will never know the potential customer who was put off by your service delivery or another disgruntled customer who shared their experience. It is your responsibility to know what your customers think, and then take corrective action in situations where the customer experience needs to be upgraded or changed.