High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom plain to the manager or owner of retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen.
Store managers are often the last to hear plaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their petitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers.” Said Paula Courtney, president of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average, every unhappy customer will plain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
The most mon plaints include filled parking lots, cluttered(塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty peaking spaces. This guidance got rid of the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.” Said professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing plaints to the retailer, instead of plaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.
【小题1】Why are store managers often the last to hear plaints?A．Few customers believe the service will be improved.B．Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them.C．Customers have no easy access to store managers.D．Most customers won’t bother to plain even if they have had unhappy experiences.【小题2】Shop owners often hire moonlighting police as parking attendants so that shoppers .A．can find their cars easily after shoppingB．won’t have trouble parking their carsC．can stay longer browsing in the storeD．won’t have any worries about security【小题3】What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?A．Design of the store layout.B．Hiring of efficient employees.C．Manners of the salespeople.D．Huge supply of goods for sale.【小题4】To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to .A．voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directlyB．shop around and make parisons between storesC．settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic wayD．put pressure on stores to improve their serviceB
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(答案→)B
解析：
【小题1】B 细节题。本题考查因果关系。根据题干信息定位到文章第三段，而答案出现在文章第二段，原文的二、三段构成了一组因果关系。正确答案为[B]“人们宁愿向身边的人提及他们的不愉快经历”，其中，“身边的人”对应原文中的“朋友、亲戚、同事和陌生人”。[A]选项意思与原文相反；[C]和[D]选项均为原文没有提及的信息。
【小题1】B 细节题。定位到文章第八段第一句话：…some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants”，因此答案为[B]选项“不再有停车的麻烦”。本题只要定位准确，[A]、[C]、[D]选项可以直接排除。
【小题1】C细节题。题干中有最高级most，对应原文倒数第三段的more importantly。原文的信息为diplomatic(世故的，练达的)和polite(礼貌的)，[C]选项中的manners正好归纳了这两个单词，所以答案选[C]。本题与64题考查的都是定位能力。
【小题1】A细节题。定位到文章最后一段，题干信息better shopping experience与原文中的improved shopping experience对应。答案为[A]选项“直接向商店经理提出不满”，对应原文中的filing plaint to the retailer。 [D]选项中的exert pressure(施加压力)原文中无对应信息；[B]选项对应倒数第三段，为非定位点信息；[C]选项原文并未提及。