Have you ever wondered how the customer service in your store compares to that of your competition? What about other locations in your own company? How about when the manager is off the floor?

Well, using Friedman Group staff members in our Los Angeles and Denver offices, we recently conducted our own mystery shopping survey. We randomly surveyed retail stores in a variety of industries and locations, from upscale shopping malls to neighborhood malls to convenient strip malls. Although the findings revealed few surprises, the perception of our staff as to why service was less than adequate was quite enlightening.

The nearly unanimous viewpoint of our survey shoppers was that the salespeople they encountered generally did want to assist them. In only 12 out of 75 stores did the shoppers feel that the salespeople rendered poor service or no service at all. In the remaining 63 stores, the shoppers felt that the salespeople were well-intentioned and friendly, but were simply misguided or didn't know better.

We interpret these percentages as hopeful for retailers interested in improving customer service in their stores. Our findings indicate that training could produce the desired improvement to service in the majority of the cases. Only a small percentage of employees may not respond to any training in customer service, and they probably shouldn't be working in retail! Let's take a look at some of our survey results:

1. How long did it take for a salesperson to greet you?

30 sec. 1 min. 2-3 min. 4-5 min. 5+ min. Never 26 8 7 8 5 21

2. What did the salesperson say upon greeting you?

May I help you? Schmoozed A simple No greeting (or variation) hello at all 36 2 16 21

3. How many probing questions did the salesperson ask to determine and clarify your needs?

None One Two Three Four Five+ 32 21 7 10 0 5

4. Did the salesperson try to establish the value of the product without prompting?

Yes No N/A 15 46 14

5. Did the salesperson try to add on to the sale?

Yes No N/A 16 45 14

6. Did the salesperson try to close the sale?

Yes No N/A 18 43 14

Thankfully, over one-third of the salespeople surveyed greeted the shoppers within 30 seconds of entering the store. Unfortunately, as many chose to ignore the shoppers for more than 5 minutes, with 21 out of 75 encounters resulting in no greeting at all. Our shoppers were instructed to beg for service if it wasn't offered. In seven shops, even begging for service didn't work. When asked a question, salespeople simply pointed customers in the direction of their request, never to be heard from again.

Most trained professionals know that "May I help you?" is, more often than not, met with "I'm just looking" from customers. It was quite disheartening that only 2 out of 75 salespeople made any attempt to schmooze with the shoppers and get past the resistance.

The probing portion of our survey was also disappointing. Without determining the specific needs, wants and desires of the customer, prior to demonstrating merchandise, you have no idea what is important to the customer. Without probing, you can only hope that you accidentally show them the right item.

All of these questions were designed to measure the salesperson's attempt or desire to make the sale. In approximately 20% of the shops, there was an attempt to sell the item by establishing its value to the shoppers, sell an additional item or finally ask for the sale. In another 20% of the shops, the salesperson didn't stick around long enough to be judged! This leaves approximately 60% who acted more as clerks than as sales professionals.

The shoppers were also instructed to ultimately object to buying and see if the salespeople attempted to handle that objection and save the sale. What we found was 18 salespeople made an attempt to handle the objection, but in most cases failed because they didn't discover the real reason for not buying.

In all fairness, we do want to acknowledge two shopping experiences that were exceptional in every way. They occurred at Godiva Chocolatier in the Century City Mall in Los Angeles and Denim Works in Villa Italia in Denver. We congratulate them and their stores for a job well done.

The survey confirms that customer service in retail stores can be improved in several areas. But the good news is that there are a lot of friendly, bright salespeople out there who can shine if given the tools and education necessary to do so. Training is desperately needed and it has been our experience that training works. Perhaps it's time for you to conduct a survey of your own and see how your store measures up.