Hello manager of Smith’s grocery store,
My name is Lauryn Simmons and I was a frequent customer at the 21st south location when one day I was checking out and the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese had a sign in the aisle that said ten for a dollar. Not only did the employee not believe me, but gave me a hard time. This small check out took me about a half hour trying to figure something out, which also included me leading your employee to the aisle where the macaroni and cheese was. I left in a rage. I was very displeased and haven’t returned due to the bad experience.
I am not sending this for the employee to get fired, but it just shows the lack of knowledge of your employees of all the current and updated sales in your stores. I suggest, if you get the approval of your supervisor, to hold team meetings every morning informing the employees about all the sales going on in the store. Also, a very helpful tip to stress to your employees is customer service. A good company succeeds based on customer service and also keeps loyal customers. Not only would good customer service keep loyal customers, but it’d also bring in more customers.
I hope you take this letter into consideration, best of luck.
Sincerley,
Lauryn Simmons
Hi Lauryn,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start. You have the basics, now you just need a bit more to get it to the next level.
Please see my comments below for some specific things to consider and let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Jeff
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Letter format should be formal business letter. Refer to the assignment sheet for specifics on where to get the details.
You need to find out the name of the manager. You can go to the store and look near the customer service desk because they will have it posted there, or, even easier, you can just call and ask. Either way, you need to make every effort possible to get the name.
Before jumping right into the problem, you need to establish a bit more connection with the reader. You might what to mention, for example, that you are a frequent shopper of his/her store and what you like about shopping there (minus this experience, of course). Then transition into the issue.
When you talk about the issue, be specific. You say that the check out took a half-hour, how long should it have taken? etc. Be careful not to be accusatory. You aren't trying to get the person fired, you just want to bring a problem to the manager's attention so it can be corrected. Approach it from a position of trying to help.
You might also want to sympathize with the employee. It is very difficult to remember all of the sales (I've worked in that position before) and there is a lot of turnover in those positions. That isn't an excuse, but you can point out that you understand what may have caused the issue and that you want to offer some suggestions to fix it.
I'm not sure a daily meeting will work like you might expect. Things like that can be easily forgotten (especially if the employee starts very early) and everyone works different shifts, so when would it be held? You might what to suggest that each cashier be given a copy of the latest ads and that, if a customer challenges a price when it rings up wrong and it isn't in the ad, that the cashier should ask a supervisor or get the bagger to check. It would make things go a lot faster.
Another thing you can empathize with is that the manager needs to protect the revenue of the store. You understand that, but it shouldn't come at the cost of customer service.