February 10 2003 Free Smiles Make All The Difference Prof discovers customers value friendly service over warehouse bargains Culture Over The Edge Page 13 By Shawn Benbow U of A school of business Associate Professor Tom Spalding found that a little customer satisfaction goes a long way By Shawn Benbow, Gateway EDMONTON (CUP) — When Dr Tom Spalding set out to research what influenced customers’ loyalty to a retailer, “he didn’t expect that the most important factor was the ser- vice personnel. “TWhat’s] a little different from what a lot of people think is that real loyalty to a company seems to be driven a lot more by interpersonal rela- tionship issues than the classic business measures like price and quality,” Spalding said. Spalding, an associate pro- fessor of business at the University of Alberta and the Chief Research Scientist at Acumen Research Group, a marketing research firm, per- formed the study to help Acumen develop a set of behaviours that loyal cus- tomers possess, as well as gather information that deter- mines whether a customer is loyal to a particular retailer. By surveying people in malls across Canada, he found that small differences in price or quality between retailers are not as important as the level of customer service. But Spalding said it’s not the absolute level of service that matters: the company’s ser- vice must match up with the kind of expectations that the customers have. With big box retailers, most customers don’t expect any service, as the big box stores bill themselves as “inexpensive and warehouse- like.” However, if a company says they have “excellent ser- vice,” living up to their promise makes a customer much more loyal. The most influential factors in establishing and maintain- ing customer loyalty is the attitude and professionalism of the service staff, said Spalding. If the staff are friendly, honest, available to help and have a good attitude, customers are more likely to keep coming back. Rude and unprofessional staff are actual- ly bigger turn-offs than slight shifts in price or quality. As well, consistency between staff members is imperative. “Say you have two staff members, one good, one bad. As negative things seem more bad than positive things seem good, one really good employ- ee and one really bad one is actually worse than two mediocre staff members,” said Spalding. If a loyal customer has a problem with a product or ser- vice, they are more likely to complain, although they are less likely to have a problem in the first place. Complaints, from a retail point of view, are tremendous opportunities to hear from the customers, and the company is able to try to set things right. If a company satisfies an upset customer, the customer is more likely to become even more loyal afterwards. Slowly, companies are real- izing that service staff are important. One thing Spalding stresses is that because compa- nies want to form a profes- sional relationship between the staff and the customers, there must be some semblance of a relationship between the staff and the company. However, because of operat- ing constraints determining staff numbers and wages, companies are trying to find innovative ways of motivating their staff. Spalding says employers need to do “things that are not expensive but are appreciated by the lower echelon person- nel.” With things like training, bonuses, and other perks that don’t cost the company a lot of money, they can indicate to the staff that they care about them too. “The big thing is that you can’t skimp on the personnel and give a little better product at the cost of service.” By Chris Batting Tesaba student group held its first annual raffle last week. Third. prize was a northwest coast carving valued at $500, second prize was $1000 cash. The grand prize, a trip for two to Mexico valued at $2500, went to Brian Majore. @c: Path to © Study: in Ke SS. Kom represents 4- - coast to coast - Australian universities which offer undergraduate postgraduate or Study Abroad semester or year opportunities. Join the thousands of KOM Students who have enjoyed lifestyle, adventure and academic success “Down Under”. Australian Education Information Sessions: Saturday, February 8 - The Fairmont Express 721 Government Street, Victoria Balmoral Room 2-4 p.m. Sunday, February 9 - Crowne Plaza Hotei Georgia 801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver York Room, 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, February 11 - Simon Fraser University Academic Quad 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tel: (905) 318-8200 Fax: (905) 318-5664 P.O. Box 60524 Mountain Plaza Postal Outlet Hamilton, ON L9C 7N7 Email: kom@worldchat.com Website: www.komconsultants.com