GPI 280 – Ask your customers to complete “I don’t like … about your company” in order to grow.

Sometimes the simplest approach is the most effective.  If you want to know what your customers do not like, ask them.  Ask them what they do not like about your business, your products or services, your facilities, or your employees; and the way they spend money or do not spend money in your establishment.  If there is nothing they dislike, you either are making record sales or you have not encouraged them enough to tell you the truth.

Keep the questions short, ask it often, ask everywhere and keep asking.   Keep the questions simple and ask them to fill the “I don’t like list” out in the store, on the way home, on a postage paid card to mail in to you for a chance in a store wide drawing, or on a card found included in their bag or with their receipt.

Do not taint the results.  Ask the question over and over and do not taint the results.  If necessary, request the results be forwarded to a third independent party.  Gather the replies in a locked safety box at the front of the store but no matter what, keep it simple.

Examples you may get from asking “I don’t like…”

• I don’t like having to wait to check out in some of your stores.  It takes under a minute to get into your store and half an hour to get out.  I hate coming to your store for this reason and avoid buying very much when I can.
• I don’t like having to try to figure out how much something costs on your receipts.  They are hard to read.  Someone did a lousy job designing this for your customers.  Can’t a customer just get a legible receipt?
• I don’t like having to search for someone who works in the store.  I can never find anyone and when I do ask, they tell me that where I am standing is normally not their area, and then most of them hurry to walk off.
• I don’t like the mess you have to look through.  No one seems to be assigned to straightening articles on the shelves.  I would think someone is supposed to do this every day, right?
• I don’t like to have to wait to talk to someone.  When waiting on the telephone, your background music is too loud and screechy and only makes me mad having to wait for someone to pick up the telephone.  If you cannot offer soothing or pleasant music as a backdrop, do not play any at all.
• I don’t like to park in your parking lot.  It is too dark at night and I think I am going to be robbed.
• I don’t like to return purchased articles to your store.  It takes a very long wait in line and when I do, they are not well trained.  I thought you offered a money-back guarantee.
• I don’t like the hours you offer on Friday night.  I work all week and can’t shop in your store if you are going to close at 7pm on one of the busiest nights of the week?  Who thought this schedule up?
• I don’t like to call wanting to place an order only to have to wait on hold, then be talked to like I am bothering your employees.  What happened to customer service in your place?  Do you not train your employees?
• I don’t like your website.  It is hard to find anything.  You sell light fixtures and I entered “lamp” into the search box and got NO RESULTS?  Really, no results?
• I don’t like your product packaging and stickers.  It is hard to get some of them off your products.  Can’t you find something easy to peel off without leaving a mark?
• I don’t like your product manuals.  Who decided 6-point font was legible?  When you ordered the instruction manuals, did anyone bother to look at them and see if they were acceptable?  Why would you think anyone can read this small print?  Do you not have a large print manual available?  Do you forget that half of your customers are seniors?  We don’t have good eyesight but we do have money.