Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

Make your customer service so memorable, your customer will want a bystander to take a picture of herself, you, and what she bought!

Customer service is the cheapest, most effective area in which your consignment, resale, or thrift shop can SHINE…

and it’s also the most neglected.

Customer service is so lacking that it can be difficult to find a person just to take your money in department stores. Lack of customer service means you’re standing in a line reminiscent of a grocery store to buy your lacy nothings at Victoria’s Secret.

It can mean that your $110 secondhand necklace, purchased at a NFP thrift store, gets tossed into a blue plastic bag…sans tissue paper to keep it from scratching (yes, this happened to me, and believe me, it did not make me want to give any word-of-mouth about the experience).

And yet, most resale shopkeepers understand, inherently, the interpersonal aspects that translate to customer service. So why is it that this, the easiest, cheapest, and MOST pleasurable of activities, is so neglected in our industry?

Why is it that we, as purveyors of used goods, don’t realize that BUYING is all about the EXPERIENCE?

Take a look around your home or in your closet. If you are anything like me, you cherish your possessions because they remind you of a nice experience: I got that stained-glass fish in the cutest shop in Key West, I bought that tiny oil painting at a church bazaar where the cashier was excited that I was helping fund the after-school program, I remember my chat with the owner when I bought my hand-painted silk jacket in that consignment shop on East Avenue.

Point: each of the items I look at remind me of great customer service. I value them, I value the shop where I had such a pleasant interchange, and even more, I value the customer service received. The earrings bought at the department store? Not worthy of mention. The Gap Tshirt from the outlet mall? Strictly average…I’d never tell a friend to go get a Tshirt there.

If you want to be talked about, provide (did I mention it’s easy and it’s cheap and fun?) customer service that’s worth  Facebooking or Tweeting about. Be pleasant, be memorable, add a little story or hint or recipe to her purchase… and your shop will become known for its

customer service. AKA Pleasurable and unique shopping opportunity.