We've all walked into those shops where the cashier and sales staff are merrily chatting to each other, completely ignoring us as we try and catch their eye to ask a question, find a price or locate a product.
What's more frustrating is that when we do finally manage to get their attention they don't hide their annoyance at being disturbed, clearly dying to get back to whatever conversation had them so enthralled.
This is wrong and will lead to client after client walking straight out of your front door.
In reality customers should be treated as if they are the ones paying the staff's salary because, errr, they actually are. This means that when they are treated unsatisfactorily what they will do is not pay you, or in other words take their money elsewhere.
It's then very easy to see how the rest of this story goes and how it will end, isn't it?
So don't let this happen! Send ghost shoppers into your stores to assess the level of customer service, regularly invest in training for your staff and deal with customer complaints about bad service sincerely and seriously.
Become known for your good service, not your annoying staff!