It takes more than just excellent customer service to deliver your goods. Although mistakes and miscommunications are inevitable in retail operations, well-thought policies and processes can help to solve them when they occur and reduce their likelihood.
Brian White, Drizly’s director of customer service, stated, “our number one piece is to make the customer’s experience with delivery great.” This means reviewing and improving every aspect of the shop, from checking new inventory to handing over the final order to the customer. These tips will help ensure that your shop has the policies and procedures to provide excellent customer service for every bottle.
MAKING INVENTORY CHOICES
Start it from the beginning with the items that your customers desire at a price they can afford.
Getting the products your customers want and a happy customer base is only possible if you have enough top-selling products. Rich McCarthy of McCarthy’s Liquors in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says that customers are creatures of habit. “I want to make sure I have the product they need.”
To identify and track core items, establish a process and calculate reorder points taking into account lead times. McCarthy suggests using trend data such as Drizly’s top-selling products report to gain insight into your customers’ needs before they ask.
Your distributor sales reps should know the essential items for your business. So that you are correctly prepared, ask them to alert you if there is a potential out-of-stock situation or if pricing changes or vintages have occurred.
No matter how well-organized your ordering process is, you will still need more core items. You should have a system in place for short-term replacements. Customers will be notified when the thing they want is back in stock.
Save Big on Favorites, and Keep Your Prices Sharp
Understanding your customers is only the first step. It is also essential to offer it at the right price. It would be best if you also considered selling it at the price they want. Many popular brands sell with substantial volume discounts.
Smaller shops can ask distributors if they offer a bill-and-hold option. If so, ensure that the delivery and payment terms are clear. You should regularly check in with distributor representatives about any price increases or special deals so you can fit large purchases into your budget.
While a reputation for outstanding customer service might allow a shop or store to charge an additional dollar per bottle, it may not be possible with well-known brands. Customers may prefer to try low-priced, high-margin products.
Make sure your inventory is accurate
Customer complaints stem from incorrect inventory, whether it is online or in-store. A well-integrated Point-of-Sale solution seamlessly integrates with your e-commerce platform and can eliminate many potential problems.
It is equally important to develop a process for accurately checking new items. With it, your data could be accurate from the start. To identify and fix inaccuracies before they become a problem, you must keep track of inventory counts and reconcile them monthly.
It’s easy to indicate whether substitutions are acceptable
No matter how well-designed your system is, there will always be an inventory problem. Customers can choose whether to get their order quickly or precisely what they want by adding a checkbox for “substitutions permitted” in your e-commerce system.
If the customer agrees to a replacement, ensure it is thoughtful. McCarthy suggests that the item be upgraded at no charge. McCarthy says that upgrading things at no cost makes customers happy.
DELIVERY AND PACKING PROCESSES
You should have a smooth process for getting your customers’ bottles from shelf to container to their doors.
You can manage delivery time expectations
Online customer service complaints are often made about late deliveries. It is challenging to manage customer expectations because delivery times depend on factors other than what a shop can control.
Paul Nani of Casa Oliviera Wines & Liquors, New York City’s West Village, says it is crucial to know your shop’s peak delivery hours and to train staff accordingly. All deliveries are made on foot or public transport at his shop. This allows floor staff to be cross-trained and can help out if there’s a surge in order.
Communicate with your customer promptly if you expect longer delivery times than anticipated. It is better to lose one customer today than to lose them all. It’s a nice gesture of goodwill to waive delivery fees if you have delivery charges. Offering to add an extra bottle of wine or a discount can help ease the stress of late deliveries.
Double-check your order
You must be sure that the item being delivered to the customer is what they ordered. It takes time and effort to get it right the first way.
This process can be arranged in many ways that work best for your shop, employees, and order flow. McCarthy’s has 50 of the most popular items ready for quick pulling and packing. Before embarking on delivery, both the expeditor (and the driver) check the order against the invoice.
Give a good impression
Drizly’s White states, “We encourage our Retail Partners [to pay attention to the small things like making sure products get out in good condition]” While a damaged case box or wine label may not affect the quality of the wine inside, it will give customers a negative impression about your shop’s attention and detail.
Your delivery personnel should be well-trained and familiar with the shop’s policies. They should also be prepared to deal with any issues at the point of delivery. In many cases, customers will only interact with the delivery person. Customers should feel comfortable with delivery staffers. Please encourage them to share any information about the product they are delivering and tell the customer as they hand off the delivery. Your delivery staff should know how important they are in helping customers remain satisfied.
Make your ID policy crystal clear
Your delivery team and staff should be familiar with the steps involved in checking customer identification before and during delivery. This is especially important when the safety and health of the customer and employees are paramount.
So that the order arrives without any surprises, your store policy should be displayed on your e-commerce site. Your team must be able to identify the best way to deal with situations where proper identification isn’t provided. This could include returning to the shop and not delivering the order.
