Posted at 6:30am
I’ve written about customer service a few times over the past year, and it’s never been like bragging about a sudden and notable improvement.
Rather, I find that waiting times are getting longer everywhere, that employees are becoming rarer, and that managers often lack training and experience. I remain forgiving in shops and restaurants, however, because human resource management is more of a challenge than ever. And if the girl who serves me a donut at Tim Hortons looks like she’s 12 or 13, my expectations are realistic.
However, despite the labor shortage, companies still manage to impress, if not more than adequately satisfy, their customers. You deserve to be named.
Léger has just released the results of its comprehensive annual in-store customer experience survey.
Its “WOW Index” assigns each company a score that makes it possible to identify the best students and fools. This is interesting because we’re not talking about general customer impressions based on little here. About twenty specific criteria (politeness, staff competence, atmosphere, price, promotions, signage, checkout efficiency, etc.) were evaluated by 12,000 customers in Quebec.
The best shopping experiences in Quebec in 2022
Source: WOW 2022 study, Leger
The 42 Tite Frette markets take first place with 97%. Proof that there is still a way, with a little imagination and clear values, to create concepts that motivate customers to travel. The staff there seem to be just as passionate about microbrewery beers as the customers, notes Christian Bourque, executive vice president and partner at Léger.
This is exactly the recipe behind this beautiful A+, two managers of the still very young franchise network explained to me. His birth dates back to 2018.
“We have fun and it’s contagious. When people walk in and see the product is fun, the staff are smiling and having fun, it enhances the customer experience and they want to come back,” summarizes Company Experience (CXO) Partner Steve Morency, who I joined at Granby Zoo am.
All of Tite Frette’s “family” attended Tuesday’s convention when news of his first-place finish broke. Pure random. A surprise that couldn’t have come at a better time. Everyone was as excited as they were moved, and that spurs the whole team on as they aim to open 15 stores in 2023, says President Karl Magnone. “I had tears in my eyes. »
It was the first time that Tite Frette was rated by Léger. Nobody knew what to expect.
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In terms of customer service, the franchise-based business model, which can play tricks, is “significantly more advantageous” than that of the branches at the head office, says Steve Morency. “They have local owners, people who invest in their business, who make a financial commitment. They want their deposit back, they want to make a profit, they want to be successful and it shows in the customer experience. »
Karl Magnone adds that he puts a lot of energy into staff training as thousands of new products are launched each year. Delight and excellence in service are part of the company values. The beer is categorized, which makes shopping easier. Customers are offered tastings and even surprise bags. The idea is to create a relationship of trust and mutual knowledge so that purchase proposals are accepted without fear.
Of course, not all companies can dream of hiring employees who are genuinely passionate about the products on the shelves. But the idea of working with joy and enthusiasm can certainly be an interesting avenue for retailers who find themselves at the bottom of Leger’s ranking.
It’s so awkward to meet a silly look that doesn’t want to be there…
Least Popular Companies
As they are published every year, the WOW charts make it possible to track certain trends, sometimes linked to current events.
This year all major supermarkets – except Avril, which ranks first in the category and 26th for all store types combined – lost feathers. Maxi (158th) and Metro (100th) show the biggest drops.
Leger speculates that the decline in this category is due to inflation, which is affecting it as customers price assess it. Frequent stock shortages, especially when it comes to reduced groceries, shouldn’t help either. Last year there was also talk of the decline in the freshness of fruit and vegetables due to supply chain errors, a phenomenon highlighted by Dalhousie University.
“Costco overtook Metro and IGA for the first time,” notes Christian Bourque von Léger.
Since the pandemic began, cats and dogs have grown in popularity. Pet stores seem to welcome these companions as well as their parents! Two brands (Mondou and Pitou Minou & Compagnons) are in the top 15 (out of 203). Two specialist shops for dietary supplements also belong to the inner circle of champions. Your customers like the ability to make discoveries and find your website effectively.
As since the start of the WOW Index in 2010, the SAQ stands out again this year (7th place). Quebecers really appreciate the Inspire program, which puts personalized offers together for them, notes Léger. Small details, such as simply finding the names of wines that have already been purchased, play a decisive role. Note that in the Ontario rankings, its equivalent, the LCBO, is ranked 141st. Quite a difference! These aren’t the same people who compared the two Crown companies, which requires some caution when analyzing, but we’re far from in the same waters.
And who’s at the bottom of the list now?
Small local grocery stores as well as convenience store chain 7 jours, which is essentially owned by Couche-Tard. And, more surprisingly, Spanish giant Zara. The clothing retailer is successful all over the world, but Quebecers don’t appreciate their visit at all. However, many popular companies get bad reviews.
The last fifteen of the WOW 2022 charts
189. Boni-Soir 190. H&M 191. Walmart 192. Rossy 193. Euromarché 194. Intermarché 195. Economax
195. Dollarama 197. Réno-Dépôt 198. Coin convenience store 199. Express Market 200. Esposito Market 201. Zara 202. Mourelatos 203. 7-day convenience store
Source: WOW 2022 study, Leger
This is the case for the giants Réno-Dépôt, Dollarama, Economax, Walmart and H&M, which find themselves in the bottom places. With the exception of Réno-Dépôt, all of them rely on their relatively low prices rather than customer experience to differentiate themselves.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVE
Uniqlo opened its first store in Montreal in December 2020.
At number 186, Uniqlo does little better, even though the Japanese brand enjoys a good reputation. It’s pretty amazing too.
In the pharmacy industry, Pharmaprix stands out with 124th place. We are far from Familiprix (22nd), Proxim (23rd) and Brunet (26th), the leaders who also drop Jean Coutu. Obviously, the concept of a big box selling as much medicine as ham and printers is less appealing. When it comes to health, we seem to like the warmth, or at least the atmosphere, of small spaces.
No one in the Quebec region will be surprised to learn that Simons, Tanguay and Canac take first place in their category. These three chain stores in the old capital have always been popular with customers. And in all clothing categories (with the exception of lingerie), Quebec companies dominate: Tristan, Ernest, Claire France.
Effects of labor shortages
I spoke to you earlier about the labor shortage. Léger surveyed Quebecers on the subject and the results are quite surprising. Only 14% have “observed, experienced or felt the impact of the labor shortage on their shopping experience”. That’s little. And for 2% of this group, the effect was positive.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVE LA PRESSE
Dollarama branches are equipped with self-service checkouts.
Yes, yes, positive! When there are fewer staff there is less pressure to shop and sometimes the ability to make an appointment to shop which is much appreciated. For others, labor shortages have led to the proliferation of self-checkouts. It’s an interesting way of looking at things. These remedies, as I have already written, are far from unanimous. Some love them, others hate them.
The survey also shows that the negative impacts were mainly felt in five sectors, namely (okay) hardware, clothing stores for both sexes, groceries, telecom and bakery.
It’s hard to tell if Québec’s businesses are more accommodating towards companies that are understaffed or if they’ve lowered their expectations, but the biggest nuisance for consumers is… the famous price hike. Should we be surprised?