Home topics small-business-resources retail Hot Tips Managing Retail Hot Tips Focus on customer service or fail, retail expert warns Derya Goren June 13, 2012 Clothing retailers are being urged to perk up their customer service or continue to experience gloom and doom when it comes to sales. As the fashion sector continues to report low sales figures, specialty retailers are boasting the best customer service in the industry according to a Service Integrity study of 73,774 stores. And lagging well behind are the fashion retailers, scoring the lowest ranking across all industries with a disappointing average score of 70 percent. The study also revealed clothing retailer’s lack of product knowledge has scored the sector a poor 63.8 percent, when specialty retailers scored an impressive 89 percent. The study revealed the specialty sector’s stationery brand Kikki.K topped the best service list with an overall score of 86 percent. “Clothing retailers aren’t as focused as specialty retailers,” Service Integrity director Steven Di Pietro said, commenting on the recent study. Di Pietro told Dynamic Business retailers are investing too much energy on store and staff presentation and are underestimating the importance of product knowledge and engagement between the staff and customer. “You cannot just put up a shiny store and expect people to buy things from you. People don’t buy off shelves, they buy from a person, and that’s forgotten,” he added. Di Pietro stressed clothing retailers must focus on building rapport with customers and communicating the expectations clearly to their staff. “Do