The importance of welcoming Folk

I've been doing a lot of shopping over the last few weeks with Christmas and January sales. One of my favourite clothing brands is Folk. Their clothing is brilliant and thoughtfully designed, creatively reinterpreting mens military, sports and workwear. It's brilliant work / leisure wear for creatives, with lots of small details you don't get on most brands. Founded in 2001 by Cathal McAteer it's a leader in 'contemporary casualwear'.

It's also a premium brand so you'd expect the service to be spot on. Unfortunately, the shopping experience I encountered in Shoreditch (on more than one occasion) doesn't match the extacting standards of their clothing. One of the issues affecting many cool shops are shop assistants who think they are too cool to assist shoppers. I've never found this an issue in the US (which is more commercially minded) but the UK still suffers this in pockets (even at my age!).

I estimate the average basket size for a Folk shopper is ￡150 so the costs of inaction are high, especially in this challenging retail market. John Lewis are legendary for their customer service. Apparently they view every customer as worth ￡30,000 (their lifetime value), which is why their service always goes above and beyond - ensuring an ultra-loyal shoppers who return time and time again.

So what are the easy tips for Folk to improve it's retail experience?

• Proactively meet customers as the enter the shop. Make sure shop assistants leave their desk, where they tend to sit together talking. They should be friendly and welcoming. They could even offer people a water or coffee when it's not that busy? Do something that makes the shopper feel welcomed and cared for.

• Ask questions that show an interest in your shoppers interests. You can't do this sat behind the desk. For example "Do you have something in mind you are looking for?" Brilliant shop assistants will ask questions which lead you to things you may not have considered. It's an opportunity to talk about the brand story. On a related note, we had a fabulous experince in Diptique, where they gift wrapped the candle we bought (explaining the three layers of wrapping paper stand for the three founders). Enchanting.

• Never use disabled lifts for storing boxes. We walked into the Folk Redhuch St (Shoreditch) store with a pram and were pleasantly surprised to see a lift next to the stairs. Unfortunately, it was filled with junk. We stood there and the shop assistant's just stared at us. I had to say "There are boxes in the lift" to which the (seated) response was "Do you want us to move them?" There was no effort to help lift the pram or provide any solution. We didn't feel like spending money there and left. A disappointing experience. I can only imagine what this would feel like for a disabled customer (who unfortunately have to deal with this type of issue frequently).

Motivating Folk's folk. It's a relatively easy fix for retail staff to be trained and incentivised to engage customers. And in the era of online shopping, it's essential for the precious retail experience to be as good as it can be. Let's hope this changes at Folk.

What are the best retail experiences you've encountered?

#brand #branddevelopment #creativity #marketing #retail #training