Lisa Mayoh: Snooty shop assistants could learn a lot from my 11yo daughter

Want to know how to keep customers coming into stores? Maybe start by making them feel welcome and not like criminals for wanting to try on sale items, writes Lisa Mayoh.

Imagine being told you couldn’t use a shop’s changeroom to try on a dress — because that dress was discounted.

“It’s for full-paying customers only”, were the exact words condescendingly spoken to my Aunty Jo recently when she went to try on an outfit that was reduced from $400 to $100.

My aunty was so shocked she didn’t know what to say, which must have shown on her face because the assistant then conceded that because the shop was empty she could, in fact, try on the dress — if she hurried — but if a full-paying customer came in and needed the room, she’d have to vacate.

I kid you not.

She wanted to cry. She told me later the woman made her feel like a criminal, made her feel like she was doing something wrong. And that makes me angry.

Lisa Mayoh's Aunty Jo and daughter Elena, 11, at the local markets.

It was the same day my 11-year-old had a stall at a local market to sell her handmade bracelets (so cute, and — shameless mum plug — a $5 bargain if anyone needs a custom Christmas stocking filler) and that was the day I got to see first-hand what customer service should look like.

My daughter smiled at people. She welcomed them, she thanked them, she fussed over them. She was chatty, happy, helpful. Informative.

Smiley, friendly 11-year-old Elena Mayoh, from Elena's Jewellery’, could teach many shop assistants a thing or two.

She blew me away with her ability to draw people in and make sure they were happy — it was a joy to watch.

If she is the future of retail, the industry is in safe hands — but will it last until the sweet and innocent are old enough to work part-time jobs?

The next 10 years are critical for bricks-and-mortar stores currently dying a slow and painful death.

We can blame Generation Time-Poor, as I like to call us, for the online shopping that’s mostly responsible for the mass exodus. but to counter that, you’d think shop owners would be doing anything in their power to lure us back in — not drive us away crying.

In no world is it right for a man or woman to be talked down to by a retail worker.

We all work so hard, and times are tough for a lot of people, now more than ever, so when we do part with our hard-earned money, it should be an enjoyable experience, not one that leaves you in tears.

I don’t care if the dress my aunty wanted to try on was reduced to $10, it is her right to try it on before she buys it — and the fact she was made to feel bad for asking makes me really upset.

We can all learn a lot from the 11-year-olds in our lives. The young people I’m raising teach me about the world every single day.

We need to smile more, and treat each other kindly. Take the time to chat and find out how to help someone.

Knowing a friendly face would greet me at a local boutique — a person who make me feel like my purchase is valued and that dress looks so amazing I cannot possibly leave the store without it — well, that’s worth shopping around for.

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