Potential customers and clients are all ears when they enter your business or listen to your sales pitch.
In a retail environment your staff should not be discussing their personal problems, what they watched on tv the night before, what they are doing after work, or how much they hate their jobs. Customers should not feel that they are interrupting personal conversations to ask a question or purchase an item. The standard "Can I help you" needs to be replaced with something like "Hi, my name is Sue,let me know if I can help you in any way. We just got in a shipment of (fill in the blank) and you will find some great deals on marked down items."
In a service environment chances are you have an assigned greeter. The rest of the staff should not pop up out of their cubes like they are waiting for the pizza guy. Staff members should not be yelling across their cubes, talking about other clients, or laughing like they are watching the comedy channel.
Customers want to hear a sales pitch that is based on what they need or want. Questions need to be answered in a respectful, energetic and positive way. Make sure your sales staff does not bore, bully or BS your customers because they have ears that are tuned in for honesty and respect.
How can you judge performance? Have a short survey card for the customer to fill out. You will get more of a response if the survey is next to a candy dish. Reward staff members that get positive comments. Send in a secret shopper to gather information for you. Friends and family can be great secret shoppers. Take them out for lunch and get the feedback you need to make sure customers hear what you want them to hear.
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