High-quality customer service is preached（宣扬）by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store（零售店）, but instead will warn their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen. Store managers are often the last to hear complaints. “Storytelling hurts retailers(零售商) and entertains consumers,” said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered（塞满了的）shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude sales people.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting(业余兼职的) local police to work as parking attendants to direct customers to empty parking spaces. Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store display, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, sales people should be skillful and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re enthusiastic and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren't so friendly.” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filling complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.
小题1:Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?
A．Most shoppers won’t complain even if they have had unhappy experiences.
B．It is difficult for customers to have easy access to store mangers.
C．Few customers believe the service will be improved after their complaints.
D．Shoppers would rather tell their unhappy experiences to people around them.小题2:What does Paula Courtney imply by saying the underlined sentence in paragraph 2?
A．The same products can be bought in other retail stores.
B．It is not likely the shopper can find the same products in other stores.
C．New customers are sure to replace old ones.
D．Not complaining to the manager causes the shopper some trouble too.小题3:What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?
A．Hiring of efficient employees.
B．Manners of the salespeople.
C．Huge supply of goods for sale.
D．Design of the store display.小题4:To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to ______.
A．voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly
B．settle their disagreements with stores in a friendly way
C．put pressure on stores to improve their service
D．shop around and make comparisons between stores
