Your Dispensary Needs a Customer Service Culture From the Start
- October 23, 2024
- Lauren Thompson, Content Intern
- Marketing, Cannabis Industry
Don’t overlook customer experience—their happiness is your success.
As a college student in Colorado, I’ve visited several dispensaries but remain loyal to only a couple. Competitive pricing is a draw, but excellent customer experience keeps me returning. By following my peers’ recommendations, I’ve discovered terrific dispensaries where the budtenders remember me and my friends and recommend products I usually love!
My direct experience shows that dispensaries must consistently provide excellent customer service and access to reliable products to generate long-term loyalty and positive reviews.
The Importance of a Customer Service Culture in Dispensaries
In my experience in Colorado, customer service has largely been overlooked in dispensary culture.
Since the legalization of cannabis in many states, weed has been moderately destigmatized, but not completely. Entering a dispensary and purchasing cannabis can still be anxiety-inducing, so budtenders must create a welcoming space that alleviates any preconceived negative associations with the experience. Every Budtender should be trained to create a welcoming and safe environment when a customer enters.
But dispensary customer service is often overlooked because “weed sells itself,” right?
Wrong.
Without clear guidelines and expectations, your dispensary may be unable to attract, satisfy, and retain customers. The first thing most potential customers will believe about your dispensary is whatever they read on Google reviews.
Good Google reviews are paramount to your dispensary’s success. The best way to earn positive reviews is to create a memorable and joyful experience for every customer while providing quality products they want to return for.
Bad Google reviews, on the other hand, often come from a lack of training. Here are some examples of genuine negative Google reviews that can be attributed to a gap in customer service training and engagement:
“Super awkward check-in experience.”
“Why is your receptionist so rude? I get to the back and the budtender is rushing me. The workers here made me feel inconvenienced by shopping there. I will definitely stay far away from this location.”
“Garbage customer service. No people skills.”
“Snippy front desk. Left without buying anything.”
“Not going to be returning, terrible customer service. Didn’t seem like any sort of option to even look at the flower. Under-weighed everything I purchased. Extremely transactional, no heart or warmness whatsoever. No chance this company survives.”
Establishing a strong customer service culture can prevent these kinds of reviews from accumulating and ensures you run a business that keeps people returning.
Best Practices for Dispensary Customer Service
Establishing a solid dispensary customer service culture has several advantages. Customers feel welcome and comfortable when they enter your store, giving them a reliable dispensary to return to whenever they want to stock up again. For you, this means loyal and happy customers and employees, a leg up on the competition, and a successful business.
Start by hiring the right budtenders.
Look for people with customer service experience—you should still provide them with store-specific training, but it’s best that they already have some of these skills. This person should also have a passion for and knowledge of cannabis in various forms. You want someone familiar with the industry who wants to move up, and you should provide them with those opportunities!
You’ll be ready to wow customers once you’ve assembled a great team with the proper training.
Budtender Greetings
The greeting can be the most essential part of a transaction. Three of the negative reviews above directly cite the check-in/front desk experience as the cause of a bad experience—this is easily avoidable. Here are some simple tips to implement in your customer service training.
- Remember the names and preferences of returning customers. “Welcome back, [customer’s name]!” shows familiarity and establishes trust between the budtender and the customer.
- Don’t presuppose the customer’s comfort with the process. It could be someone’s first time in a dispensary, and they may not want to be greeted with “How can I get you high?” but would feel welcomed by “What can I help you find?” or “How can I help you today?”
- Don’t make the customer feel like they’re bugging you. If you’re chatting with a coworker and a customer enters, ensure they feel welcomed and have been adequately helped—don’t alienate them!
- Be genuine. Don’t be overly animated and fake. Customers like it when their budtender seems like a genuine person who has a passion for cannabis and wants to help them have a good experience—just be yourself!
Personalized Service, Product Knowledge, and Engagement Strategies
The role of the budtender isn’t just to move products; it’s to help the customer through the cannabis buying process. Budtenders should be educated on all products and their effects, whether or not they’ve actually used them. They should know brands and the value of their products. And they should be prepared to answer any questions a customer has. Being well-versed in products is an essential aspect of customer service. The budtender is behind the counter for a reason: They should be more knowledgeable than the customer.
It’s important to ask customers questions and provide recommendations based on their answers. Once you understand what the customer is looking for, recommendations and product bundles will come up naturally. Don’t blindly throw out ideas; consider what the customer wants.
Recommendations should also be made to regulars. If someone always comes in for the same product, consider suggesting complimentary or similar items. This encourages curiosity about the product and nurtures conversation.
Everyone has a different comfort level, so meet the customers where they are. If they’re looking for guidance, be more engaged and direct them. If they’re confident and ask for something specific, chat with them about the choice and recommend something similar: “I love that product! I also love this; it’s a similar experience.”
Using Technology to Enhance Customer Service
Technology is a tool that should be used to make our lives easier. It should not be confusing, difficult to use, or flighty and liable to shut down at any second. Use technology to your advantage! It can and should be implemented in almost every area of your business.
- Solid point-of-sale (POS) software is necessary for your business to run smoothly. This software is where budtenders will complete transactions, but it is also essential for check-in and inventory management. Research various POS software and determine what will be best for your business.
- It is very important to have a payment system that is compatible with your POS software. People hate having to take out cash, so look into a cannabis payment system that allows card use.
- A smooth check-in process for mobile orders and in-person visits is the easiest way to attract customers, provide them with what they want, and send them on their way!
- Get with the times—people want mobile ordering! E-commerce is an essential part of a successful dispensary. Customers should be able to browse your product catalog online in an easy-to-use way. By providing an online preorder-for-pickup option, you can tap into a vast market of cannabis shoppers who wish to make their choices and conveniently pick them up privately.
- Mobile orders should be packaged quickly so they are ready for the customer as soon as they arrive.
- Consider having kiosks in-store for customers to browse your stock. This self-service model drives the current retail world. Kiosks are an excellent way for customers to interact with your menu and make their purchases.
- Loyalty programs are a great addition to any business. By developing a loyalty program, your customers will be eager to check in themselves to earn discounts. It’s also a fun way to cultivate customer loyalty (of course) and interest in your products. People love discounts and rewards, so reward them for choosing your business.
How to Boost Google Reviews with Outstanding Service
How customers are greeted immediately sets the tone for the rest of their time in the store. Here are some budtender greeting tips to ensure everything begins positively.
Don’t keep customers waiting after they enter!
- Warmly and eagerly greet them as soon as you can.
- If you are in the middle of helping another customer, take a moment to acknowledge the person who just entered: “Welcome in, one moment, please!”
- Scan their ID.
- Make small talk, make them feel welcome.
- Begin helping them select a product.
A memorable experience typically inspires a good review. Everyone has a different comfort level when entering a dispensary, so meet the customer where they’re at. While one person may come in familiar and excited, and another may be timid and unsure, every customer needs the best possible experience, so match their energy!
How Else Can Dispensaries Boost Their Google Reviews?
If your Google reviews page is littered with bad reviews and low ratings from years ago, work on getting positive reviews to counter the old ones. We’ll use some more real negative Google reviews as examples:
- “The Budtender was rude, didn’t know about the product, and instead of checking and giving me an exact answer, she gave me something I am not satisfied with.”
- This review demonstrates the importance of a knowledgeable budtender and good POS software. Your budtenders should be trained on all products available in the store, and if they’re unsure about something, you should provide them with the means to look it up and provide a factual answer.
- “Completely disgusted with this place!! I went in a few days ago and noticed that the product I bought expired 4 months ago. The workers are rude and disrespectful. The place is a complete disaster. Do not recommend coming to this place.”
- This is another example of why a sound POS system is so important. By keeping track of your inventory, this shouldn’t happen. In this example, it’s clear that the employees aren’t trained in customer service and don’t care about the store or the customers.
- “I don’t understand this place. I came in at 9:30 AM, and no one was there, but it took them over 10 minutes to take me back. The budtender also did not confirm my order with me and rang me out for the wrong item, wasting more of my time by not knowing how to fix it. I won’t be going back.”
- No one wants to wait around for no reason—convenience is king. Making an order mistake is an inconvenience for both the customer and the employee, and it should be simple to remedy this mistake if it occurs.
Avoid being pushy, but don’t fear encouraging customers to leave reviews. Create an environment that fosters positivity so customers can’t help but spread the word publicly.
Staff Training for Exceptional Service
Budtenders are eager to begin their position with industry guidance (check out The Great Budtender Survey to discover firsthand insights on the Budtender experience), so provide them with training that encourages them to employ their skills and expertise while instilling guidelines that ensure every visit runs smoothly.
- Make your staff training fun. Don’t just make them do some boring online program. Get them in the store to get real experience.
- Consider letting them take some free products home to try when doing inventory training. This ensures they’re intimately familiar with the products and can inform the customers based on their experiences.
- Provide incentives for good work. If you notice an employee doing a stellar job, acknowledge and reward them!
- Provide opportunities for advancement. Don’t make working at your dispensary a dead end—allow your employees to grow within your business and encourage their interest in the industry.
When your employees are happy and satisfied with your management, they will be better with the customers, respect you and your business, and enjoy coming to work!
Managing Negative Reviews and Customer Complaints
You may have already accumulated negative reviews and want to work toward a solution. This is why your dispensary must have a Google reviews strategy.
If these reviews are recent and address a specific issue, you can respond to them. This response should not be angry or upset but understanding and willing to offer a solution or apology. If the negative reviews are older, you should focus on boosting your positive Google reviews. In the end, it is essential that you address the issues, or you’ll accumulate even more negative reviews.
You should always provide your customers with an outlet to vent their frustrations. You should conduct an online customer satisfaction survey and take the responses seriously. If they can voice their complaints to you, they are less likely to publish a negative review online. This type of customer engagement also provides insight into the customer’s experience, so you know what they like about your business.
What Role Does Customer Service Play in Dispensary Reputation Management?
Spoiler alert: Your dispensary’s reputation is largely in the hands of your budtenders and their ability to provide a positive experience.
A positive customer service culture is essential to your dispensary marketing plan. Poor customer service, rude or unprofessional staff, lack of product knowledge, transactional and unfriendly environment, and inconsistent service can harm your business’s reputation.
This is why it is important to hire the right candidates and provide them with general customer service training, as well as comprehensive training on the entire inventory and how to use your dispensary tech. Everything in your dispensary should run smoothly and professionally, both internally and externally. Buying cannabis products should be as stress-free as using them!
All these aspects combined make up your customer service culture, so take them seriously.
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Lauren Thompson, Content Intern
- Lauren is a senior at the University of Denver, just months away from earning her bachelor’s degree in English and Literary Arts with a minor in Media, Film, and Journalism studies. She is a serial reader, writer, and editor with a deep passion for all things literary. As a newbie to the industry, she aims to bring her passions anywhere she can, and is always looking for new opportunities to learn and grow.
