Three Customer Success Lessons I learned as a Fishmonger in NYC

The first job that I had after dropping out of college was at a fish market in New York City. I was a fishmonger, which meant that I was having face to face interactions with customers all day, every day. At face value, all I was doing was cutting and selling fish to people who were out doing their grocery shopping. In reality, I was working in a customer success role using problem solving skills, being knowledgeable on the product or service, and using my interactions with customers as a way to gather information about who the customers are, as well as their thoughts on the product. It’s interesting to see that so many types of jobs can be applied to the customer success role. My experience as a fishmonger directly correlates to certain skill sets desired for a customer success position in a growing start up.

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Lesson #1: Problem Solving Skills 

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When in a customer success role, you have to realize that sometimes the customer does not entirely know what they want or need. It’s the customer success agent’s job to help them figure out what exactly the problem is, or what kind of product or service they will need. At the fish market, I would frequently have people walk in and not know what they wanted to buy, so they would ask me questions. In my role as a fishmonger/customer success representative, it is in my skill set to assist them. If given little information from the beginning, it would be my job to ask follow up questions to further help the customer. Asking questions such as, “Have you shopped with us before?” or “What did you enjoy last time?” or “What did you not enjoy?” “What kind of flavors are you a fan of?” 

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Using the answers to these questions, we are able to deduct what kind of product our potential customer is looking for. Not only does this solve our problem, it also helps us build a more personal relationship with this customer. Using problem solving skills and active communication, I would be able to help turn this potential customer into a customer and hopefully, a returning customer. 

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Lesson #2: Product Knowledge

Occasionally, a potential customer would have a more specific question, such as “I was given a bottle of wine and I am looking for a fish that would pair well with it, can you help me?” Naturally, we can use our problem solving skills here to help the customer, but on top of that, we will need to have a good sense of all the company’s products and services. To answer this theoretical customer’s question, we have to know exactly what products we have in stock, as well as each product’s characteristics and function. In this example, I asked follow up questions about what type of wine they had, if they had any allergies, and how they were going to cook the fish that I was going to sell them. With this knowledge, as well as my knowledge of the product base, I am able to tell the customer exactly what kind of fish, how much they would need, as well as offer my recommendations and advice on how to cook it. Knowing exactly what products or services that your company offers is super important in keeping a customer happy, which in the end is one of the key goals of a customer success representative. As they say, an informed customer is a happy customer.

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Lesson #3: Intelligence Gathering

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Finally, in my experience as a fishmonger, I was able to gather information on the clientele and their wants, needs, and opinions. In my day to day interactions with customers, I could see what products were popular and what products were not so popular. Through customers’ questions, I was also able to learn what were products that customers wanted that we did not carry. This is important because it shows what our company can do to further satisfy our customer base. Customer success representatives are able to have a finger on the pulse of the clientele, which is a great way to gauge how the business is doing, as well as find ways to potentially help the business grow. 

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I found that my experience as a fishmonger goes hand in hand with a customer success role because of so many similarities in the skill set needed. Creating happy customers is the number one thing a customer success representative should be thinking about. Solving problems for customers, especially when showing that you are knowledgeable on the product being sold, is a great way to ensure that the customer has a satisfying experience. On top of that, I am able to project future customers’ desires by seeing what sells well, what doesn't, and what products people are looking for. Customer success skills are necessary in so many jobs, so it’s important for people to understand and utilize this skill set in their everyday work, even if it’s not strictly a customer success role.

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